2009 CASE Bronze award winner

Fundraiser pulls amazing results despite recession economy

direct mail fundraising campaign for University of British Columbia 1980s and 1990s alumni

We won an award… and Elain Evans (Assoc. Director Annual Giving) will be in Seattle this weekend to accept [it]. Thanks for all the great work!

Suzanne Ostrow, Manager, Annual Giving, The University of British Columbia

Challenge
Create a direct mail campaign for 80s and 90s alumni that would improve donations in a year characterized as the worst economic crisis since the great depression.

Solution
We proposed 2 mailers — both with a visual hook for each decade's glory days. These pushed the client's comfort envelope slightly, but the response justified the risk.

Results
This campaign for UBC won a 2009 Bronze for Direct Mail Advertising for Fundraising in an international competition organized by CASE (Council for the Support and Advancement of Education). Each mailer sent that decade’s alumni to their own landing page. Despite a global economic meltdown, these mailers, combined with an aggressive phone follow-up campaign, generated more than a 31% increase in revenues, over a 22% increase in the amount of the average gift and more than a 15% increase in donors, compared to 2007 — the most recent previous year. See. You really can give back. Not bad.