Jesuits of Michigan and Donor Acquisition

Testing and a 10-year Investment

Situation:

When the Jesuits asked us to help them acquire more new donors to support their missions, the initial acquisition effort focused on foreign missions.  By mailing to a number of different rental lists, we generated an average response rate of 0.6% and an average gift of $45. While very pleased with the average gift, our next steps focused on increasing the response rate.
 
Strategy:

Cautiously, we tested the inclusion of a front-end premium in the form of personalized notepads with name labels.  
 
Results:

With the same messaging and the addition of the premium, the next acquisition effort doubled the response rate. The average dollar gift decreased to $28, but when we analyzed the number of new donors contributing $25 or more, we noted that the package with the premium generated an equivalent number of $25-plus donors, as did the straight mission appeal. The difference was that the overall number of new donors had increased dramatically. In subsequent years, we tracked renewal rates and upgrading metrics to ensure the long-term return on investment met or exceeded our client's goals.