All Hands on Deck! Managing a Rapid Response Campaign

#17NTCrapidresponsePresented by:

Sylvia Moskovitz, Farm SanctuarySarah Stallings, National Geographic Society

Jack Mumby, Common CauseAnne Senft, Avalon Consulting Group

March 23, 2017©2017 Avalon Consulting Group.

All Rights Reserved.avalonconsulting.net

Housekeeping:

Session Hashtag#17NTCrapidresponse

Materials & Collaboration Noteshttp://po.st/17NTCrapidresponse

CFRE CreditsApproved - 1.5

Speaker Introductions:

Sylvia MoskovitzChief Development and Communications Officer

Farm Sanctuary

Sarah StallingsSenior Director, Annual Giving

National Geographic Society

Jack MumbyDigital Campaign Organizer

Common Cause

Anne SenftVice President

Avalon Consulting Group

Rapid response has become critical in recent months for many organizations – are you ready?

Preparing Before Emergency Hits

Decide whether to act

• Does our organization have a stake in the issue?

• Will our supporters see us as a leader on this issue?

• Do we have the bandwidth to respond?

• Does our organization have a charismatic and knowledgeable spokesperson?

• Are there celebrity or media connections we can leverage?

To-do list• Develop a written rapid response plan in advance.

• Prepare content specific to possible outcomes.

• Ensure partners and staff are on standby – especially in off hours.

• Coordinate amongst departments.

• Define acceptable streamlined processes.

• For mail, consider pre-paying postage and sending first class.

Determine channels and audience

• Mail, Phone, Email, Web, Mobile, Social, Advertising.

• Traditional media (TV news, press contacts).

• Consider casting wider net than usual.

• Consider what kind of signer your supporters best respond to.

Taking Action When Emergency Strikes

Farm Sanctuary was founded in 1986 to combat the abuses of factory farming and encourage a new awareness and understanding about farm animals. Today, Farm Sanctuary is the nation’s largest and most effective

farm animal rescue and protection organization. We have rescued thousands of animals and cared for them at our sanctuaries in Watkins

Glen, NY; Northern California (Orland); and the Los Angeles area.

Timeline:• October 2015.• Learned of rescue the day before, set up framework,

mobilized with emails as rescue was in progress.

Challenges:• Couldn’t promote publicly and tip off farm. • Didn’t know exactly how many animals.

Plan:• Work with trusted writer to develop copy that was 80% complete.• Ready all channels since previous rescues had received an outpouring of

support.

Farm Sanctuary Hudson Valley Rescue Campaign

Farm Sanctuary Hudson Valley Rescue Campaign – Components

Farm Sanctuary Hudson Valley Rescue Campaign – Results • Highest-grossing online rescue campaign ever, raising

$257,209 - nearly 35% more than previous top-grossing campaign.

• Symbolic asks drove a strong average gift of $65.53, a 27% increase from previous best.

• #donate asks on Facebook resulted in 657 fulfilled gifts and more than $26,000.

• TM generated nearly $4,000 in net revenue when it was budgeted to break even.

• Animals living dramatically better lives at Sanctuary!

Farm Sanctuary Cattaraugus County Rescue Campaign

Timeline: • March 2016.• Learned of rescue on Friday night; got response

out the next day.

Plan:• A multi-channel approach to inform Farm

Sanctuary’s audience of the rescue and raise funds for the animals’ care.

Challenges:• Writers not readily available on Friday night.• Unclear of the scope and size of the rescue.

Farm Sanctuary Cattaraugus County Rescue Campaign – Components

• Email, phones, DM appeal/renewals. • Facebook Live.• Recognize Hudson Valley donors.

Farm Sanctuary Cattaraugus County Rescue Campaign – Results• Second-highest grossing online rescue: $128,573 (included 16

$1,000+ gifts) with a .66% response.

• Symbolic $200 ask for the 200 animals rescued = strong $68.87 average gift.

