Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska

Situation:

Concordia University, Seward, Nebraska was heading into the final stretch of their “On a Mission” campaign. They needed to reach out to alumni and friends of the university with a compelling

Strategy:

Our strategy involved a multi-channel effort. We began with an e-mail announcing the campaign and alerting the donor that a packet would be arriving in the mail shortly.
The major donor prospect received a robust package including a letter, DVD, color photo of the building project, testimonials, the President’s business card, a pledge form and a return envelope.
The other prospects, alumni and friends, received a letter, pledge form, small inserts to illustrate the building and naming opportunities a reply device and the DVD.
Both groups were inspired with a challenge match will was announced through a voice broadcast message to the home phone number on record.

Results:

The results were highly successful. We raised almost $1.5 million, an increase of 250% over the last highest appeal. Alumni major donors responded at an 18% rate while friends at 11%. Two of the gifts through the direct mail program were greater than $50,000.