Feeding America

5 Things Successful Fundraisers Always Do

The Strategy

1. Analyze your database. Feeding America used Stelter’s PG Finder analytics program to surface up high-value prospects.

2. Go digital. You could build a planned giving website, send some marketing emails when you find the time and then wait for the summer intern to launch a Facebook campaign.

Or, you could choose Stelter’s digital marketing platform, which features a research-based user interface, scheduled email campaigns and options for synchronized social posts, A/B testing and targeted landing pages.

3. Coordinate across multiple communication channels. Feeding America follows a thoughtful cadence of digital and direct mail outreach to donors. Deliverables include postcards, print and electronic newsletters.

4. Leverage partnerships. Feeding America serves 46 million people annually in every county in the United States, working through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 partner agencies.

5. Enable staff. An online hub provides development staff and member food banks with the materials and expertise needed to help launch, refine and perfect their own planned giving programs.

The Results

Feeding America received 15 new gift commitments in the first year of the program. The planned giving staff has also undertaken efforts to build relationships with the 205 members of the van Hengel Society—those who have declared their estate gift intentions—and is better enabling its network of food banks to raise money through planned giving.