Juggling and the Fine Art of Fundraising

Creative

The first creative sent was the initial e-mail, deployed the day after the earthquake hit. The in-house message had the subject line "Please help save lives in Haiti," sent the morning of Jan. 13. The e-mail included an image of some of the devastation in Haiti along with a brief, three-paragraph letter. It began, "Please help save lives in Haiti. Up to 3 million people have been reported to be affected in Haiti by the catastrophic earthquake that struck Haiti just before 5pm Tuesday. … Stop Hunger Now is responding during this vital time of Haiti's crisis. We have been in contact with our many partners there and are also working through our strategic partnerships to deliver aid as quickly as possibly."

The e-mail wrapped up with a call to action and stated an initial fundraising goal: "Please consider a donation today to help Stop Hunger Now raise $50,000 to provide aid to our partners and the people of Haiti. Although this need is considerable, the need for relief in Haiti is greater. Please join in our efforts to respond to the life threatening crisis in Haiti and Stop Hunger Now's ongoing work in disaster and hunger relief."

Then the text, "We need your help today. Please click here," was hyperlinked and took those who clicked on it to the Haiti donation page. The donation page offered donation levels, as well as a link for those who prefer to respond via mail to download the mail-in form.

Finally, the e-mail had a personal touch by being signed by Barrick herself, not a generic signature from Stop Hunger Now. Subsequent e-mails followed with similar appeals.

The direct-mail component consisted of the quarterly newsletters. The four-page newsletter was considerably longer, as expected, than the e-mail. The lead story was titled "Help for Haiti." The copy described both the massive need in Haiti and all the things Stop Hunger Now has been doing thanks to the generous support of its donors.