Pulling Power

Renewal/Retention: Turning Pets Into Stars
There are few things more valuable to fundraisers than donors who renew their giving each year. So when a nonprofit organization unearths a campaign that routinely draws response and renews donors, it’s a proverbial fundraising gold mine.

Boston-based animal-welfare organization MSPCA-Angell has such a campaign. Developed more than 15 years ago, the MSPCA-Angell’s Holiday Tree event has become a donor-retention specialty. The event, which coincides with a multichannel fundraising appeal spearheaded by direct mail, allows donors to send in photos of their pets, which are in turn made into ornaments and hung on one of three holiday trees at the Prudential Center in Boston’s shopping district.