The Stelter Company

What The Stelter Company does

The Stelter Company is a privately held, family-owned integrated marketing agency specializing in planned giving marketing for nonprofit organizations, founded in 1962 in Des Moines, Iowa by Paul J. Stelter and now in its third generation of family leadership. The firm serves roughly 1,300-1,500 nonprofit clients nationwide across higher education, healthcare, animal welfare, arts and culture, food banks, faith-based, and international-affairs organizations, providing bundled services that include direct mail marketing, an integrated digital marketing platform (web, email, social), donor surveys, planned giving websites, social media campaigns, and its branded Stelter Relationship Building Workshop® training program.

The technical core of the firm is the Stelter Intelligence Center, an interactive client-facing dashboard that aggregates real-time donor response data across the entire client base and runs an industry-leading donor-scoring model used to identify high-potential planned-giving prospects. The intelligence layer is supported by annual national donor-behavior research studies conducted since 2008, a 1,400+-nonprofit behavior dataset informing the digital platform, and a wholly-owned printing subsidiary (The Stelter Printing Company, formed 1987) that vertically integrates production for client campaigns. Services are organized around a documented "3 Pillars of Service" framework (Industry Insight, Customer Focus, Creative Services) and delivered through dedicated account executives organized into four subsector teams (Health, Education, Community, Cause).

Revenue is generated through multi-year B2B contract-based professional-services engagements with nonprofit organizations, sold via a relationship-led, field-sales motion (Regional Account Representatives and Principal Account Executives targeting U.S. nonprofits). Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The company operates from a 30,000 sq ft Collaboration Hub in West Des Moines (opened September 2025), maintains 100+ subject-matter experts, and is led by external CEO Marianne Coppock (appointed 2022-2023) alongside third-generation family officers Nathan Stelter (President) and Jeremy Stelter (Executive Vice President).

Name

The Stelter Company

Legal name

The Stelter Company

Website

https://stelter.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Stelter Company is a third-generation, family-owned integrated marketing agency that provides planned-giving marketing services — direct mail, digital, donor surveys, websites, and training — to roughly 1,500 U.S. nonprofit organizations across education, healthcare, arts, and advocacy verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Marketing Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181), Direct Mail Advertising (54186), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418), Other Services Related to Advertising (54189)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Direct Mail Advertising Services (7331)

akta.pro primary industry

Nonprofit & Cause Communications (BPAFADAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

B2B Demand Generation & Lead Nurture Agencies (BPAFAKAA), B2B/ABM Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAI)

Keywords

• Planned giving marketing
• Nonprofit fundraising services
• Direct mail marketing
• Donor engagement
• Estate gift planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Des Moines

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Marketing Services for Nonprofits: Integrated marketing agency services for nonprofit organizations including planned giving marketing, direct mail, digital marketing, data analysis, and strategic consulting. Services provided on a contract basis to nonprofit clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Stelter Company is an integrated B2B marketing agency that helps nonprofit organizations launch, grow, and sustain planned giving programs. It delivers research-based direct mail campaigns, digital marketing, donor surveys, data analytics, social media campaigns, planned giving websites, and fundraiser training to help nonprofits identify high-value planned gift prospects and convert them into legacy donors.

Product overview

The Stelter Company is an integrated marketing agency providing planned giving marketing services for nonprofits. Their portfolio centers on marketing strategies and communications to help nonprofits capture high-value gifts, combining direct mail marketing, digital marketing, data analysis, donor surveys, and development training. Key products include the Stelter Relationship Building Workshop® (a training program for fundraisers), Pinnacle (a biannual estate and gift planning newsletter), and the Stelter Intelligence Center (an interactive dashboard with donor-scoring capabilities). They also offer digital marketing platforms integrating web, email, and social media, along with planned giving websites and customized survey tools. Services are organized around three pillars: Industry Insight, Customer Focus, and Creative Services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Stelter Relationship Building Workshop: A comprehensive workshop teaching fundraisers observational skills, trust principles, and donor communication techniques.

