Above and Beyond

Because they focus on the added benefits of moving up the membership ladder, upgrade campaigns are a good way to reach members who might not respond to purely philanthropic appeals where they won’t receive anything in return.

“So you can do the math for them and kind of play their game,” Hines says. “This is a value situation. If you’re a member at the $250 level, you’re going to receive X number of passes, and you value that at X number of dollars and so you can really illustrate for them how it’s also a good value in addition to helping support the zoo or the aquarium or wherever they might be a member.”