Dreaming of a Green Christmas

“We wanted to see how well we did before we actually rolled it out to the entire division,” she says, adding that although final numbers weren’t available as of press time, the results to date looked promising.

According to Cheryl Lockhart, director of mail appeals for the division, total dollars pledged was $66,225. Of that, $45,915 had been received. Donors had the choice of giving immediately over the phone via credit card or opting to make a pledge. When a donor requested to contribute by check, he or she was sent a pledge card and remit envelope. In total, more than 35,000 lapsed donors received phone calls; 2,789 gifts were given or pledged; and 1,831 of those had come in by the beginning of September.