# O'Brien Garrett

> O'Brien Garrett is a privately held Washington, D.C. fundraising and communications agency that helps national nonprofits understand donors, shape messages, and run direct-response programs across mail, digital, phone, and face-to-face channels. Founded by political fundraiser Frank O'Brien in 1987 and led by CEO Yvonne Garrett, the firm pairs qualitative donor interviews with analytics and campaign execution for organizations including Planned Parenthood, NRDC, Doctors Without Borders/MSF, the NAACP, and the National Audubon Society.

- **Founded:** 1987
- **Headquarters:** Washington, United States
- **Founders:** Frank O'Brien (Founder and President)
- **Products:** Integrated fundraising strategy, Donor research, Direct mail fundraising, Digital fundraising and advocacy, Analytics and segmentation
- **Notable:** Built a national nonprofit fundraising practice that has operated since 1987., The 2023 National Audubon Society annualized renewal package renewed more than 31,000 members from 402,985 recipients, with $1,566,063 in gross income and a 7.83% response rate., The National Audubon Society annualized renewal package won the 2024 DMFA Direct Mail Renewal category, and its June acquisition campaign was runner-up in Direct Mail Acquisition.

## Products & services

- **Integrated fundraising strategy** — Program design and campaign management that coordinates mail, phone, digital, and face-to-face fundraising around audience insight and measurable response.
- **Donor research** — Qualitative and quantitative research, including thousands of grassroots donor interviews each year, used to understand motivations, priorities, and message response.
- **Direct mail fundraising** — Creative, production, segmentation, testing, acquisition, renewal, and retention programs for national nonprofit donor files.
- **Digital fundraising and advocacy** — Email, web, and digital campaigns designed to turn online attention into donations, advocacy actions, and longer-term supporter relationships.
- **Analytics and segmentation** — Performance analysis and audience segmentation used to improve response, average gift, net revenue, and donor retention.
- **Pandemic donor research series** — A three-part public research program tracking how COVID-19, racial justice, economic strain, and the 2020 election affected direct-response donors.

## Achievements

- Built a national nonprofit fundraising practice that has operated since 1987.
- The 2023 National Audubon Society annualized renewal package renewed more than 31,000 members from 402,985 recipients, with $1,566,063 in gross income and a 7.83% response rate.
- The National Audubon Society annualized renewal package won the 2024 DMFA Direct Mail Renewal category, and its June acquisition campaign was runner-up in Direct Mail Acquisition.
- A 2024 Audubon April appeal improved response by 26%, raised average gift by 9%, and increased net per donor by 194% versus the prior year, according to its 2025 DMFA entry.
- Public Form 990 data aggregated by Roundpaper identifies 76 engagements with 27 nonprofits from 2019 through 2024; in 54 engagements reporting both figures, campaigns raised $1.1 billion against $29.9 million in fees, with campaign costs potentially included in those fees.
- Conducted a three-wave public donor research series during 2020, including online surveys with 600 respondents in April and 650 respondents in September.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Team members presented sessions at the Bridge to Integrated Marketing & Fundraising Conference, including work on acquisition strategy and donor passion.
- **2026-04** — O'Brien Garrett highlighted trust, relevance, and sustained engagement at the Nonprofit Fundraisers Symposium.
- **2025-06** — A National Audubon Society April appeal created by the agency appeared in the 2025 DMFA Awards entries after improving net per donor by 194% year over year.
- **2025-03** — The Direct Marketing Association of Washington recognized O'Brien Garrett and Audubon with a 2024 MAXI Workhorse award.
- **2024-06** — The agency won the DMFA Direct Mail Renewal category for Audubon's annualized renewal package and was runner-up in acquisition.

## Links

- Website: https://obriengarrett.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/obriengarrett

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/obrien-garrett
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-20