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Growing The Donor Base Early Engagement

Growing The Donor Base Early Engagement. General Assembly November 13, 2012. Objectives . Goal to increase engagement which will: Improve retention Grow revenue Plan based on: Welcome Kit test results (FY’11 and FY’12) Focus Group Research (Spring ’12). Welcome Kit #1.

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Growing The Donor Base Early Engagement

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  1. Growing The Donor BaseEarly Engagement General Assembly November 13, 2012

  2. Objectives • Goal to increase engagement which will: • Improve retention • Grow revenue • Plan based on: • Welcome Kit test results (FY’11 and FY’12) • Focus Group Research (Spring ’12)

  3. Welcome Kit #1 Developed Welcome Kit for all new under $1,000 donors

  4. Welcome Kit #2 The Welcome Kit was redesigned in mid-FY’11 to improve cultivation

  5. Welcome Kit #2 Results • pledge pay-up rate (first four months) • average second gift (same fiscal year) • second year retention rate • donors giving second gift within a year

  6. Additional Insight • Focus Groups were conducted in May ’12 among key donors segments: • New • One-time • Lapsed • Re-engaged • The goals were to understand how to: • Improve donor engagement • Drive donor retention

  7. Findings re: Why Donors Lapse • Several clear themes emerged regarding why small donors lapse: • UJA only cares about large donors • They wanted to know where the money goes • Small donations aren’t appreciated • UJA is big and impersonal • Pressured to give • Solicitations are too frequent • Asks (amount) are overly aggressive • They are put ‘on the spot’(when solicited) “I’m a small donor and I’m treated like one. So if I have money later, and I will, you can bet I’m not giving to UJA” “No matter how much I give, it’s never enough”

  8. Segment Findings • New Donors: • Limited awareness of what UJA does • Thought knowing what UJA does, would increase contribution and involvement • Ranked events and social activities highest in likelihood of increasing gift • Lapsed Donors: • Did not consider themselves lapsed • Had different expectation about donation frequency than UJA did

  9. Segment Findings • One-Time Donors: • Many reasons for giving (e.g., Disaster relief, honoree at event) • Donor not necessarily giving because of relationship with UJA • Cultivation required before solicitation • Educate donor about where money goes • Build relationship • Engage donor

  10. New Donor Communication Plan The focus groups informed first-year communication plan: • Welcome Kit feedback positive. Used comments to ‘tweak’ kit • Exactly what they wanted to know • Thank donors and let them know how gifts are used • But they assumed it was ‘another solicitation’ and never opened it • Changed teaser copy to better communicate contents • Rebalance cultivation and solicitations • Increase number of cultivation mailings, reduce solicitations • Optimize timing of solicitations based on giving trends • Make them feel like their gift makes a difference

  11. New Donor Communication Plan • Make new donors feel appreciated and important: • Ensured that messages, formats and visuals are engaging and make small donors feel that they are making a difference • Use postcards to avoid assumption that ‘it’s a solicitation’ so that messages get across • First postcard/e-mail in series launched October 2012

  12. Communication Comparison The new plan reduces the number of solicitations and increases the focus on donor cultivation. We anticipate this will drive increased payment and higher giving levels.

  13. New Donor Solicitation Packages/Timing The timing of direct mail and e-mail solicitations (order will vary) will be optimized based on giving trends. Percent Donors Giving Second Gift High Holiday End of year * Note: the groups are not mutually exclusive. e.g., Month 12 can also be HH or End of Year.

  14. New Donor Solicitation Packages/Timing The timing of direct mail and e-mail solicitations(order will vary) will be optimized based on giving trends. Percent Donors Giving Second Gift Months from initial pledge * Note: the groups are not mutually exclusive. e.g., Month 12 can also be HH or End of Year.

  15. Cultivation Postcard Series Following the acknowledgement letter, the donor will receive either the Welcome Kit or the first postcard: • Series includes six e-mails around similar themes (if have e-mail address)

  16. Next Steps • Track and evaluate results • Initiate Phase II to differentiate based on donor behavior: • Payment status – e.g., Telegiving open pledges • Acquisition Channel or program type – e.g., online; Friends Asking Friends; direct mail

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