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TRANSCRIPT
Stuck in the Middle with You
Maximizing Revenue from Midlevel Donors
Presenters:
Ryan Carpenter, Manager, Donor Advancement, THD
Briana Crane, Director of Development, Feeding America
Betsy Harman, Director, Donor Cultivation, Feeding America
Jess Hutchins, Director, Donor Advancement, THD
WHAT IS MIDLEVEL?
What is Midlevel? How do you define it? • Defined by your own donor population
• Part of top 5-10% of donor population
• Donors with capacity to become Major Donors
• FY16 FA’s Mid-level represented 2% of the active DM file and Generated 21% of DM revenue
• Feeding America’s Mid-level is known as the Hunger Council; branding incorporated into communications
Common Midlevel challenges • Silos
• Midlevel diversification
• Testing with small populations
AUTHENTIC TREATMENT
Authentic Treatment
Why Authentic?
• Because these donors are valuable
• Because they care about your mission
What is Authentic Treatment? • Increased Impact-based messaging
• Consideration for donor experience – Increase cultivation and stewardship
– Introduce personal approach
But NOT necessarily:
• Reduction in frequency of communication
• Elimination of all tactic-driven communications
COMMUNICATION CHANNELS
Communication Channels
DIGITAL PHONE
Communication Channels
• LISTEN to donors--give donors the opportunity to communicate preference
• Donors who identify a channel of preference give more
Mid-level Communication Streams M
id-l
eve
l M
ail Mail
Telemarketing S
tew
ard
sh
ip Mail
Telemarketing
Ambassador Stewardship Calls for Gifts of $500+ or if giving source is a DAF
Ambassador emails
Additional outreach to high level donors not initially reached for conversation
Cu
ltiv
atio
n
Telemarketing
Ambassador Stewardship Calls for Gifts of $500+ or if giving source is a DAF
Ambassador emails
Ongoing Ambassador Cultivation and Qualification Efforts
MG
Qu
alif
ica
tio
n
No Telemarketing
Major Gifts Qualification Call/Visit
Mail: Mid-level Proposal
Replaces Thanksgiving 2 mailing for Midlevel audience • Letter from CEO addressing donor
as Hunger Council member • Proposal format illustrating gift
impact • Proposal reply slip included
Mail: Mid-Level Package Test
Cream stock Multiple inserts More cultivation based
Window OE Letter attached to reply Meal ticket tactic
Midlevel Test Results
In FY17 we rolled out with the more mass market package Response is up 13%, net/m up 20% compared to prior year control
5.45% 2.55%
$323.92
$258.41
$-
$100.00
$200.00
$300.00
$400.00
Test Control
0.00%
2.00%
4.00%
6.00%
Midlevel Format Test
Response Rate Average Gift
The $100+ format was tested to the Mid Level audience: • Response rate improved more than 100% • Average gift also showed a 25% ($65.51)
lift
Mail: Print on Demand
Mailed to donors interested in receiving more facts about Feeding America and the people they help, after speaking with an Ambassador • Mailed in a large folder • Personal letter from the Ambassador
addressing their conversation • Five information sheets about FA • Can be used as stewardship (no reply)
or solicitation (reply included), tailored to conversation
• Hand addressed OE
Mail: Additional Stewardship
Donor Impact Reports • Mailed monthly to pre-lapse donors • Personal letter from their
Ambassador • Report outlines recent impact from
donor support
Handwritten Thank You Note • Sent to donors who made a gift of
$500-$4,999 and were not reached on the phone
• Sent to donors who had an engaging conversation with an Ambassador
Personal Phone Engagement
“Ambassadors” perform regular outreach to FA’s best donors
o Develop stronger relationships with the best Mid-level donors through ongoing
cultivation
o Identify important trends through conversation
o Build a pipeline of major gifts prospects (ability to give $5,000+ annually)
Ongoing Documentation & Review
o biographical updates and call notes are documented in CRM
o Regular prospect reviews are performed, based on conversations and other attributes
Digital Engagement
Mid-level Donors are included in the regular email stream with versioning similar to Mid-level
Additionally a “thank you” email is automatically sent out to mid-level donors when they make a gift
online
o Batch processing
o Message designed looks like a one to one communication from Ambassador
o All donor replies are directed to the Ambassador’s email account for further interaction
