Merkle Response Management Group Chosen by Catholic Relief Services for Donation Processing

COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merkle (www.merkleinc.com), a leading customer relationship marketing (CRM) firm and the largest privately-held agency, announced that its Response Management Group (RMG) has been selected by Baltimore, Maryland-based Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to provide donation processing services in support of the nonprofit organization’s direct mail fundraising program. CRS is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States that provides relief and development assistance to those in need across nearly 100 countries around the world.

“Earning additional business from CRS has been an honor for RMG”

Merkle Response Management Group is providing a customized donation processing solution that includes mail opening, electronic check deposits, PCI-compliant credit card processing, scan data capture, and document imaging. Timely deposits and efficient data capture are allowing the organization to send timely acknowledgements of gifts to their donors. Images of checks and documents are also searchable and available to CRS staff via RMG’s proprietary web-based image archive and retrieval tool Arch-e.

The new three year contract represents an expansion of the relationship between the two organizations. Since 2009, RMG has been providing inbound call center and collateral fulfillment in support of CRS’s Operation Rice Bowl, Food Fast, Fair Trade and Global Fellows programs. The donation processing services were initiated in early June 2011 and are already meeting with great success in improved efficiencies and enhanced accuracy.

“The number one reason we chose RMG for our donation processing was, to put it simply, technology,” said Nancie Fletcher, director of donor services for Catholic Relief Services. “We now have the ability to quickly access and view a clear image of every piece of mail that comes from our donors – whether it’s a check, a special request or a personal note. This is imperative to the efficient management of our donor communications. We are thrilled with the quality of RMG’s work. The exceptional service and proficiency with which they manage our records have exceeded our expectations.”

“Earning additional business from CRS has been an honor for RMG,” said Bill Sayre, president of Merkle’s Response Management Group. “We take pride in delivering an efficient solution for CRS, backed by 29 years of best practices experience that provides the organization with best-in-class donation processing services. It matters to RMG that we can assist a cause that does such important work for the international community. CRS can count on RMG to relieve the stress of donation processing so they can focus on their vital mission.”

About Catholic Relief Services

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency alleviates suffering and provides assistance to people in need in nearly 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. For more information, please visit www.crs.org or www.crsespanol.org.

About Merkle’s Response Management Group

Founded in 1983, Merkle’s Response Management Group is one of the largest direct response processing organizations in the country. Last year Merkle Response processed over 36.4 million transactions through its modern 125,000 square foot facility in Hagerstown, Maryland. The Response Management Group is dedicated to providing complete direct response processing and fulfillment solutions, including caging, data capture, imaging, call center, email management, acknowledgment printing and mailing, and premium fulfillment services. The organization currently supports more than 175 nonprofit clients and also provides integrated response processing services to dozens of government and commercial clients. Learn more at www.merkleresponseservices.com.

About Merkle

Merkle, a customer relationship marketing (CRM) firm, is the nation’s largest privately-held agency. For more than 20 years, Fortune 1000 companies and leading nonprofit organizations have partnered with Merkle to maximize the value of their customer portfolios. By combining a complete range of marketing, technical, analytical and creative disciplines, Merkle works with clients to design, execute and evaluate Integrated Customer Marketing^TM programs. With more than 1,500 employees, the privately held corporation is headquartered near Baltimore in Columbia, Maryland with additional offices in Boston; Chicago; Denver; Little Rock; Minneapolis; New York; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; San Francisco; Seattle; Hagerstown, MD and Shanghai. For more information, contact Merkle at 1-877-9-Merkle or visit www.merkleinc.com.