• Segmented Hudson Valley rescue donors – they were 2.21% of the quantity, but gave 36.90% of the revenue.

• Thanked donors from first email and asked to give again. This

segment gave 17.17% of the total revenue even though they were only 0.79% of the total email quantity. One donor actually made a $1,000 gift to the first email and another $1,000 gift to the second email.

• #donate brought in $3,753.

The National Geographic Society is a global nonprofit organization committed to exploring and protecting our planet. We fund hundreds of

research and conservation projects around the world each year and inspire new generations through our education initiatives and resources.

National Geographic SocietyRewriting History Urgentgram Appeal

Timeline: • September 2015.Challenges: • Had to keep history-making story embargoed;

writer had to sign a confidentiality agreement.• Needed to deploy communication plan quickly.Plan: • Share the incredible discovery and how donor

support made it possible.• Take advantage of the timeliness and news

coverage.

National Geographic Society“Rewriting History” Urgentgram Appeal – Components

“National Geographic is announcing a groundbreaking

finding that could rewrite anthropology texts and change

our understanding of pre-human history—and you helped make it happen

through your Contributing Member support!”

National Geographic SocietyRewriting History Urgentgram Appeal – Results• Urgentgram exceeded budget by 62% with a

2.92% response rate and a $46.60 average gift.

• Email campaigns: resulted in a strong $75.67 average gift.

• Stewardship announcement: 49.9% open rate and 12.09% CTR.

• The response from each donor group was an encouraging reminder of the value of thinking through all audiences and goals for each.

National Geographic SocietyHigh 5 Give 5 For Big Cats• Timed around World Lion Day,

5 for Big Cats aimed to spread awareness about the plight of big cats and raise funds for the Big Cats Initiative.

• Asked supporters on social media to submit a virtual high-five – a photo, video, or drawing of themselves giving a high-five, using #5ForBigCats – and to give $5.

National Geographic SocietyHigh 5 Give 5 For Big Cats – Components

• Social media – Facebook, Google+, Twitter.

• Emails.

• Website.

• Mobile giving messages.

• Campaign was gaining traction from supporters and brands and then…

National Geographic SocietyHigh 5 Give 5 For Big Cats & Cecil the Lion

• A trophy hunter killed one of Africa’s most famous lions, Cecil. Interest in big cat conservation – and the High 5 campaign – soared.

• Cecil’s death shone a light on the growing trend of trophy hunting and risks to endangered species – and highlighted the critical work of National Geographic explorers who are working to protect big cats.

National Geographic SocietyHigh 5 Give 5 For Big Cats - Results• Best performing digital campaign ever at NGS; exceeded $20K goal, raising

close to $200,000 with an average gift of $28.23.

• 224% more donations processed than typical in August.

• 92.5% of gifts from new donors; 374 donors became monthly donors ($47K as additional potential value)

• WLD day-of email: $32,202 from 250 donors

• $6,115 from 893 gifts from mobile

• Celebrity endorsement – large gift from Arnold Schwarzenegger and participation from other celebrities and brands.

• 32,000 mentions of #5ForBigCats, and the campaign was a Shorty Award finalist.

• Funds raised went towards building fences to protect livestock, avoid retaliation hunting, and combat poaching.

Common Cause is a nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create

open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and

empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.

Common CausePost-Election Response

Timeline:• November 2016.

Challenge:• Quickly figuring out the right response

to an unexpected situation.

Plan:• Immediate email with rallying cry.• Follow up with sustainer ask within 1 week

of election – Guardians of Democracy.

Common CausePost-Election Response – Components• Sent immediately after

Election Day laying out Common Cause’s role under a Trump administration; soft ask in the P.S.

• Robert Reich return to CC; sustainer ask “most cost-effective way to support us” ̶ $100+ HPC donors got a one-time ask instead.

Common CausePost-Election Response – Results• 1st email: added 370 new monthly

donors totaling $6,120; considering lifetime value, that’s better than most appeals.

