The Full Story:
For end-of-year campaigns, UNCSA traditionally sent out an 8.5×14 perforated letter in a white envelope early in the year and followed it up with a 6×9 folded card closer to the end of the year. While these tools had been successful in the past, Jaclyn decided to launch an innovative direct mail campaign with the goal of creating a more engaging and visually distinct piece to capture the attention of potential donors. A tri fold self-mailer template was selected, as it would easily stand out and allow for the implementation of segmentation strategies. “Since they did not respond to the first appeal, I wanted to do something that looked completely different,” she explained. Pledgemine’s flexibility was a crucial factor, allowing her to choose any format from their library and send different versions to the different segments of possible donors at no additional cost.
Segmentation Strategy
The campaign targeted a broad audience, including alumni, friends, past donors, community members, and performance ticket purchasers. This diverse group represented almost half of UNCSA’s active database, maximizing the campaign’s reach. While this comprehensive approach ensured that the solicitation reached a wide range of potential donors, it also made personalization much more important.
For this reason, segmentation played a crucial role in the campaign’s success. “Each of the schools are very different – we have a School of Dance, Drama, Design and Production, Film, and Music. As a result, our alumni have strong connections to their program of study,” Pingel Day explained. Given this insight, UNCSA created six versions of the self-mailer, featuring students from each of the school’s unique programs and a version featuring a general message from the student body president for those not affiliated with a specific school, ensuring a broad appeal and greater impact.
Results and Impact
The results of this campaign exceed UNCSA’s expectations! The tri-fold self-mailer not only increased the number of contributions, but also enhanced the average gift size, demonstrating its effectiveness in engaging donors. This outcome was particularly impressive given the campaign’s timing during the quiet phase of a larger campaign.
Additionally, the use of Pledgemine allowed UNCSA to test new, more visually engaging, direct mail formats without deviating from their campaign branding. Jaclyn’s words encapsulate the success: “Being able to test out new styles of direct mail formats, especially those that emphasize beautiful design, is a huge benefit to our program.” The success of this campaign provides a promising blueprint for future fundraising initiatives at UNCSA and other institutions and underscores the importance of strategic planning along with the advantages of using flexible, cost-effective tools like Pledgemine to achieve fundraising goals.
