It's not easy rounding up pirates, however getting something in the mail still gets their attention! Sure we use our e-newsletter and and e-invite for our largest fundraiser of the year, however nothing beats that printed invitation that goes on the refrigerator. Heck, one of our designs resonated so well a number of them framed the front of it!

Our invitation sets our theme of the year, and we've created a following where our Dive Pirates look forward to what the next will be. They know that invitation is just a taste of what's to come for our trip shirts and more. It doesn't matter how many emails go out, the mailed invitations are the ones that prompt our donors to register for the evening, start shopping the silent auction, and booking their hotel rooms.

During our event a printed program also gives our guests an understanding of our mission and vision while also showcasing our sponsors and providing structure to the evening. It's also something they can take home and share with others.

For the past three years we have started printing an annual report, and it really helps those donors who share our mission to hand something to a potential donor; that proof of performance piece that shows we are genuine, we are transparent with our funds, and we are making a difference. The great thing is it does not have to be slick and high dollar to be very effective! Finding that middle ground of professional-looking at a reasonable price point keeps board members and donors happy!

Mid-year we hold a membership drive, and our goal is to get people on recurring payments, which they have to do online, however we are still seeing forty percent of our membership respond to a mailed letter request once a year. Well we are certainly not going to turn away 40 percent of our responders, so we continue to meet them where they are, wanting that reminder in the mail, even when a large number of them go online to complete their membership registration and donation. Being able to upload an excel mailing list to Conquest Graphics has made this so much more cost effective for us, and it continues to offer that option of sending in a check.

What's next? I would love to send postcards to our donors showing them photos and stories of our recipients, so they can see their dollars in action. I'd like to create postcards from our dive trips and encourage our donors to use them as their correspondence, just as it is fun to use postcards from a trip to send thank you notes, etc., why not create our own to promote our recipients who have overcome a lifechanging injury or disease and inspire the receiver with our incredible veterans or civilians who have learned to celebrate life after injury?

I would also like to create thank you notes with our photos of adaptive divers to send to all donors. Hand written thank you notes are so important and we do write them for every donation, however to have professionally printed thank you notes showing our divers would be much more impactful.

We are a small foundation with a virtual office, and for the past 17 years we have shared adaptive scuba diving with injured veterans and others with mobile disabilities. Conquest Graphics has helped us with our printing needs and it would be wonderful to grow that relationship if funding allows. We've all been set back due to the pandemic, however we've been able to keep the momentum going by still providing that multi-layer contact with our recipients and our donors, and we thank you for any and all consideration in helping us continue our efforts.

Hugs and Fishes, The Dive Pirates Foundation