Cover Story: 2009 Gold Awards for Fundraising Excellence
Acquisition (50,000 and more mailed)
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
June '08 Membership Acquisition
Submitted by Daniller & Co.
Numbers
Recipients: 54,995
Income Generated: $71,335
Average Gift: $122.15
Out-of-Pocket Costs: $41,227.04
Response Rate: 1.06 percent
Cost to Raise a Dollar: $0.58
Combining a kid-captivating dinosaur theme with graphics that channel the energy and fearsome grace of a heavyweight prize fight was a winning move for Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. This highly charged member-acquisition package focused on the "T. rex vs. T. rex" exhibition at the museum and used strong imagery (razor-sharp dinosaur teeth) and messaging ("T. rex vs. T. rex Fighting Tooth and Claw to the Death") throughout, including a nice-sized poster that's hard to imagine any little boy not wanting to tape to his wall. It also focused heavily on campaign-specific benefits such as priority admission to "the hottest ticket in town" and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see this unique exhibit. Our judges were impressed with the energy and excitement that seemed to spill out from all sides of this eye-catching package.
Acquisition (fewer than 50,000 mailed)
Union Station Homeless Services
Fall Acquisition Package
Submitted by Schultz & Williams
Numbers
Recipients: 25,551
Income Generated: $12,984
Average Gift: $34.62
Out-of-Pocket Costs: $10,758
Response Rate: 1.47 percent
Cost to Raise a Dollar: $0.83
Never underestimate the value of simplicity. That's the lesson learned from this impressively understated mailing. A major concern for the organization when it prepared this package was to decrease the cost of acquiring new donors. To that end, it went with strongly branded messaging and a more targeted approach that included mailing fewer pieces more frequently, allowing it to contact its best prospects more often. Our judges were impressed with the strong branding and clean look of both the envelope and the enclosed components, as well as the fact that the package achieved its goal beautifully. Overall, the organization's acquisition program invested $17.91 to acquire a new donor, which is $22 less than in 2007.
