This document summarizes fundraising programs and performance for three non-profit organizations: the National Parks Conservation Association, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Sierra Club. It provides details on acquisition channels, testing of direct mail packages, email fundraising, membership profiles, and performance metrics like response rates and average gifts.

1. Multi-Channel Acquisition: Building Your Membership through Mail, Phone, Web & Person-to-Person FundraisingWednesday, August 17th from 2:45 to 3:45. 0

2. The National Parks Conservation Association

3. NPCA OverviewOur Mission: To protect and enhance America's national parks for present and future generations.What We Do:Advocate for the national parks and the National Park Service.Educate decision makers & the public about the importance of preserving the parks.Help convince members of Congress to uphold the laws that protect the parks and to support new legislation to address threats to the parksand fight attempts to weaken these laws in the courts.Assess the health of the parks and park management to better inform our advocacy work.Our Constituents:340,000 members, give $15+ to receive magazine 44% age 65+ 60,000 with email addresses39,000 online donors330,000 online subscribers/activists38% age 65+114,000 have taken at least 1 actionAll support NPCA because they love national parks!

4. Key Analysis FindingsAlthough new donor numbers continue to drop, NPCA is holding up very well against the uncertainties of the economy, not only in new member acquisition, but in member retention.Average gifts have been increasing year over year since FY07. Online cultivation and fundraising is being coordinated with all DM and TM efforts to maximize revenue and to reach donors through multiple channels.

5. Income by Join Year and Fiscal YearAll Income IncludedMembers continue to give over a long period of time. As some drop off the file, the remaining members usually give more. Major gifts are included in this chart. Increased acquisition starting in FY03 has paid off.

6. Income by Channel Direct mail remains the major income channel.

7. Web giving shows great potential for growth with a more structured solicitation program in place.FY11 Income per Member by Previous Giving ChannelsMembers included were active within 12 months at the start of FY11, had a highest previous contribution of less than $1,000 and had given 3 or more direct marketing gifts over their entire membership lifetime.

8. NPCA’s Acquisition ProgramNPCA mails acquisition on a monthly basis, totaling approximately 8.5 million pieces each year.In the most recent fiscal year, NPCA made 32% more acquisition contacts (across all channels) than the previous year.This year’s revenue is 4% higher than two years prior. By maintaining our investment, we’ve been able to steadily grow our file.Even with the additional names mailed, net investment is only 4% higher than two years prior.NPCA’s two DM acquisition controls are a member card package and a survey package.

9. DM Acquisition TestingNEW PACKAGESMap package: Included a foldout wall map and personalized teaser with a national park in the prospect’s state. Patriotic package: Used a stirring, patriotic tone to highlight the bond Americans feel with their national parks, and included a lift note with a quote from Ken Burns. TESTS TO SAVE COSTSPremium tests: Calendar and bucket hat against calendar only, core premiums against each other to determine best front- and back-end results.Remove insert: Removed glossy 4-color insert. TESTS TO BOOST RESPONSECombining elements of co-controls: Includedmember card in survey package.Ask string: Introduced $25 ask to receive premium and raise average gift.Combine tone of Survey and Member Card: Combined the urgency of the member card with the emotion of the survey letter. Phrase-based formatting: Used ReadSmart to make subtle changes in the arrangement of the text on the page.Expand list markets: Explored new audiences and selects, included more modeled lists, and mined in-house activists for additional names.

10. Test Channels to Convert Online ActivistsWave one of the Online Activist Conversion test was conducted to gauge the response of activists to email acquisition, telemarketing acquisition and direct mail acquisition contacts. We wanted to see which channels and which mix of channels was most effective in converting online activists.The online activist file was modeled and the 45,000 names most likely to respond to an acquisition ask were split into three groups of 15,000 each.

11. Overall Results by Channel

12. Automate an Online Welcome Series Don’t overlook website traffic as a key source of new donors. Capture additional gifts with an Online Welcome Series including the following:Week 1: WelcomeWeek 2: QuizWeek 3: Take Action Week 4: Acquisition (non-donors), Sustainer ask (donors)Week 8: Sustainer ask (non-donors who didn’t respond to the acquisition)Open rates average 17.56% and the series has an avg. 6.21% click through rate. New members are joining with an avg. gift of $21.41 and a response rate of 0.17%. By comparison, other acquisition efforts avg. a 0.04% response and $28.92 avg. gift.

