Rejuvenate Your Mid-Level Program!

DeAndra Hicks, Ocean Conservancy

Lester Smiley, PETA

Peter Schoewe, Mal Warwick

Donordigital

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Rejuvenate!

How did PETA & Ocean Conservancy achieve record growth from their established mid-level programs?

Target

Upgrade

Cultivate & Retain

Integrate

Innovate

What is a mid-level program?

Many different definitions, starting from $100 to $1,000, cumulative or single gift.

For purpose of this presentation:

Highest previous contribution of $100 or higher

Not actively managed by a major gift officer

Case Study—Mid-Level Upgrades

77% 22% 1%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Direct Mail Online Telephone

For Ocean Conservancy, over 2/3 of mid-level upgrades still come through the mail.

44% 29% 12% 12% 4%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Appeal Invite Acquisition Renewal Other

Case Study—Mid-Level Upgrades

Only 29 percent of new mid-level donors are acquired

through dedicated invitations.

Case Study—Mid-Level Upgrades

Most donors have given at least $100 before they upgrade to mid-level, but a

quarter of donors are directly acquired as mid-level donors.

2% 4% 9% 60% 25%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

<$25 $25-$49 $50-$99 $100-$249 First Gift

Case Study—Mid-Level Upgrades

Mid-level upgrade efforts should not be seasonal. Over half of new mid-level donors upgrade outside of year-end.

16% 17% 23% 44%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Jan-March April-June

July-September October-December

Targeting Takeaways

Mid-level upgrade strategy is not for invitations only

Work to upgrade all year long

Best prospects are new donors—or donors already close giving at the mid-level amounts

Strategies for Upgrade Success

Strategies for Upgrade Success

Strategies for Upgrade Success

The less aggressive upgrade test ask:

Upgraded 18 percent more donors

Increased overall revenue by 44 percent

Strategies for Upgrade Success

To invite or not invite, that is the questionGuardians of the Sea ($250-$999) launched

2006

Strategies for Upgrade Success

Dedicated upgrade effort for $50-$249 prospects in the summer and year-end

More aggressive ask strings starting at $250

Promoted the giving club and benefits

Strategies for Upgrade Success

Take advantage of what works

Strategies for Upgrade Success

Results:

Number of GOS upgrades increased by 57%

45% increase in revenue from GOS upgrades

Cut expenses

$500+ Planned Giving $100-$499

Sarah’s Circle

Sarah’s Circle

Multichannel campaign using direct mail and phone

52% of kickoff responders joined Sarah’s Circle

Sarah’s Circle

It’s Not All about Upgrades

Acquisition of New Mid-Level Donors

Don’t acquire transactional donors, and prioritize low-performing lists with high average gifts

Use best DM techniques for high dollar exchanges

Make sure online donation forms are optimized for mid-level giving

Cultivate

Champions for Sea Change ($1,000+)

– launched in 2008 and managed in development

– received quarterly mailings but very high touch

What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?

Communicate Effectively

July August September October November December January February March April May June

DM

Ap

peals

Fall

Challenge

Year-End

Campaign

Year-End

Follow-Up

First,

Second &

Third

Renewal

Spring

Challenge

& Follow-

up

Scientist

Appeal

DM

Cult

ivati

on

CalendarSplash &

Deep Dive

Holiday

Card &

Splash

Survey

Splash &

Annual

Report

Splash &

Deep Dive

On

line

Ap

peals

Fall

Challenge

Integrated

Year-End

Campaign

Integrated

Year-End

Campaign

Member-

ship

Spring

Challenge

Scientist

Appeal

On

line

Cult

ivati

on

Deep DiveYear-End

Greeting

Annual

ReportDeep Dive

FY2015 Mid-Level Communication Matrix

Communicate Effectively—Results Increased the number of new $1,000+ donors by 40 percent—to a record high

Revenue from this group grew 36 percent

Overall retention increased by 11 percentage points

Cultivate

Donor Visits and Events

Cultivate

Telephone Townhalls

Integrate

34%

20%23% 21%

2% <1% 0%

Newsletter

Updates through the mail

Email newsletters

Email advocacy alerts

Updates via Facebook/Twitter

Contact via phone

Text messages

In a donor survey, half of mid-level donors preferred

the mail, half preferred email.

0.0% 1.0% 2.0% 3.0% 4.0% 5.0% 6.0%

Multichannel Single Channel Multi Donor

Integrate

For PETA, multichannel donors are almost 5x more likely to upgrade to mid-level giving.

Innovate—Failure

Ocean Conservancy mid-level donors are

not interested in benefits. A mailing

focusing on benefits lost money and

upgraded a record low number of donors.

Innovate—

Success

By trying something different from the

typical high-production mid-

level mailing, Ocean Conservancy

increased revenue by 45 percent.

Innovate—Failure

For PETA, a rolling mid-level invitation

to new and renewed $100 members was

costly and ineffective. When replaced with bi-

annual efforts, Vanguard Society

joins jumped by 61 percent!

Innovate—Success

PETA asked donors to sponsor a

doghouse by mailing the

blueprints in a tube.

Revenue was 156 percent

above the prior year.

Rejuvenate—Results

Ocean Conservancy:

Record number of mid-level donors in past FY14 percent more revenue than Gulf Oil Spill year

PETA:

Revenue up 45 percent in the past five yearsAverage mid-level donor value increased by 63 percent

Thank you!

Rejuvenate Your Mid-Level Program!

DeAndra HicksManaging Director Resource Development Operations—Ocean Conservancydhicks@oceanconservancy.org

Lester SmileyDirect Response Assistant Manager—People for the Ethical Treatment of Animalslesters@petaf.org

Peter SchoeweVice President—Mal Warwick Donordigitalpeter@malwarwick.com