The Lukens Company

What The Lukens Company does

The Lukens Company (TLC) is a privately held, full-service direct response and fundraising marketing agency founded in 1986 and headquartered at 2800 Shirlington Road, 9th Floor, Arlington, Virginia. The firm serves nonprofit organizations, cultural institutions (museums, zoos, libraries, performing-arts groups), faith-based entities (predominantly Catholic dioceses, parishes, and Catholic media such as EWTN), advocacy organizations, and international relief groups. TLC designs and executes multichannel fundraising and donor development programs that combine direct mail, email, digital advertising, social media, peer-to-peer texting, sustainer program consulting, and analytics, supported by a team-based delivery model that integrates research, creative, and execution. Named clients include the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, The City Mission, Hire Heroes USA, American Leprosy Missions, New York Public Library, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, Woodland Park Zoo, Phoenix Zoo, CUNY, and EWTN, indicating a diverse roster across cause verticals.

The company's product surface spans core services (direct response marketing, donor development, fundraising strategy, multichannel campaign execution), data analytics through a Wiland donor data partnership, and adjunct products including the Fundraising TLC podcast (launched October 2022 and distributed across six major podcast platforms), a 12-week GivingTuesday and 8-week year-end fundraising resource program, sustainer program consulting, nonprofit RFP advisory services, and a Latino supporter engagement toolkit with bilingual content and cultural holiday calendars. TLC is recognized through AAPC's 40 under 40 Award to President Seth Colton (2017), multiple Communicator Awards from the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts, and multiple MAXI Awards from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Reported campaign outcomes include 2X donor lifetime value increase, 25% average gift lift, and $6,000 savings per campaign for at least one engagement.

The Lukens Company is a private, presumably founder/management-owned firm operating in the United States with no disclosed revenue, ownership structure, investors, or parent entity. The business is organized by vertical (nonprofits, cultural institutions, Catholic institutions, international relief) and runs a B2B services model with client acquisition via RFPs, direct outreach, industry referrals, thought leadership content (podcast, blog, case studies), and conference presence. On July 31, 2024 TLC merged with Phoenix Innovate to broaden technology and data infrastructure. Headcount is reported in the 101–250 band, and the executive team includes Seth Colton (President & Managing Partner), John Cunneen (Vice President of Catholic Institutions and Fundraising TLC host), Todd Bemis (Vice President of Client Innovation), Capin Alexander (National Director of Nonprofit), and Jennifer Swartz (Director of Marketing).

Name

The Lukens Company

Legal name

The Lukens Company

Website

https://thelukenscompany.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Lukens Company is a privately held, full-service marketing agency founded in 1986 that delivers multichannel direct response, donor development, and fundraising strategy services to nonprofits, cultural institutions, faith-based (predominantly Catholic) organizations, advocacy groups, and international relief entities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Marketing Services

NAICS

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Direct Mail Advertising Services (7331)

akta.pro primary industry

Nonprofit & Cause Communications (BPAFADAK)

Keywords

• Direct response marketing
• Donor development services
• Nonprofit fundraising agency
• Multichannel fundraising campaigns
• Faith-based fundraising marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Services / Agency Fees: Full-service marketing agency providing direct response, donor development, and fundraising strategy services to nonprofits, cultural institutions, advocacy groups, and faith-based organizations. Revenue is generated through consulting fees, campaign management fees, and retainer arrangements for ongoing strategic partnerships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Lukens Company is an award-winning, full-service marketing agency that provides direct response, donor development, and fundraising strategy services to nonprofits, cultural institutions, advocacy groups, and faith-based organizations. It executes data-driven multichannel campaigns across direct mail, email, digital advertising, social media, and peer-to-peer texting to grow donations and supporter engagement. Services are delivered as customized engagements via team-based program delivery combining research, creative, and execution.

