Erica Waasdorp, President, A Direct Solution

Author. Presenter. Blogger. Monthly Donor Expert. Consultant.

Erica lives and breathes direct response and fundraising and can be considered a Philanthropyholic. Building partnerships and trying to find the best solution for members and donors and thus clients’ needs are what Erica does best. 

Her multi-lingual skills and multi-cultural experience are of added value to those clients interested in raising money internationally and her experience in monthly giving has given her an edge for those clients who are ready to embark on this way of giving.

Erica Waasdorp started A Direct Solution in December of 2003 with more than twenty years of experience in direct marketing, from both sides of the desk, on the client side and the agency side. She has since worked with numerous non-profit clients on and off-Cape as well as internationally.

A Direct Solution provides fundraising executive support to organizations and focuses on monthly giving. Erica Waasdorp also develops and executes training sessions and presentations to small and large nonprofit groups.

Before starting her own business, Erica was Vice President Fundraising at DMW Direct, a direct response fundraising agency in Plymouth. She was responsible for new business development, strategy and tactical execution. She helped her clients raise millions of dollars, acquiring and retaining thousands of their donors and members as well as starting and building sustainer programs.

On the client side, she was with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) for seven years, last as Marketing Manager of Planned/Committed Giving. She raised $18 million a year (increased from $5 million) and directed acquisition, donor, monthly giving, major-donor and planned-giving programs in seven countries: US, Canada, UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia and South Africa. Her upgrade strategy for the monthly giving program in the UK won IFAW and their telemarketing agency the Gold UK DMA award and the Gold FEDMA Award in 1998.

Prior to working at IFAW, she worked with several companies in the Netherlands, including Readers Digest, Kluwer Academic Publishers and Reed Elsevier Seminars. Erica Waasdorp has a Marketing degree from Limburg Business College in the Netherlands as well as a degree in Public Relations (from the Dutch Public Relations Association NGPR) and Advertising from the International Advertising Association (IAA). Besides English, Erica Waasdorp speaks four other languages: Dutch, German, French and Spanish.

Erica Waasdorp has written hundreds of articles about monthly giving, international fundraising, fundamentals of fundraising, writing and answering RFP’s and many more. She is a Certified Master Trainer for the Association of Fundraising Professionals and sought-after presenter, both in-person or virtually.  

Erica Waasdorp has been active in the fundraising community for many years. Most notably, she was Co-Chair for Philanthropy Day on Cape Cod 2007, 2008 and co-chaired the 2007 DMA Nonprofit Federation Conference in Washington DC. She served on the Planning Committee for Philanthropy Day on Cape Cod, the DMA Nonprofit Federation in Washington DC, the Bridge Conference in Washington DC 2009 and 2010 and the National Catholic Development Conference in 2013 to name just a few. 

Erica Waasdorp published her second book in May of 2021: Monthly Giving Made Easy. Her first book came out in the Fall of 2012: Monthly giving. The Sleeping Giant, available as paperback and e-book. In May 2015, she co-authored the DonorPerfect Monthly Giving Starter Kit, followed by the Monthly Giving Marketing Kit early 2016. She created the Monthly Donor Road Map, e-books Top 7 Questions on Monthly Giving and the Monthly Donor Retention Play Book and othe resources. From 2013 through 2018 she served as the US Ambassador to the IFC Congress, Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

Erica lives with her husband and cat Mientje on Cape Cod, MA and they regularly visit their two kids and three grandkids. They love to (nordic) walk, dance, play golf and travel. Erica is a straight shooter at golf and in daily living.