2014 Gold Awards for Fundraising Excellence Email (Less Than $10 Million) Winners

Email (less than $10 million)
October Belo Cipriani Appeal
Guide Dogs for the Blind
(Submitted by Chapman Cubine Adams + Hussey)

The Numbers
Recipients: 62,952
Response rate: 0.17 percent
Total cost: $500
Income generated: $25,732
Average gift: $238.26
Cost to raise a dollar: $0.019

The first thing our judges liked about this year-end email campaign was the compelling and heartfelt story presented by guide-dog recipient Belo Cipriani. The message was crafted to tell the story of Belo and his guide dog, Madge, but it highlighted the donor as the true hero for making the pairing of guide-dog teams possible.

The second email in the two-email series kept the Belo connection. But rather than repeat his story, the second email featured Belo educating recipients about the importance of their year-end gifts and why it was so critical that they gave to Guide Dogs for the Blind specifically at that time.

But our judges really took notice when it came to the results — specifically a 99 percent larger average gift over the previous year.

“The uptick in revenue performance from last year’s year-end email efforts was eye-popping,” writes Lon Chapman, executive vice president at Chapman Cubine Adams + Hussey. “The combine messages brought in $25,732, which was $10,502 and 68.96 percent higher than the prior year.

“Not only did this appeal out-gross those before it, but donors also gave at unprecedented levels,” he adds.

Additional Email (less than $10 million) Winners
SILVER: NARAL — Stand With Wendy Davis eAppeals (Submitted by CCAH)

The Numbers
Recipients: 2,876,866
Response rate: .079 percent
Total cost: $900
Income generated: $104,613.84
Average gift: $45.90
Cost to raise a dollar: $0.008

There’s nothing like email to allow a nonprofit to ride the coattails of a mission-related national new story. That’s what NARAL did in June 2013, when Texas State Rep. Wendy Davis was propelled into the national spotlight with a 13-hour filibuster stand against proposed anti-abortion legislation. NARAL immediately launched this email series in reaction to generate a public groundswell of awareness and motivate NARAL’s supporter base.