2014 Washington Nonprofit Conference: True Stories of Telefundraising Success

The layers and droves of snow lining the sidewalks early in the morning last Thursday didn't stop hundreds of professional fundraisers from making their way to downtown D.C. to attend this year's edition of the DMA Nonprofit Federation's Washington Nonprofit Conference. And any worry we had of our session being empty was quickly dispelled. The room was brimming with eager faces wanting to hear Shira Mitchell, senior manager of direct-response marketing at Special Olympics, and I talk about how telefundraising works for our programs.

So let's jump right in. What have we learned about telefundraising through our respective programs?

Let's tackle PETA first. We have a strong and constant focus on growing the monthly sustainer program, and the file has been steadily increasing in the past two years. Since May 2013, we've seen a 13 percent jump in our file size. One of our most effective campaigns is our rolling telefundraising sustainer invite.

On a quarterly basis, we invite new (donor who just gave in the past zero-three months) and renewed donors to become monthly supporters of our Investigations & Rescue Fund. We also pull lapsed sustainers into the call, trying to capture anyone who might have fallen off "by accident" simply due to outdated payment information.

What is the Investigations & Rescue Fund, and why is it such a compelling ask for us? The I&R Fund supports all PETA's efforts to investigate and expose animal cruelty and push for prosecution of abusers. It's a tangible item that makes donors feel like they are taking a direct part in helping animals — which they are! To make sure they know this, we send sustainers monthly updates online or offline where we talk about the most recent rescues and victories that we have achieved. So they know exactly what their money is going to.