Product overview

The Lukens Company (TLC) is an award-winning full-service marketing agency offering a unified suite of services for nonprofits, cultural institutions, advocacy groups, and faith-based organizations. The core offering consists of Direct Response Marketing, Donor Development, and Fundraising Strategies delivered through data-driven multichannel campaigns. Supporting these core services are specialized products including the Fundraising TLC Podcast, GivingTuesday Campaign Resources (12-week roadmap), Sustainer Program Consulting, Nonprofit RFP Services, and a Latino Supporter Engagement Toolkit. All offerings work together as integrated components of a comprehensive fundraising and donor engagement solution, unified by team-based program delivery combining research, creative, and expert execution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fundraising TLC Podcast: A podcast focused on fundraising within the faith-based space, featuring marketing experts and Catholic leaders, hosted by John Cunneen.

Products and services

• Direct Response Marketing Services Expert direct response marketing services designed to generate immediate donor engagement and measurable responses for nonprofits and cause-oriented organizations.
• Donor Development Services Comprehensive donor development programs that help organizations build long-term relationships with supporters, increase donor retention, and maximize lifetime value.
• Fundraising Strategies Strategic fundraising consulting and campaign development services including sustainer programs, major gifts, year-end campaigns, and GivingTuesday strategies.
• Multichannel Marketing Campaigns Data-driven multichannel marketing strategies combining direct mail, email, digital ads, social media, and peer-to-peer texting to maximize donor engagement across channels.
• Sustainer Program Consulting Advisory services to help nonprofits develop, launch, and optimize monthly giving programs, including strategies for acquisition, retention, and credit card decline management.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2X Lifetime Value increase for nonprofit clients
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Phoenix InnovatecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 July 2024The Lukens Company merged with Phoenix Innovate, a marketing solutions provider, effective July 31, 2024. The merger aims to leverage advanced technology to enhance marketing efficiencies and data insights for nonprofit clients, with a focus on innovation and client success. This merger significantly expanded TLC's capabilities and technology infrastructure.
• WilandcoreTechnology or IntegrationData partnership with Wiland, a donor data analytics firm, used in conjunction with the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare to analyze donor data and strategically reengage lapsed donors. The partnership enabled a 2X Lifetime Value increase and 25% average gift increase.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Russ Reid: Direct-response fundraising agency serving faith-based and nonprofit clients, very comparable to TLC in vertical focus, channel mix, and customer profile.
• Mal Warwick Donordigital: Nonprofit direct response agency offering multichannel fundraising and donor development services to advocacy, progressive, and cause-oriented organizations.
• Chapman: Combined agency (Chapman Cubine Allen + Hussey) providing direct mail, digital, and analytics-driven fundraising campaigns to nonprofits and political causes.
• Pursuant (Grenville): Nonprofit fundraising agency offering multichannel campaign execution, donor acquisition, and data-driven fundraising strategy similar to TLC's service stack.
• RKD Group: Data-driven fundraising and marketing agency serving nonprofits and association clients with donor segmentation, direct mail, and digital programs.

Broad incumbents

• Merkle: Large performance marketing agency with a dedicated nonprofit practice offering CRM, data, and multichannel fundraising solutions at significantly greater scale than TLC.
• Epsilon: Global advertising and marketing services company with nonprofit and cause-marketing capabilities, competing for larger enterprise-level fundraising mandates.

Others

• Wiland: Donor data and audience analytics provider that partners with TLC on data-driven campaigns; comparable as an enabling technology layer in nonprofit fundraising.

Emerging players

• RMS (Raising More for Schools): Fundraising services firm focused on schools and nonprofit direct response with similar campaign execution offerings at a smaller scale.
• MMI (MMI Direct Response): Direct response fundraising agency serving nonprofits with integrated direct mail, digital, and analytics services comparable in scope to TLC.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/TheLukensCo
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCiVAb1_qqDRAUwWXhoZlxqw/videos
• Facebookbusiness.facebook.com/thelukenscompany
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1221888
• Instagraminstagram.com/thelukenscompany

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

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 Lukens Company