Ambassadors regularly reach out to donors through email
• For donors not reachable by phone, Ambassadors integrate email into outreach strategy
Digital Engagement
Personalized Ambassador
email welcoming donor into
Hunger Council
Mid-level version of
Thanksgiving email appeal
Hunger in the News, sent by
the donor’s Ambassador
Key Communication Differences Increase in personal touches in all channels
Emphasis on Donor Experience
Ability to focus on small donor cohorts due to high value
DONOR MOVEMENT
Midlevel Donor Program
• Identify optimal audience
• Engage & Enhance donor relationship
• Capture & Catalog
• Report & Analyze
Donor Identification
Engagement
Information
Capture
Assessment
Midlevel Donor Program
Identify Optimal Audience
Mid-level donors are prioritized for cultivation based on:
• Responsiveness
• Size of origin gift
• Wealth capacity
• Engagement flags
• Other markers of capacity and propensity
Midlevel Donor Program
Engage and Enhance Donor Relationship
Feeding America donors are contacted by a professional Ambassador on a tiered system based on their value. Higher tier donors are assigned to an Ambassador for ongoing engagement.
Methods of communication used individually and in concert include:
• Personal phone calls
• Handwritten notes
• Email communications
Midlevel Donor Program
Capture and Catalog Donor Information
Highly detailed information on each donor contact is contained in a robust database including such attributes as:
• Donor interests, attitudes and opinions
• Communication preferences
• Personal history
• Family history
• Connection to Feeding America
• Interest in Planned Giving
Using a proprietary coding process, attributes are recorded and utilized for increased personalization in future communications
Midlevel Donor Program
Report and Analyze Interactions
The amount and quality of information reported can help guide future interactions and provide invaluable benchmarks. Reports include:
• Year-over-year performance, performance by interaction and channel, new to file performance and channel penetration
• Key indicators of upgrade/downgrade
• Age band and generation report
• Pipeline development update
Midlevel Donor Program Outcomes
• Midlevel program = Major Gift Pipeline
o Qualifies and disqualifies donors for major gift portfolios
• Major gifts have increased in revenue 36% in four years
• Gifts of $5,000+ have increased from 94 to 255 in four years
• $100,000+ gifts have doubled (from 13 to 24) in four years
• Cost per dollar raised decreased from $0.41 to $0.07
• Efficiency: allows our major gifts team to focus on high priority regions of the country and maximize member interactions and regional visits
MEASUREMENT
Measurement
Enhanced Engagement = Higher Value Donors
Donors contacted by Ambassadors consistently have a higher long-term value than those not reached. On average, their value is increased by 13%, or $117 per donor
Measurement
Upgrade High Value Donors to Major Gifts
The Feeding America Mid-Level Ambassador Program also upgrades donors to Major Gifts. Revenue from this previously untapped pool has quadrupled in two years and Revenue per Donor is 43% above the $5,000 entry requirement ($7,173)
Measurement Total Value of Mid-level Program
When analyzing the performance of Feeding America’s program, you have to consider both the performance of the Mid-Level and the performance of those donors passed up to Major Gifts. From FY14 to FY16 there was a 14% growth in total revenue
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Key Takeaways By any measure, Feeding America's Mid-Level Ambassador Program has been an unqualified success. Benefits of the program include:
• Increased revenue from the Feeding America pool of mid-level donors
• Stronger upgrading behavior among mid-level donors contacted by Ambassadors
• Identification of high value prospects to move into major gifts portfolios
• Discovery of planned gifts that were previously unreported
• Movement of non-major gift prospects out of Gift Officer’s portfolios while ensuring appropriate ongoing stewardship and cultivation
• An ongoing engagement plan for individual donors that is highly personalized and fluid
Thank you!
Contact us: Jess Hutchins, [email protected] Ryan Carpenter, [email protected] Betsy Harman, [email protected] Briana Crane, [email protected]