Winners of the 2014 Gold Awards for Fundraising Excellence

By Margaret Battistelli Gardner

In 2012, 45 percent of the people who donated via TWS’ lightbox were new donors, and the organization was looking to increase that number in 2013. The 2012 lightbox was “abrasive-looking,” with a bright yellow background and a link to a donation form. The first focus was streamlining the donation process by including the form directly within the lightbox. ABD Direct also created a clean, mission-relevant design and included short, compelling, year-end-specific copy. The lightbox appeared on the organization homepage Dec. 15 to 31.

As a result of the changes, the number of new donors increased by 92 percent. There was a decline in average gift, but the $103.96 average was still well above other acquisition efforts. Response rate increased by 35 percent, from 10.1 percent in 2012 to 13.6 percent. The increased response rate resulted in staying within 2 percent of the 2012’s total gross revenue, despite an 11 percent decrease in homepage traffic.

BRONZE: Union Rescue Mission Website (Submitted by Union Rescue Mission)

The Numbers
Recipients: 85,561
Response rate: 4.83 percent
Total cost: $28,800
Income generated: $752,987.60
Average gift: $182.10
Cost to raise a dollar: $0.04

The Union Rescue Mission website continues to exceed expectations, bringing in more revenue each year and holding an increasing wealth of information on homelessness in Los Angeles. In 2013, the site saw a 10.81 percent increase in average gift, a 19.82 percent increase in number of transactions and a massive 32.75 percent increase in total revenue raised through general giving on the site, for a total of $753,987.60.

On the Edge
Employee Campaign
Geisinger Health System
(Submitted by Geisinger Health System)

The Numbers
Recipients: 19,975
Response rate: 23 percent employee participation
Total cost: $56,013
Income generated: $3,071,000
Average gift: $1,909
Cost to raise a dollar: $0.02

Part of a long-running Centennial Campaign, the Geisinger Health System Employee Campaign took center stage in 2013 when Lucille Tarin, senior director of resource development at Geisinger, realized that many of the organization’s employees weren’t even aware that their workplace had a foundation, according to Heather Wiley Starankovic, associate vice president in Geisinger’s office of institutional advancement.