The Heart Foundation of New Zealand’s new regular giving direct mail appeal
How The Heart Foundation of New Zealand turned support into committment
Background:
The value of regular, predictable gifts (often known as monthly gifts) cannot be overstated. This reliable income stream gives charities the confidence to plan ahead, fund long-term projects and commit resources they know will be replaced.
It was with this in mind that The Heart Foundation of New Zealand approached Pareto Fundraising for help to develop a fully realised regular giving programme – one capable of converting significant numbers of cash donors into monthly supporters and ensuring they remained committed to the charity for years to come.
Campaign Material:
Heart Foundation NZ monthly supporter conversion letter
Why was the appeal a success?
Detailed analysis of The Heart Foundation of New Zealand’s donor database identified the cash supporters most likely to respond positively to a request to become regular donors.- Pareto Fundraising’s strategic and creative experts developed a compelling identity for The Heart Foundation of New Zealand’s regular giving programme. The name ‘Heart Savers’ was adopted and a new logo and style guidelines were produced.
- A compelling, emotional and urgent direct mail pack was sent to the most promising prospects, presenting a clear case for the need for ongoing regular gifts.
- A ‘Heart Savers Welcome Pack’ was sent to all those who responded positively to the direct mail appeal, in order to reinforce the importance of the step they had just taken. The welcome pack included heart health advice, further information about the charity’s work, a magnetic photo frame with useful contact details and another case study illustrating the benefits of regular donations – all designed to reinforce the supporter’s decision to become a Heart Saver.
What was the impact of the appeal on The Heart Foundation of New Zealand’s work?
- The ambitious target of The Heart Foundation of New Zealand’s new regular giving appeal was to generate 541 Heart Savers. In actual fact the campaign exceeded this target by almost 200.
- As a direct result of this first campaign, there are now over 700 Heart Savers. The Heart Foundation of New Zealand can now reliably forecast income from this group of supporters, which will assist with planning their ongoing community support programmes and other activities.
Download pdf of this case study
About The Heart Foundation of New Zealand:
The Heart Foundation of New Zealand is the charity that leads the fight for heart health for all New Zealanders. It funds research and promotes heart health in order to reduce the rates of cardiovascular disease in New Zealand.
The Heart Foundation encourages people to make positive lifestyle changes and develop environments which make healthy choices easy.
Based on 40 years of research, their message is simple:
- eat a heart healthy diet
- enjoy regular physical activity
- be smokefree
