National Geographic Society: Engaging New Donors at an Established Nonprofit. Sarah Stallings, Kerri Kerr, Margot O Leary

Transcription

1 National Geographic Society: Engaging New Donors at an Established Nonprofit Sarah Stallings, Kerri Kerr, Margot O Leary

2 Sarah Stallings Director, Annual Giving National Geographic Society Kerri Kerr Senior Vice President Avalon Consulting Group Margot O Leary Account Director Avalon Consulting Group 2

3 3 Our Challenge

4 Grow the National Geographic Society s annual philanthropic revenue. Optimize long-term member value and engagement to create a robust and healthy pipeline of committed prospects for Major Giving and Planned Giving without negatively impacting Magazine renewal rates. 4

5 Our Solution: Contributing Membership 5

6 Contributing Membership: A Pipeline to Higher Level Giving Membership plays a vital role in the overall fundraising continuum: Revenue Diversification Supports the Mission Major Donor Pipeline Planned Gifts Major Donors Renewed Contributing Members To get major and planned gifts, you must build up the donor pyramid. New Contributing Members Prospects General Public

7 Why Direct Mail and not all Online? Online up 8.9% in 2014 Blackbaud 2014 Charitable Giving Report Less than 10% of giving is online Direct mail is 80% 32% of online donors will give offline the next year 98% are raising no revenue on social media

8 93% of individual donations still come through traditional offline channels. Direct Mail: Effective and Trustworthy - The Next Generation of American Giving: The Charitable Habits of Generations Y, X, Baby Boomers and Matures, Blackbaud

9 Direct Mail: Effective and Trustworthy 9/11 Acquisition cut Consistent investment over time is the key to steady growth.

10 Our Path Build a multi-channel Contributing Membership program to complement existing National Geographic marketing efforts with consistent messaging and offer. Incorporate best practices of nonprofit membership organizations that will build upon, not compete with, the best practices of multimedia content. Define and develop metrics for success that will help benchmark our progress. Generate actionable test results to inform future strategy. 10

11 Messaging: Finding the right balance between a benefits-based and mission-based case for support Benefits- Based/Tiered Membership Model Mission-Based Mission-Based Membership Model Messaging is based on benefits and what s in it for me? To be successful, benefits must offer real value More dependent on key events and insider access Results in a more transactional relationship, especially at lower giving levels Tends to result in more marginal commitment and lower retention rates Institutional messaging focuses on mission Tangible need drives the philanthropic case for support More investment in educational materials required to inform members on need Benefits (if any) still support but don t drive retention Results in a stronger member relationship with the organization and higher retention

12 Pilot Acquisition Campaign: Creative 12

13 Pilot Acquisition Campaign: Creative Approach Concept #1: Letter from the Field/Photopak

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16 Concept #2: RSVP/Invitation

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18 No premiums were offered in either package since donors recruited via premium incentives tend to exhibit weaker long-term value than those responding to a purely philanthropic offer.

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20 Pilot Acquisition Campaign: Data 20

21 Direct Mail Control universe Data: Direct Mail Universe Broad select including National Geographic magazine actives with age overlay, plus Digital Member & Expedition Traveler lists Response model to be built for future mailings List Selection Net Mailed House List Control Fundraising Universe Response Model Build 165,904 Digital Members 0-48 mo. Last order, with mailable address 17,560 Digital Members with mailable address 4,619 Expedition Travelers 0-48 months 4,967 Nat Geo Mag Subscriber. Abacus 1+NP trans 0-24 mo 3x+ paid trans 0-12 mo 4,504 Nat Geo Mag Subscriber. Abacus 1+NP trans 0-24 mo 2x paid trans 0-12 mo 8,087 Nat Geo Mag Subscriber. Abacus 1+NP trans 0-24 mo 1x paid trans 0-12 mo 21,887 Nat Geo Mag Subscriber. Abacus 1+NP trans 0-24 mo 0 paid trans 0-12 mo 21,669 Raiser's Edge Lapsed Donors 12,217 TOTAL 261,414

22 Data: Universe

23 Pilot Acquisition Campaign: Results 23

24 Today Any Guesses??? 24

25 Results: Direct Mail Winner! Package Net Response Average Gross Total Net Net/ Mailed Rate Gifts Gift Income Cost Income Donor From the Field 130, % 141 $56.14 $7,916 $63,804 ($55,888) ($396.37) RSVP/Invitation 130, % 508 $45.76 $23,244 $50,535 ($27,291) ($53.72) RSVP package beat From the Field package at a 99% statistical confidence level: 290% stronger response rate 26% cheaper package $53.72 cost to acquire was well within acceptable range to allow the National Geographic Society to return the investment within 2-4 years (industry standard). Strong initial average gift translates into higher long-term value Every list performed better in the RSVP package

26 Results: Winner! QTY RESP. GIFTS AVG. FULFILLED TOTAL NET Net/ SENT RATE GIFT REVENUE COST REVENUE DONOR From the Field 640, % 42 $83.69 $3,515 $3,504 $11 $0.26 RSVP 640, % 129 $40.84 $5,268 $3,497 $1,746 $13.53 RSVP raised more revenue and recruited 207% more new Contributing Members From the Field had higher open and click-through rates; however, RSVP had higher conversion rate and that was the main goal of the campaign.

