If you’re a nonprofit soliciting crucial donations, direct mail is a must. According to a recent report by software developer Blackbaud Inc., a large majority of nonprofit donors give through only one channel, and that preferred channel is mail.

Developed by Blackbaud’s Target Analytics company, the report finds that although multichannel giving has become a popular objective of nonprofits as a means of building constituent support, it is not widely practiced. The only donors who do significant multichannel giving are new donors acquired online. Large numbers of these donors switch to direct mail giving in subsequent years. This is the group of donors for which multichannel giving is crucial for garnering repeat gifts and realizing true long-term giving potential.

“The Internet is becoming an increasingly important acquisition channel, but has not proven to be as effective for retention,” said Rob Harris, Target Analytics’ director of analytic products and a co-author of the study. “It is the ability of online-acquired donors to use another channel — that is, to start giving through direct mail — that significantly boosts the long-term value of this group of donors.”