Case Study: Minnesota Animal Humane Society's Year-End Fundraising Campaign

The year-end fundraising push is nearly upon us, with just four weeks remaining before the calendar flips to December. With so much riding on the end-of-year fundraising surge, it's never too early to plan. In fact, if you haven't started — or nearly wrapped up — your year-end fundraising campaign planning, you're already behind the eight ball.

As donors become more sophisticated and more inundated, a meticulously planned multichannel fundraising campaign is a must come year end. The Animal Humane Society (AHS) in Minnesota understands that and has already laid out a detailed, integrated campaign for the 2012 holiday season.

Working with direct-response fundraising agency Grizzard Communications Group, the organization dedicated to engaging the hearts, hands and minds of the community to help animals is utilizing a media plan across the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area, according to Grizzard, which includes the use of direct mail, free-standing inserts, online banner ads, space ads, billboards, bus shelter ads, movie theater ads and TV spots. The integrated creative features the dog Esmeralda in each component, along with the tagline: "Believe you can make a difference."

Direct mail
For the 2012 holiday fund drive, AHS has two versions of its direct mailer, the control package and a personalized gift certificates package.

The control package outer envelope features an image of Esmeralda with a call to "Look Inside!" It also has "2012 Holiday Fund Drive" printed under the logo and return address, as well as a callout to for the personalized address labels enclosed for donors. On the back of the envelope has the tagline, "Believe you can make a difference."

Inside is a short, one-page letter that includes the tagline and the same image of Esmeralda, this time with the dog's name under the photo. The letter itself tells Esmeralda's tale. The Chow Chow mix was found in an abandoned house and suffered extreme trauma after being hit by a car. She was brought to AHS and rushed into surgery, and now she can walk without pain. It's a gripping, emotional story sure to tug at any animal-lover's heartstrings.