Jerry Huntsinger, a nationally recognized expert on communications and fundraising for some of the nation’s largest charities, died Sunday at his home in Williamsburg, Virginia. He turned 90 on July 25.
Author of several “how to” books on fundraising and mentor to generations of young fundraisers, the New York Times described him: “Most Americans have never heard of Jerry Huntsinger, but they have probably heard from him. Mr. Huntsinger is a direct mail fundraiser, one of the best in the business.”
He was a contributing editor to The NonProfit Times for approximately 10 years. He stopped writing “The Huntsinger Clinic” direct response fundraising column in 2002. The column often was controversial. He would analyze and dissect fundraising packages that arrived in his mailbox, often without alerting the charities because the package was in the public domain.
Huntsinger was born in Salina, Kansas. He received an A.B. in English Literature from Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois. His graduate degrees included a Masters in Philosophy from Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky and a Masters in Mass Communications from Temple University in Philadelphia.
Huntsinger joined the staff of the then Christian Children’s Fund, now ChildFund International, in Richmond, Virginia, in 1962. He traveled to the organization’s missions in Africa and wrote about the plight of orphans to raise funds for what became one of the nation’s largest child sponsorship programs.
He co-founded Huntsinger & Jeffer, the Richmond, Virginia advertising and fundraising firm that was an early pioneer in direct mail fundraising for nonprofits. He sold his interest in that firm and became senior creative consultant for Craver, Mathews, Smith & Company in Falls Church, Virginia. There he worked on programs for organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Heifer International, the ACLU and Common Cause.
To minimize what he called “the boredom level from my day job” he built and flew radio-controlled airplanes with his sons and grandsons. He also worked with a London-based producer of video games to create theme music and background sounds.
Huntsinger wrote fundraising letters for charities that were signed by Presidents Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, politicians such as Al Gore and Nancy Pelosi, and celebrities Christopher Reeve, Frank Sinatra, Joanne Woodward, and Susan Sarandon.
He created marketing campaigns for companies and organizations as diverse as The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, American Express, Kemper Insurance, Days Inn, Ford’s Colony, Virginia Peanuts, Peale Center for Positive Thinking, Crestar Bank, Habitat for Humanity, The Humane Society of the United States, National Wildlife Federation, Handgun Control, Amnesty International, Environmental Defense Fund, Boys Town, the American Red Cross and Consumer Reports.
He is survived by his wife Esther, two sons and grandchildren. Information on services is not yet available.
*****
Editor’s Note: Direct response expert, writer and blogger Roger Craver, a close friend of Jerry Huntsinger and head of the online newsletter The Agitator, contributed to this story.
