For more than 60 years, Heart & Stroke (H&S) has been dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. Their work has saved thousands of lives and improved the lives of millions of others. H&S empowers Canadians to live healthier lives – from preventing and controlling high blood pressure to getting more physical activity. They fight for a change that will create better health for all, such as reducing salt in the food supply and improving access to stroke rehabilitation.
RKD’s new stewardship campaign led to:
Over $1 million
in revenue
$30.64
average gift size
Over $1 million
in revenue
$30.64
average gift size
The Challenge
Donors were not previously contacted throughout the year with updates
RKD Direct Point was selected as the Heart & Strokes Agency of Record for their newly minted mid-level donor program. As we began to review past efforts, it became apparent that donors were not effectively stewarded or provided with updates throughout the year about how their donations were making a difference.
The Solution
Donor-centric messaging that reinforced the effects of donor gifts
We developed a new stewardship campaign that began in October – right before the biggest giving time of the year. The campaign included tailored donor messaging along with a soft ask strategy. The primary objective of the campaign was to report back to donors on the impact of their contributions. Stories were told from multiple perspectives – researcher, donor and survivor – and the bulk of the messaging centered around research since H&S donors react to clinical research results.
Breakthrough
Appreciation calls and over $1 million in revenue
The stewardship campaign was an extreme success, generating appreciation calls while raising over $1 million in revenue. Most importantly, year-end giving revenue remained at historical levels while increasing lapsed donor re-activation rates.