Products and services

• Direct Mail Marketing Research-based direct mail campaigns designed to generate planned giving leads and donor engagement for nonprofit clients, including split-test mailings and customized newsletter packages.
• Digital Marketing Platform Integrated platform combining web, email, and social media into a mission-focused, actionable experience for nonprofit donors, developed based on analysis of user behavior on 1,400+ nonprofit websites.
• Donor Surveys Multi-faceted survey tools that help nonprofits build pipelines of planned giving prospects, gauge donor affinity, gain feedback on stewardship efforts, and prioritize prospects from hot to cool.
• Social Media Campaigns Social media marketing services including quiz-based lead generation campaigns and digital engagement strategies tailored for nonprofit clients.
• Stelter Relationship Building Workshop A training program for nonprofit fundraisers teaching systematic approaches to donor engagement, including psychological profiling, trust-building principles, and techniques for making real connections with donors.
• Planned Giving Websites (Managed Service) Hosted planned giving websites as a managed service, enabling online donor engagement and gift inquiries for over 1,000 nonprofit organizations.
• Stelter Intelligence Center Interactive dashboard with real-time donor response data combining all nonprofit client data to uncover donor stories, including an industry-leading donor-scoring model for lead identification.
• Creative Estate Planning Course Home study program providing nonprofits with leads and planned gifts, serving as the prototype for similar products in the fundraising industry.
• Pinnacle Newsletter A biannual estate and gift planning newsletter designed to solicit alumni feedback and stories, used as the centerpiece of client planned giving marketing plans.
• Data Analysis and Reporting Customized data analytics services that leverage Stelter's donor-scoring model and proprietary donor research to identify high-value planned giving prospects for nonprofit clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• Brown University received 94 responses from first Stelter mailing, 8x previous results
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Giving USAminorGTM or Marketing PartnerProud Partner - Giving USA is a major charitable giving research and education organization. The partnership supports Stelter's position as an industry thought leader in planned giving.
• ANA (American Marketing Association)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerProud Partner - ANA is a major marketing professional organization. The partnership supports industry visibility and professional development connections.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Blackbaud: Dominant vertical SaaS provider of fundraising, CRM and analytics software to nonprofits. Represents the broader incumbent whose embedded tooling could disintermediate agency-style service layers like Stelter's.
• Merkle (Dentsu): Large data-driven marketing agency with a nonprofit vertical practice, offering CRM, donor analytics and digital fundraising at scale. A broader incumbent that competes for the same nonprofit marketing RFPs Stelter pursues.

Direct peers

• Pursuant (formerly Russ Reid): A leading full-service fundraising agency serving nonprofits with direct mail, digital and data-driven donor engagement solutions. Direct competitor in the planned-giving and multichannel nonprofit fundraising agency space.
• Schultz & Williams: Consulting and marketing agency serving cultural, educational, healthcare and social-service nonprofits with direct response, membership and fundraising campaigns. Closely comparable in scope, client mix and channel mix to Stelter.
• Newport One: Planned giving marketing and fundraising agency serving nonprofits, with comparable offerings around planned giving communications, donor engagement and multichannel campaigns.
• Westfall GoldBell: Nonprofit direct response and fundraising agency with deep capabilities in direct mail, donor acquisition and legacy giving programs. Overlaps directly with Stelter's core direct mail and planned giving service lines.
• Heaton Smith Group: Specialized planned giving and fundraising marketing agency serving nonprofits and higher education institutions. Comparable niche focus on planned giving programs, donor communications and direct response strategy.
• BVK (direct marketing for nonprofits): Independent marketing agency with a strong nonprofit practice spanning direct mail, digital and media planning for charitable organizations. Comparable integrated agency model serving nonprofit clients.

Emerging players

• Givebutter: Fast-growing online fundraising, CRM and marketing platform for nonprofits. Represents the next-generation of digital-first nonprofit marketing tooling that competes for donor engagement budgets traditionally served by agencies like Stelter.
• Bloomerang: Modern donor CRM and engagement platform for small and mid-sized nonprofits with built-in reporting, donor scoring and email marketing. An emerging player whose productized analytics could substitute for some of Stelter's services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/steltercompany
• Facebookfacebook.com/thesteltercompany
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-stelter-company
• Instagraminstagram.com/steltercompany

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Stelter Company