Seizing The Moment To Raise Money
Adam Church, an intern at Craver, Mathews, Smith & Company, wrote this instructive account of how three animal welfare organizations leveraged the Michael Vick abomination to raise funds online for their causes.
Adam's verdict: Humane Society of the U.S. did the best job at following the case, but PETA had the strongest overall email fundraising campaign. He says:
“They use facts and human interest together, appealing to both types of individuals (facts people and emotional people). PETA also makes the donor feel empowered with their special word choice. And they make it easy to donate.”
ASPCA was least aggressive in its online messaging. On the other hand, they were the only group to follow-up with a direct mail package, integrating the two channels.
If you're in the advocacy fundraising biz, here is a great case study, including links to the campaign emails. It might give you ideas for the future.
Great reporting, Adam!
Roger & Tom
P.S. Adam is an intern in CMS' Sheri O'Dell Memorial Internship Program. Roger is founder and maintains an interest in CMS.
Behavioral Science Q & A
Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
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I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
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Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]
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Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
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There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
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I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
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