The University of Alberta in Edmonton is one of Canada’s top teaching and research universities.
Two years earlier, the University created a legacy campaign that was unsuccessful. The planned giving department approached HMA to test a campaign and asked us to use the same donor’s story. This was a novel approach and turned out to be a wise one. It gave us a test of creative: a campaign done by the University’s experienced communication staff VS. legacy experts at HMA.
(Both campaigns had a similar budget, but the internal campaign uncovered zero confirmations and just one lead. The HMA campaign uncovered 16 confirmed legacy donors, and 96 good leads – which could potentially raise millions of dollars in additional income.)HMA recommended sending select donors a highly personal mailing. We took the previous story, improved the creative, and sent this to 2,500 donors. The campaign was designed to identify individuals who had already left the University in their Will, people considering a legacy gift, and those interested in more information.
The results exceeded our client’s expectations:
Client: University of Alberta
Services: Direct Mail, Legacy
This campaign was so successful it was featured in I Wish I Thought of That (IWITOT). The direct mail package includes a piece of fair-trade fabric and asks the donor to write a message of hope and send back to be included in a commemorative quilt.
We created the design and copy for this direct mail monthly donor conversion campaign.
We also created a new monthly donor club logo. The logo consists of 12 blue hearts, representing each month the donor donates. The hearts create a circle that encompasses an orange circle, which conveys a feeling of unity and community.
This campaign included integration through direct mail, telemarketing, and e-mail. It also included a match as an incentive.
This campaign continues to improve every year. From the first year they started integrating digital with direct mail, the Food Bank has seen a 227% increase in revenue. The combination of direct mail, Facebook ads, e-mails, and a campaign-specific donation page has really increased the online donations, with more than 70% of the donations to this campaign now coming online.
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