• 2nd email: Worried about leaving money on table, but added 795 new sustainers worth $10,901 plus $30,161 in 226 one-time gifts.

• A total of $47,182 raised and 1,165 NEW sustainers within 1 week of election.

Common CauseThe State of the Union ResponseTimeline: • ASAP after Trump address to Congress.Challenges:• Integrate direct mail and digital rapid response

messaging. • Streamline production & react to events in real time.Plan:• Capitalize on “rage donations.”• Increase investment to leverage charged

environment.

• Direct mail• Printed art shells, pulled and set up

data in advance.• Guaranteed drop dates from

mailshop if we hit tight deadlines.• Mailed within 3 days of 2/28 speech

– final copy to mailshop by 2 pm on 3/1, out the door on 3/3.

• Adapted copy to create digital rapid response shell.

• Sent email the Saturday after the speech.

Common CauseThe Un-State of the Union Response – Components

Common CauseThe Un-State of the Union Response – Results

• Mail returns show $32,196 at just 13 days.

• 30% increase in revenue over previous fiscal year, have met fiscal-year budget with 3 months remaining.

• Shifting investments in direct mail to capitalize on energized supporters.

• Unified messaging across channels.

• Raised $21,559 online from 581 gifts.

Common CauseSessions Watch Common CauseSessions Watch

Timeline:• February/March 2017.

Challenge:• Breaking news on multiple fronts and coordinating

communications.

Plan:• Alert supporters who had participated in Stop

Sessions campaign to breaking news.• Engage with advocacy and provide easy ways to give.

Common CauseSessions Watch Common CauseSessions Watch – Pre-Written• Written in advance and sent as soon as

Senate voted.

• Previous Sessions activists were asked for a “founding donation”; everyone else offered chance to join, then asked for a donation.

• Raised $21,281; did better with people who engaged with Stop Sessions campaign.

• No signs of list fatigue despite more aggressive contact strategy = keep going!

Common CauseSessions Watch Common CauseSessions Watch – Breaking News• Wednesday evening news broke of

Sessions’ lies. Quick approval process to get in people’s inboxes first thing Thursday morning.

• Planned petition delivery as advocacy hook, which kicked action takers straight to a donation page.

• 85,649 actions, 547 gifts, $18,794 raised.

• Written in advance to be sent when another state joined.

• Advocacy sent a few weeks prior to educate and prime our list.

• Raised $26,352 from 613 donors.

• Followed up next day with good Idaho news.

Common CauseArticle V – Priming your list

What do we do next?

Review and Next Steps

• What worked and what didn’t?

• Why and how do we improve for next time?

• How do we keep donors and activists engaged and caring about our whole mission?

• How do we incorporate ongoing communications about what donor support helps the organization achieve?

• How can we extend the “giving high?”

Follow-up asks

• Segment rapid response donors, acknowledge past support, and evaluate their post-emergency performance.

• Conditional content in the preview pane and/or body of our next fundraising email.

• Consider sustainer asks to new rapid response donors, explaining the ongoing need for funds.

• Report back progress and success and tie to other initiatives that need support.

National GeographicFarm Sanctuary

Ongoing stewardship   Common Cause

“Tell Our Human Story: You can help National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Lee Berger continue his research into our human origins. Last year, with your help, the Society announced the groundbreaking findings of Lee's astonishing expedition 30 miles northwest of Johannesburg that unearthed a new ancestral species in our genus, Homo naledi—an ancient creature completely new to science!”

THANK YOU!Any Questions? 

Don’t forget your session evaluation! http://po.st/G5L7ae

Anne SenftAvalon ConsultingVice Presidentannes@avalonconsulting.net

Jack MumbyCommon CauseDigital Campaign Organizerjmumby@commoncause.org@JackMumby

Sarah StallingsNational Geographic SocietySenior Director of Annual Givingsstallin@ngs.org

Sylvia MoskovitzFarm SanctuaryChief Development & Communications Officersmoskovitz@farmsanctuary.org