Winning elements of multichannel fundraising campaigns from the Gorilla Organization and Arizone Humane Society

By Joe Boland

The dog poster had the same format but used slightly different language: "Bark if you knew Arizona Humane Society took in 33,849 pets last year," "Bark if you knew everything AHS does is made  possible only through donations," and, "Bark if you knew AHS found homes for 16,513 homeless animals."

AHS also incorporated e-mails, sending countdown messages. Each day, an e-mail would go out with the number of days left until the pet telethon. Every message began with a reminder that the 12th annual telethon airs Saturday, Aug. 14, and then slightly changed the next sentence — "Besides watching Pat McMahon eat a real dog bone, there are many reasons to tune in!" or "Tune in and see lots of lovable dogs, puppies, cats, kittens and critters available for adoption at AHS!" Each e-mail then read, "If you already have plans, you can still help by donating online anytime!" The "donating online" text was hyperlinked to the pet telethon microsite, and a large "Donate Now" icon was below.