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Be warned. If you’re starting a non-profit and don’t have $100,000 in the bank, don’t use direct mail. You literally cannot afford to use direct mail to raise

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

funds right now.

Launching a new non-profit is like launching a new business. You need to spend money to make money. You cannot start a non-profit

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

with no money any more than you can start a business with no money. You need to raise start-up capital somehow, but that somehow shouldn't be direct mail f

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

undraising letters. Here’s why.

Direct mail fundraising loses money initially
You should expect your first direct mail appeal to lose

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

money. You are new. People don’t know you. You have no track record. Plus, direct mail donor acquisition mailings almost always lose money. They gain new do

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

nors, yes, but usually at a cost of spending $1.25 to raise $1.

I’ll say it again: “Donor acquisition mailings lose money.” This is the main reason t

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

hat direct mail is ineffective at raising start-up capital from strangers for new ventures. The business case is actually the other way around. You need sta

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

rt-up capital to launch a direct mail program.

Direct mail fundraising requires a popular cause
Direct mail is an effective way to raise

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

funds when you have a cause that has broad appeal, either locally or nationally, such as heart disease, sick children or abandoned pets. If you're startin

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

g a small, obscure non-profit in a small town, don’t expect to even break even with direct mail. You won’t.

Here’s an example of what I mean. I recei

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

ved a phone call from a non-profit on the west coast that was in a financial crisis. So they intended to rent a mailing list of strangers and mail an appe

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

al letter, soliciting a donation. Their cause? Temporary shelter for lost reptiles. I’m not making this up. This tiny non-profit provides homes to lost pet

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

oa constrictors, lizards and other exotic reptilian pets until their owners can be found.

I think you’ll agree that this non-profit does not champi

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

on a cause that has popular appeal, excuse the pun. They are not going to raise much money or attract many donors with direct mail. Their area of operation

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

is small and their cause is unpopular, if not detested.

Direct mail fundraising needs volume to be successful
You are not likely to opera

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

te a successful direct mail fundraising program if you have only a few hundred supporters. For one thing, you will not qualify for discounts on postage. And

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

for another, your costs for hiring professional writers and designers will be prohibitive. Direct mail fundraising works best when you mail to tens of thous

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

ands of donors over time asking for small donations. Can you afford that as a new non-profit? Probably not.

Direct mail fundraising needs frequ

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

ency to be successful
Direct mail fundraising usually works only when you mail at least eight times a year (four appeals and four newsletters). If

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

you do not have money in the bank for that kind of mailing frequency, then direct mail is not the way to go for your new non-profit. Not yet, anyway.

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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It seems to me that everywhere we shop these days, or any service we require involves long waiting times. Stores used to hire enough clerks, cashiers, and service people to meet the needs of their customers. As a business person who understands how to calculate percentage ratios, this makes no sense to me.

When going online to make money, the would-be entrepreneur has the choice of selling physical products OR digital information products. Physical products are tangible things like; cars, golf clubs, shoes, etc. Information products are things like books, newsletters, software, music, movies, courses, etc., where the value is in the information they contain, not in the tangible elements.

One business owner that I know said about start-up costs “you should add up everything that you think it will cost to get open and then at least double it, and you will be close to what it costs.” The lesson here is do not underestimate your initial expenses. It costs more than you think.

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