In 2013, the Gundersen Medical Foundation, which supports the Gundersen Health System serving Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, began combining its direct-mail and online year-end fundraising. Each year since, the group has added or tweaked elements of its strategy to improve donor response, says Mandy Nogle, associate director of development.
It appears to be working. In 2015, using direct mail, email, Facebook ads, and Giving Tuesday tie-ins, the foundation raised $403,482 — about 10 percent of its annual revenue and a 46 percent increase from the campaign’s take two years ago. It now targets fewer donors, but the rate at which those donors respond is several percentage points higher than previous years, and the size of the average gift has grown from $429 in 2013 to $731 in 2015.
Year-End Campaign Results
| | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| Number solicited | 6,527 | 5,825 | 4,221 |
| Number of gifts | 645 | 585 | 602 |
| Response rate | 9.20% | 9.30% | 13% |
| Average gift | $429 | $651 | $731 |
| Dollars raised | $277,167 | $381,103 | $403,482 |
Last year, the foundation added a two-week online campaign targeting employees, encouraging staff to give in honor of a colleague on Giving Tuesday. This year, it’s attempting to segment donors by age, Ms. Nogle says. She also hopes that the foundation will be prepared to offer a first-ever matching-gift challenge from its Board of Directors on Giving Tuesday.
To manage the different aspects of the campaign, Ms. Nogle and her colleagues created a month-by-month plan, mapping out key steps from summer to the holidays. The basic timeline looks something like this:
| July | August | September | October | November | December |
| Brainstorm concepts | Finalize concept and determine needs | Produce media (interviews, photographs, etc.) | Produce marketing pieces | Launch campaign (drop mailing, website, Facebook ads, etc.) | Participate in #GivingTuesday and send giving reminders |
Ms. Nogle shared a sample timeline, which is downloadable below, and offers this advice for fundraisers creating a year-end plan:
Start now. The Gundersen fund’s year-end drive “is a six-month process,” Ms. Nogle says.
Have an “all hands on deck” meeting. Communicate with everyone who has a hand in the campaign, whether it be creating elements or implementing them. They need to know your timeline, your ideas, and their responsibilities. Ask them for their input and whether your timeline is missing anything.
Plan for mistakes or errors. Build plenty of extra time into your timeline. “Printing mishaps have riddled two of our three previous campaigns, but our timeline stayed on track because we built in cushion,” she says.
Track what you’re doing. “Years seem to fly by, but it’s amazing how much one forgets,” Ms. Nogle says. Tracking and documenting your efforts will make it easier the following year because you won’t have to start over from scratch.
It’s OK if you can’t do it all. Try one new thing this year, then document it and evaluate. If it worked, do it again, while trying out something else. Repeat annually until you are using all of your available fundraising channels.
