January 29, 2015 Maximizing the Middle Break through with best practices in middle donor development Derek Torry, Vice President Robbin Gehrke, SVP, Creative Strategy and Integration

Traditional donor pyramid 2 Regular Middle Major

The typical development department model 3 Major Regular Middle

A better approach 4 Regular Middle Major

5 Who exactly are middle donors? Not major donors, but not regular donors either Single Largest Gift: $100 - $9, Cumulative Annual Giving: $1,000 - $9, Capacity Rated: Wealth screened high, but low current giving Frequently misunderstood They might be major gift prospects – should we pull them from the mail stream? They give via mail, so should we just keep mailing them but ask for larger gifts? What do they want and how do we give it to them?

What makes a middle donor unique? 6 Give larger gifts less frequently Often give at the same time of year every year Appreciates personally relevant recognition Responds well to mail that is both emotionally compelling and supported by facts/figures Gravitates to special project offers and mini-campaigns that offer unique giving opportunities beyond food/meals Gives online, but motivated through online + offline communication Desires insider access to your organization and leadership

What impact do middle donors have? 7 Year# of GiftsIncomeAverage $ ,425$22,834,468$ ,471$23,765,641$ ,643$23,691,555$ ,084$24,244,712$255

Keys to success with Middle Donors 1. Different thinking (building a hybrid model) 2. Heavy reliance on data/analytics (to identify capacity, loyalty and likelihood to upgrade) 3. Executive alignment around the investment and objectives 4. Team buy-in around shared goals 5. Comfort with sometimes “fuzzy” attribution of media 6. Donor-centricity 7. Inspiring and tangible offers 8. Substance 8

9. Integrated communication stream 10. Stewardship 11. Personal engagement 12. Modified frequency 13. Time 9 Keys to success with Middle Donors

Integrated middle donor campaigns 10

Case Study: Second Harvest Heartland 11 Objectives Inspire middle and major donors to help capture un-harvested fresh produce for hungry families Raise $250,000 in net revenue to provide 1.2 million pounds of produce – and 900,000 meals Integration flow Main mailing Followup mailing Fundraising phone call 3 part series, starting as followup package drops

12 Case Study: Second Harvest Heartland Offer Your gift will double in impact to help capture un-harvested produce from local farmers, and bring the bounty to the food bank and on to local food pantries We applied a custom segmentation strategy based on each donor’s giving history, to maximize both average gift and and response rate Then we paired this methodology (using Target Analytics) with major gift likelihood scores Created a tailored ask strategy for each donor

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26 Results Raised $265,400 More than double the net income from last year’s 3 regular appeals from February through April Case Study: Second Harvest Heartland

27 Goal Raise $495,000 to expand high school program by building a supervised boarding residence for Lakota Sioux students Audience File of 30,000 with $100 + single largest gift Never before targeted with unique offers Case Study: St. Joseph’s Indian School

28 Strategy Engage these donors with a high-touch campaign Educate them about the need for high school expansion Provide a tangible way to connect with “a child you’re helping” Invite them to visit and see results Case Study: St. Joseph’s Indian School

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36 Results Over 20% response $174 average gift $812,000 raised against $495,000 goal Case Study: St. Joseph’s Indian School

37 Objectives Leverage the holiday season with an urgent and unique opportunity to provide cleft surgeries for 1,481 children before year end. Raise $220,000 in gross revenue Audience High-end donors who gave gifts of $240 to $9999 in last 24 months Regular donors giving $15 to $239 in last 24 months Case Study: Operation Smile Holiday Matching Challenge

38 Offer Thanks to a special Holiday Matching Challenge, your gift will double to send volunteers who will give up their own holiday to change children’s lives forever $240 that gives 1 surgery now doubles to give 2 surgeries $480 becomes $960, etc $1,200 stretch ask to sponsor 2 operating tables for one day, and give surgeries to 10 children Regular donors received a more modest upgrade ask Case Study: Operation Smile Holiday Matching Challenge

39 Integration flow- 6 weeks Pre-campaign phone blast from CEO/Founder Pre-campaign Main direct mail package 2-4 s Chaser package Fundraising phone call Urgent deadline Web display and social media ads ran throughout Case Study: Operation Smile Holiday Matching Challenge

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53 Results Raised over $1.2 million A 400% increase over the goal of $220,000 Response rate from higher-end donors was 12% A 2.2% lift over previous year Average gift of $271 ROI increased by 27% over previous year Raised $6.50 for every dollar spent Case Study: Operation Smile Holiday Matching Challenge

Questions? 54

Thank You

56 Case Study: IFCJ Goal Engage middle donors to help persecuted Jews make “Aliyah” (emigrate to Israel) Increase long-term revenue from the $100 - $9,999 donor segment Raise gross revenue of $447,000 to $597,000

57 Offer Every gift of $500 will help provide airfare to Israel for one person Plus shelter, food, and job training until they can take care of themselves Case Study: IFCJ

58 Integration flow Postcard/phone blast (50/50 test) Main mailing Follow-up mailing Telemarketing follow up Case Study: IFCJ

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Results Raised $1,148,142 gross from 19,096 donors Nearly doubled the goal of $447,000 - $597,000 $ average gift Net revenue: $972, Case Study: IFCJ