Gold Awards Special Mention Honorees

Following are descriptions of our Special Mention honorees in the 2013 Gold Awards for Fundraising Excellence.

Direct Mail ($10 Million and Up)
State of the Race Donor Insider Appeal
Obama for America
Submitted by ABD Direct

The first thing that stands out about this piece of direct mail is its size — it's big. It's also colorful — bright blue. And different — the outer is a translucent mailer that lets the recipient see through to the "Obama blue" folder inside. But even more impressive is the approach that the campaign takes. Though it is strictly a direct-mail piece, it gives a nod to the fact that savvy donors expect organization to reach out in numerous ways, meet their supporters where they are and engage on as many platforms as possible.

With about 75 days left until the 2012 election, President Obama's senior campaign strategist reached out to the campaign's housefile with a message of urgency. In addition to the main letter, the folder includes a full-color brochure that outlines the costs of advertising in various media markets in battleground states and "story boards" of current ads being run in those states. It's a reminder of just how much time, effort and resources go into getting the message out to the voting public via multiple channels, and it puts concrete amounts on each of the campaigns in various states. The mailing generated one of the highest response rates and the highest average contribution of any of Obama for America's housefile appeals during the campaign.

E-mail ($10 Million and Up)
"I am a Cancer Survivor" Patient Conversion Campaign
City of Hope
Submitted by Chapman Cubine Adams + Hussey

Our judges were impressed with the way this campaign used heartfelt letters from an actual cancer survivor who received life-saving treatment at City of Hope. The two e-mails from the patient include her photo, her explanation of how much City of Hope means to her and her no-nonsense appeal for support. They do not, however, focus on the details of her illness. Instead, they offer hope and put the opportunity to help save lives squarely in the hands of the reader.