Strike a Match

KHP then followed up with a thank-you e-mail and tax receipt to donors, and for donors over a certain threshold, there were separate e-mails and/or thank-you calls.

“We like to chat with our donors, find out more about them. We do that with our regular annual givers of a certain amount, say thanks with a letter and a call,” MacLean says. “We’re curious about where they’re coming from and why, what brings them back. And we try to put survey questions in our thank-yous to get a sense of what brought them in to give.”

This combination of efforts proved to be effective, as KHP hit its revised revenue target, proving the 2010 ECHO Award-winning idea still works.

“This campaign resonates on a very deep level. People give very generously and give multiple gifts. One year, a woman in California who used to live in Canada donated three gifts of $300 and another $100 gift,” Somani says. “From a donor standpoint, people respond positively to this campaign.”

2013 and beyond
For this year’s campaign, KHP and Stephen Thomas decided it was time for a change in the look and feel. For the first four years, the microsite hadn’t really changed, using heavier photography of kids in darker times. This year they decided to change the look entirely.

There is a lighter feel to the Buy a Kid Some Time site this year, highlighted by an interactive quiz “so donors can get a sense of the number of kids who call, things we get asked, etc. It’s a fun quiz that doesn’t take long, an element that will hopefully drive home the message,” MacLean says. Also, the donation page has been updated to change how people can donate, moving away from choosing products and instead choosing donation amounts. For example: