Pareto Fundraising's work with the National Heart Foundation
How data helps the Heart Foundation keep us healthy
Background:
No matter how many supporters a charity may already have, acquiring new ones is an essential activity. Reaching out to new supporters not only increases your fundraising income, it ensures that donors lost along the way are replaced thus safeguarding your charity's future, and with it your ability to continue helping your beneficiaries.
Unfortunately, developing a successful acquisition strategy can often be a hit or miss affair. With so little data out there to indicate what works and what doesn't, charities are frequently forced to base their acquisition strategies on hunches and gut instinct, rather than on statistically valid evidence.
It was in order to take the guess work out of acquisition that Pareto Fundraising and the National Heart Foundation of Australia set up the organisation's Acquisition Results Database. Since 2005, Pareto Fundraising has captured and analysed in minute detail the results of every acquisition campaign carried out by the Heart Foundation. As a result, the Heart Foundation now has several years of detailed statistics to draw on, and can develop its acquisition strategies without resorting to guess work.
Why did it work?
- Fundamental to the success of the Results Database is the analytical expertise of Pareto Fundraising's data team. By breaking down campaign results into manageable and useful data, the Heart Foundation is able to easily appraise and compare campaign effectiveness, avoid repeating costly mistakes and hone their acquisition strategy.
- The close partnership between Pareto Fundraising and the Heart Foundation is crucial, ensuring our data analysts have access to important historical information.
What impact did this have on the Heart Foundation's work?
The success of the Results Database has provided the Heart Foundation with a hugely valuable source of statistically valid information upon which to base its future acquisition campaigns.- Because the Heart Foundation can now identify the most productive lists, targeting strategies and appeal propositions, it has increased the efficiency of its acquisition programme resulting in more supporters and more funds to invest in the battle to reduce the suffering and distress caused by cardiovascular disease.
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About the National Heart Foundation of Australia:
The Heart Foundation is dedicated to reducing the dreadful effects of the number of people living with, or dying from heart, stroke and blood vessel disease.
Since 1959, the charity has funded world-class cardiovascular research, supported health professionals in their practice, developed health promotion activities, informed and educated the public, and assisted people with cardiovascular disease. Today, the life expectancy of Australians is about ten years longer for men and nine years longer for women.