13. DM: Analyze your program in detailTelemarketingAcquisition Best Practices – All ChannelsOnlineAre you investing enough to stay stable?

14. If your board chair is promising that you’re growing your file – are you?

15. Where does your file break in terms of long-term donor value? $15, $25, $50?

16. Maintain your investment … or define how you need to rebuild and reinvest.DM: Make adjustments to improve resultsAsk string testing

17. List broker – model databases

18. Can small tweaks make your package cheaper?

19. Reduce back-end premium costs

20. Warm prospects required: activists, ticket buyers, visitors, etc.

21. Test to evaluate comparable cost per donor to DM and EM.

22. Have you put an online conversion program in place?

23. Do you have an online Welcome Series in place?The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

25. Membership OverviewMembership Program$50-$1199$1200+ gifts are stewarded through other programs~28,000 membersKC, NSO, & WNO designationsMetro DC area onlyMember Profile62% femaleMean age of 62Avg hh income of $152K59% have graduate degrees57% members for 6+ years53% also subscribersHighly benefits motivated

26. Acquisition Program OverviewDirect Mail

27. In-house and external lists

28. Includes lapsed donors

29. Telefundraising

30. Single Ticket Buyers; Subscribers;

31. Web Names

32. Online

33. Membership Month

34. Cart add-ons

35. Social Media

36. Email

37. Membership Month

38. Marketing emails (ticketing)

39. Targeted benefit emails (upcoming events; ticket priority)

40. On Site

41. Gift shop; Tour Desk; Box Office/Subscription/Group Sales windowsFY10 Acquisition Performance by Source*Misc. includes On Site, KC News magazine

42. FY10 Acquisition Performance by Source Cost per Dollar RaisedAverage Gift*Indirect/Overhead costs only; incurred regardless of fundraising efforts (i.e. staff salaries.) Not part of fundraising budget.

43. The Sierra Club

44. Main Acquisition and Reinstate ProgramsProspect Direct MailEmail Acquisition & Reinstate CanvassingReinstate (Lapsed Member Program) – Mail & PhoneWilderness Guardian Monthly SustainerFund Appeals 20

45. Prospect Direct MailMailed every 7 weeks to approximately 1.7 million prospective members.Mailings are comprised of house files, modeled names from groups like Target Analytics and Donor Base, exchanges and rentals. Two weeks after the mailing we send a 2nd ask to multi buyers.Have found that house files and like-minded organizations have the best LTV.21

46. Prospect Direct MailEach mailing contains approximately 10 package tests – both issue and tweak tests.$15 Membership offer.Split premiums offer between men and women. Have found that different premiums work better with different genders.Approximately 15% do not take the premium. Have found that these are better donors.22

47. Prospect Direct MailUnfortunately “health” related issues like clean air and climate change tend not to work. Animal and lands issues work better.Brings in approximately 95,000 members a year.Largest acquisition program.Response rates range from .80% to .95%Average gift is around $23.23

48. Endangered Species Act PDM Package

49. Sequoia PDM Package

50. 1892 Rucksack and Field Messenger Bag

51. Email Acquisition & ReinstateBoth programs are conducted 6 times per year.Each campaign contains a minimum of 2 efforts and sometimes more during prime periods – Earth Day, Year-End or breaking news such as the Gulf Oil Spill in 2010.A theme for the email helps – but extensive testing shows that focusing on benefits lifts response.27

52. Email Acquisition & ReinstatesOn average over 675,000 emails are sent out in each Acquisition and Reinstate email appeal.In 2010 the email acquisition program brought 5,300 new members. The reinstate program reinstated 7,500 members.17,000 additional members came to the Sierra Club website and joined the Club. 28

53. Email

54. Web Page

55. Canvass AcquisitionHistorically the canvass program just asked people to join the Sierra Club. If they declined, we would ask them for a one-time gift.In late 2010 we began accepting monthly sustainers in our canvass program and we began on-the-street canvassing.Over the first four months of this year we acquired 1,340 new monthly donors and 3,002 regular members.