27 Pilot Acquisition Campaign: Overall Findings Results were higher than expected and had great potential. Initial campaigns brought in 820 new donors doubling the number of existing donors in the program. 27

28 28 Now What

29 Next Steps: Convert these new joins into appeal and renewal responsive NGS Contributing Members. Direct mail Acquisition Additional gift appeal asks for new Contributing Members from pilot campaign Renewal ask for existing Contributing Members Reinstatement ask for recently lapsed (1 year) Contributing Members Corresponding e-campaigns to match direct mail campaigns Stand-alone and cultivation campaigns

30 Solidify Retention via Direct Mail Appeal (New Joins from Pilot Campaign) Very successful Annual Fund technique to new joins from the October-2013 pilot acquisition campaign: 12% response rate (2-4% industry standard) Strong $74 average gift indicating highvalue, appeal-responsive file. Strong response immediately following recruitment bodes well for subsequent giving & strong retention.

31 Renewals/Reinstatement Solidify Retention via Direct Mail Two effort annual series to existing Contributing Members yielded expectedly softer response rates. Average gift high with one $1,000 gift demonstrating potential for major donor upgrading.

32 Solidify Retention via eappeal (new joins from pilot campaign) erenewal/ereinstatement

33 Build on Prior Acquisition Testing RSVP Control RSVP winner of pilot campaign message testing & the new control. Test #1: Control w/ RSVP Teaser Only To boost the control s response rate, a panel with only the RSVP teaser was tested against the control. RESULT: Tests wins with a 20% higher response rate.

34 Build on Prior Acquisition Testing Test #2: Control with Labels To determine whether the inclusion of self-addressed mailing labels would boost the response, a panel was also tested against the control. RESULT: Control remains due to higher cost of the labels.

35 Validate Returns from NGS Models Decile Quantity Gifts Income Resp. Rate Avg. Gift $/M CPM Net/M NPD Total Cost Net 1 7, $2, % $44.81 $305 $375 ($70) ($10.34) $2,923 ($548) 2 7, $1, % $46.97 $199 $375 ($176) ($41.61) $2,923 ($1,373) 3 7, $ % $35.29 $77 $375 ($298) ($136.68) $2,924 ($2,324) 4 7, $ % $37.94 $83 $375 ($292) ($134.01) $2,923 ($2,278) 5 7, $ % $34.55 $49 $375 ($326) ($231.19) $2,923 ($2,543) 6 7, $ % $38.21 $69 $375 ($306) ($170.61) $2,924 ($2,389) 7 7, $ % $37.69 $63 $375 ($312) ($187.19) $2,924 ($2,434) 8 7, $ % $27.27 $38 $375 ($337) ($238.47) $2,923 ($2,623) 9 7,795 9 $ % $32.89 $38 $375 ($337) ($291.90) $2,923 ($2,627) 10 7,796 6 $ % $30.83 $24 $375 ($351) ($456.42) $2,924 ($2,739) Total 77, $7, % $39.98 $94 $375 ($281) ($118.89) $29,233 ($21,876) Highly ranked individual was older, suburban male with higher net worth

36 Build on the Appeals: Diverse Formats

37 Leverage Long-Range Forecasting

38 Today Today The Contributing Membership program has generated net revenue for the Society within two years, with no negative impact on Magazine subscription rates! The Acquisition program continues to perform well: Package testing has resulted in a new Member Card control with the possibility of a Survey co-control, dependent on upcoming test results. Outside list testing was successfully rolled out in 2015 with co-ops and several nonprofit lists showing promise. High-dollar potential: in 2015 alone, 69 $1,000+ gifts were brought in via acquisition direct mail. From a start of fewer than 800 donors two years ago, the file is currently 28,000 strong and on a trajectory to end 2016 at 50,

39 Final Thoughts The Contributing Membership program has been a huge success! In just two short years, this start-up has grown into a sophisticated, data-driven and missionadvancing program with strong long-term value. The program is not purely transactional Contributing Members are the ultimate brand loyalists whose philanthropic support positively impact all NGS program areas. The mission based model is working well for the National Geographic Society as evidenced by the tripling of the donor file since launch. Its high re-solicitation average gifts bode well for continued strength in long term value metrics. 39