As an agency, we’ve not been inclined to measure ourselves by the number of awards we win. Instead, we’ve taken greater pride in the results we’ve achieved for our clients over the years. And, to be honest, entering your work for awards’ competitions can take valuable time away from the more important work of meeting ever-increasing client needs.

This year we did carve out enough time to enter eight direct mail fundraising packages in the DMAW Maxi Awards competition and on July 31st, we learned that five of those packages (a 62.5% response rate) received the 2013 MAXI Award for excellence. Here’s the scorecard:

• Direct Mail: Nonprofit Acquisition/Prospecting: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Simmonds Project: Bronze Award
• Direct Mail: Political Acquisition/Prospecting: Obama for America First Lady Photo: Bronze Award
• Direct Mail: Political Special Appeal: Obama for America Convention Appeal: Silver Award
• Direct Mail: Political Special Appeal: Obama for America Birthday Card Appeal: Silver Award
• Direct Mail: Political Major Donor: State of Race Insider Appeal: Gold Award

The development of each of these award-winning packages represented a quintessential team effort from both within ABD Direct and with our client partners led by Dana Weinstein at USHMM and Meaghan Burdick at Obama for America. In all our work, we know that we are only as good as our clients and, in this case as in so many others, our client partners are the best. We’re proud of these awards but even prouder to count among our clients the one-of-a kind United States Holocaust Museum and the remarkable, record-setting Obama for America campaign.

USHMM and OFA are representative of a cadre of full-service direct mail and digital consulting clients who make coming to work every day both a pleasure and an adventure. We share these awards with all of them and promise to continue to spend our time and energy at the important work of making sure that, in everything we do, the needs of our clients come first.