1. Marketing and Communications: A Case Study for Donors Presented by Audrey P. Kintzi, ACFRE

2. About the instructor  Over 25 years experience in nonprofit management  Vice President, Chief Development Officer for Courage Center  Obtained CFRE in 1991, ACFRE in 2004  Past President of Minnesota Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals  2004 Outstanding Professional Fundraiser, Minnesota Chapter AFP

3. Fund Development and the Marketing and PR functions  It is rare for a prospect to make a substantial contribution without being familiar or connected to the cause or need  for a prospective donor to give a significant gift, he/she must be involved with the organization and understand the need  cultivation is a key factor of success – communication is a key factor in effective donor cultivation

4. Fund Development and the Marketing and PR functions  According to Penelope Burk, researcher and author of the book Donor Centered Fundraising, 40% of our donors give to between 6-20 nonprofits  The donors told her that they don’t have time to read all of “our” 10 page newsletters  They want to hear from us in a timely fashion – a one-page newsletter will do

5. Donor Communication and the Girl Scout Council of St. Croix Valley  Time and money were limited, we needed an effective and affordable way to reach donors/parents –We surveyed our audience – 78% of those surveyed still wanted to receive a paper copy of the newsletter –We couldn’t afford to continue mailing 14,000 households –22% of our audience was ready to receive electronic communication – we didn’t want to miss the opportunity

6.  The solution –We introduced a 1-page tri-fold newsletter – The Girl Scout Family, a much less expensive piece to print –We also used e-technology to introduce our e-newsletter –To drive readers to the e-newsletter, we released the e-newsletter when the paper copy went to the printer

7. Fund Development and the Marketing and PR functions cont.  We tackled general donor communication as well  Donor communication increased – we sent newsletters more often – a 1-page newsletter – The Girl Scout Circle

8. Case Study cont.  The Girl Scout Circle was a hit – we sent it out about 6 times a year, donors told us they loved being “in the know”  On-line readership of the Girl Scout Family newsletter increased dramatically – moms wanted the information as soon as their neighbor got the information – they didn’t want to wait for paper copy newsletters – which could arrive as much as a week later than the on-line version

9. Additional Resources  Marketing Workbook for Nonprofit Organizations, Volume I, Gary Stern, Wilder Foundation  Marketing Workbook for Nonprofit Organizations, Volume II, Gary Stern, Wilder Foundation  Donor Centered Fundraising, Penelope Burk, Cygnus Applied Research