Response Dynamics

Response Dynamics Inc. is a Vienna, Virginia, "firm that provides direct mail and other fundraising services."

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Response_Dynamics_Inc.ScandalsKanfer operates a group of five political direct-mail and fundraising businesses, all run out of the same address in Vienna, Virginia. The other four companies are Mid-America Printing, Fulfillment Management Services, The Best List, Inc. and Direct Response Data Management. The address of all five companies is 2070 Chain Bridge Rd. Suite 520 Vienna, Virginia 22182.Twenty years ago, Kanfer helped raise money to pay for the notorious 1988 Willie Horton political attack ads against Michael Dukakis. Kanfer's involvement in creating the Willie Horton ads led to years of adverse publicity for Kanfer and his companies. [2]ScandalsCharges of deceptive fundraising practicesIn 2005, the College Republicans, at the time a well-funded conservative committee, ended its contract with Kanfer's companies after the Seattle Times and the Durham, North Carolina Herald-Sun disclosed Kanfer's fundraising practices of using front groups and aggressive, deceptive mailings to collect huge amounts of money from elderly people with dementia, some of whom gave away all their savings.[3]Many donors reported that Kanfer's companies' solicitations bore the names of groups like "Republican Headquarters 2004," "Republican Elections Committee" and the "National Republican Campaign Fund," and that only the fine print on the solicitations disclosed that the mailings were projects of the College Republican National Committee. This led donors to believe their money was going to President George W. Bush's re-election campaign or other Republican efforts. Instead the money went to the College Republicans, and nearly 90 percent of it was spent on direct-mail vendors and postage, according to IRS records. Most of the vendors' share was paid to Response Dynamics and the four other firms that listed Kanfer as a corporate officer. Kanfer disputed the figures and the charges. Some of the elderly donors targeted in the mail campaigns ended up bouncing checks or emptying their bank accounts.[4][5]The College Republicans' board examined Kanfer's fund-raising practices after the family of an elderly Indiana woman with Alzheimer's disease demanded that the group return her donations. The woman's family reported that they had sent a registered letter to the source of the fundraising appeal asking that she be removed from their mailing list, but the solicitations continued. Only after newspapers reported the story about the exploitative fundraising practices did the College Republicans refund $40,000 to the family, according to Jackie Boyle, one of the woman's nieces.[6]SourceWatch resourcesCenter for Government IntegrityCollege Republican National CommitteeFundraising companiesRon KanferExternal articlesMeghan O'Donnell, "Young Money. College Republicans show how to play the fund-raising game," Center for Public Integrity, September 25, 2003.References↑ Judith S. Trent, Robert Friedenberg Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices, book, info at page 392, reference No. 16, Rowman & Littlefield, 2007, 6th Edition↑ Thomas B. Edsall You Get What You Pay For, Huffington Post, August 11, 2008↑ Thomas B. Edsall You Get What You Pay For, Huffington Post, August 11, 2008↑ Jim Brunner and David Postman Some College Republicans regret donors were "misled", Seattle Times, November 29, 2004↑ David Postman and Jim Brunner Fund-raising group milks vulnerable senior citizens, Seattle Times, October 28, 2004↑ Admin Political Direct Mail Solicitor Targets Elderly With Aggressive Letters, Politics Democracy (blog), October 22, 2010Categories: Fundraising companiesPolitics (U.S.)Right wing===  Resources and articlesRelated SourceWatch articlesCenter for Government IntegrityCollege Republican National Committeefundraising companies External articlesMeghan O'Donnell, "Young Money. College Republicans show how to play the fund-raising game," Center for Public Integrity, September 25, 2003. -----kunko secwikiResponse Dynamics, Inc. is a privately held Vienna, Virginia-based direct marketing company. It was founded in 1981 and specializes in political fundraising and direct mail marketing. Most direct mail fundraising firms cater to a particular partisan segment, and RDI considered one of the top firms servicing conservative causes.[1]The company boasts in-house copy editing, art design, database management, and a list brokerage service. RDI's aggressive marketing strategy received national attention after it was revealed that the company targeted the elderly with deceptive practices, including repeated solicitations and using misleading letterhead and language. Fundraising solicitations from the College Republican National Committee in 2004 appeared to be solicitations for Republican National Committee or Bush-Cheney 2004, misleading many elderly contributors.[2][3]Prior to writing romance and religious novels, Neesa Hart worked at Response Dynamics, Inc. writing fundraising letters.[4]See also[edit]

Response Dynamics

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