Ask Direct

What Ask Direct does

Ask Direct is an Irish fundraising and direct marketing agency headquartered in Dublin, founded in 2006 by Damian O'Broin. The firm provides fundraising strategy, creative campaign development, donor research, and implementation support to Irish charity and nonprofit organizations across verticals including international development, animal welfare, children's hospice, homelessness, disability services, advocacy, and arts and culture. Its service portfolio spans Direct Response (direct mail, phone, and digital campaigns), Insight & Strategy (donor research and planning), Engagement & Mobilisation (digital fundraising and supporter engagement), Legacies (bequest and planned giving), and Research (qualitative and quantitative donor research). The firm combines proprietary research on Irish donor psychology with multi-channel campaign execution, and has produced documented outcomes including 38% improvements in donor retention for Dogs Trust, a 71% gross income increase for Irish Guide Dogs, and over €500,000 raised via crowdfunding for Together for Yes.

The business operates as a privately held, bootstrapped professional services consultancy with no external funding or parent company. Revenue is generated through project-based and retainer engagements with charity clients, with pricing not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market relies on thought leadership content (blog), the annual Fundraising Summer School co-hosted with Charities Institute Ireland, industry awards (An Post Smart Marketing Awards 2019; Investors in People Silver 2021), case-study-driven sales, and direct outreach to charity leadership. The team of 11-50 includes professionals with prior experience at leading UK agencies (Consider Creative, DTV, Arthur London, Open Fundraising, Bluefrog) and Irish organizations (Irish Cancer Society, Barnardos, Amnesty International), positioning the firm as a specialist in the Irish individual-giving market rather than a generalist marketing agency. Underlying technology is essentially non-existent as a differentiator; the firm competes on research insight, creative quality, and sector knowledge rather than proprietary platforms or software products.

Name

Ask Direct

Legal name

Ask Direct

Website

https://askdirect.ie

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ask Direct is a Dublin-based fundraising and direct marketing agency serving Irish nonprofit and charity organizations, providing multi-channel fundraising campaigns, donor research, and strategic consulting across individual giving, legacies, and digital engagement.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fundraising Consulting

NAICS

Direct Mail Advertising (54186), Direct Mail Advertising (541860)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Direct Mail Marketing Services (Print, Postcard, Dimensional Mail) (BPAFAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Nonprofit & Cause Communications (BPAFADAK), Fundraising & Donor Acquisition Calling (Nonprofit) (BPAAADAJ)

Keywords

• Fundraising consultancy
• Direct mail marketing
• Charity fundraising services
• Donor research
• Individual giving

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fundraising Consulting Services: Professional services revenue from providing fundraising strategy, creative campaign development, donor research, and implementation support to charity clients. Work is project-based or retainer arrangements with Irish nonprofit organizations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Ask Direct is a fundraising consultancy that helps Irish charities and nonprofits raise more money and recruit more supporters. The firm develops insight-driven, multi-channel fundraising campaigns across direct mail, phone, digital, crowdfunding and legacy giving, supported by donor research and strategic planning services. It also operates Fundraising Summer School, Ireland's largest annual gathering of fundraisers, in partnership with Charities Institute Ireland.

Product overview

Ask Direct is a fundraising agency that helps not-for-profit organisations raise more money through multi-channel campaigns. The company offers a portfolio of integrated service offerings: Direct Response (direct mail, phone, and digital fundraising campaigns), Insight & Strategy (donor research and strategic planning), Engagement & Mobilisation (digital campaigns and supporter engagement), Legacies (legacy and planned giving), and Research (donor research). They also run Fundraising Summer School, an annual training conference. The agency works with Irish and international charities across various causes including animal welfare, children's hospices, homelessness, international development, and cultural organisations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Direct Response Multi-channel fundraising campaigns spanning direct mail, phone and digital channels, designed to generate immediate donor responses and conversions for charity clients.
• Insight & Strategy Donor research, data analysis, and strategic planning services to inform fundraising approaches and campaign development for Irish nonprofit organizations.
• Engagement & Mobilisation Digital fundraising campaigns and supporter engagement strategies designed to mobilize donors and build lasting relationships for charity clients.
• Legacies Legacy and bequest fundraising services including legacy video production, will-related appeals, and planned giving programme development for nonprofits.
• Research Qualitative and quantitative donor and supporter research to understand motivations, preferences, and giving behaviours of Irish donors for charity clients.
• Fundraising Summer School

Quantifiable outcome

• Dogs Trust retention: 38% improvement in non-starter rates, 36% improvement in year 1 attrition, 66% improvement in month-on-month attrition
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Charities Institute IrelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership with Charities Institute Ireland to co-host Fundraising Summer School, Ireland's largest gathering of fundraisers and charity experts. Ask Direct curates the program and content while CII provides institutional backing and network access. This partnership positions Ask Direct as a central thought leader in the Irish nonprofit sector.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Open Fundraising: London-based individual giving fundraising agency serving UK and international charities. Directly comparable; named as a previous employer of Ask Direct's Jan Rane and operates in the same niche of multi-channel donor acquisition and retention.
• The Good Agency: UK creative agency working exclusively with charities and social enterprises on fundraising, brand and communications. Direct peer in cause communications and charity-specialist marketing.
• Bluefrog Fundraising: UK-based direct response fundraising agency specialising in individual giving for charities. Directly comparable to Ask Direct in service mix (direct mail, digital, insight, strategy) and is explicitly named as a research collaborator and former employer of Ask Direct staff.
• Consider Creative: UK creative fundraising agency focused on direct response and integrated campaigns for nonprofits. Directly comparable in service offering and identified as prior employer of Ask Direct's account leadership.
• DTV (Donor Television): UK fundraising agency producing TV-led and integrated fundraising campaigns for charities. Direct competitor in the multi-channel direct response category; named as prior employer of Ask Direct's Jan Rane.
• Stephen Thomas Ltd: Toronto-based direct response fundraising agency serving major Canadian and international nonprofits. Direct peer in scale and specialism; former employer of Ask Direct's Head of Creative, Annetta Murphy.
• Arthur London: London fundraising and marketing agency for charities. Direct competitor in the individual giving and direct response space; also a former employer of Ask Direct's Jan Rane.

Emerging players

• DonorSearch: US-based prospect research and donor data provider serving nonprofits. Comparable in the research/insight function that Ask Direct provides but as a vendor-style partner rather than a full-service agency competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL): Large US-based fundraising and enrollment services firm serving higher education, healthcare and nonprofit sectors. Comparable in core direct response fundraising capability but operates at significantly larger scale and with broader portfolio of services.
• Mather Group: US direct response and fundraising agency for nonprofits and association clients. Comparable in direct mail and integrated fundraising capability but at substantially larger scale and broader geographic reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ask_direct

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Ask Direct