An Appropriate Gesture
TO LIST PROFESSIONAL Rosalie Bulach, the newly designed first class stamp issued to raise money for breast cancer research held hope for two causes-the fight against the deadly disease and the chance to generate some positive publicity for the DM industry.
After catching a glimpse of the stamp, Bulach-who owns Name-Finders Lists Inc. in San Francisco-used $15,000 of her own money to kick off a direct mail campaign, targeting women on compiled and response lists within the direct marketing industry.
“What better way to make a difference for our industry than by using a stamp,” says Bulach, who watched her own husband die of brain cancer at age 42 and other acquaintances die of breast cancer.
The 20,000-piece mailing went out in July. A personal letter encouraged colleagues to contribute to the cause by purchasing a minimum of 500 stamps for use on corporate mail or by donating directly to the cause. Net proceeds above the cost of postage will go to breast cancer research.
Bulach enclosed a postage-paid business reply card to track donations. If the mailing is successful, plans for future efforts include targeting several thousand women’s organizations and women business owners. “As long as I see the result is there, I’ll keep going.”
The stamp, the first of its kind to have net proceeds from sales earmarked for a research organization, was recently issued nationwide.
