New Donor Acquisition and the Value of Testing

The Challenge

New donor acquisition is an investment in the future! The ongoing challenge for Bascom Palmer (and for all nonprofits): balancing the cost of acquisition with the projected long-term value of their newly acquired donors. 

The Strategy

Test. Test. Test! 

Lists: A large number of grateful patients constitute a natural pool of prospective donors, but we also tested other lists with the goal of broadening the prospect universe.

Creative: We tested the two top-performing appeals against each other, after adapting both for acquisition audiences.

 The Result 

Lists: None of the rental lists came close matching the results of the inhouse list of grateful patients. The number of grateful patients increases each year, so this dynamic list continues to be the bedrock for new donor acquisition.

Creative: The appeal which had ranked #2 in terms of appeals to previous donors turned out to be the clear winner for acquisition purposes, generating a 26% higher response rate and a 12% higher average gift. To top it all off, the cost-to-acquire the new donor was 20% lower.