Deploying a Rapid Response Fundraising Campaign
	Posted by Katy Jordan at Nov 21, 2013 07:03 AM CST

About this time last year, I wrote about an emergency fundraising appeal launched by the Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) after a string of devastating tornadoes tore through Kentucky. It was a great example of how a bit of preparedness on the part of a nonprofit can help provide a big bump in your results when families in crisis need it most.

CAP is an interdenominational, nonprofit Christian organization committed to serving people in need in Appalachia by providing physical, spiritual and emotional support through a wide variety of programs and services. They focus on promoting dignity and independence among Appalachian residents struggling against poverty.

Just as a bit of reference, the Appalachian region stretches from the northeast corner of Mississippi through the southwest corner of New York. When Superstorm Sandy hit the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast United States last year, New York was one of the hardest hit areas of the 13 states. Many people CAP serves in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia were hit with blizzard conditions and required emergency assistance.

Each fall CAP deploys a late-fall “ever-ready” emergency campaign, and because of the generous support from donors in past years, the relief teams hit the ground running to aid hundreds that were affected by Superstorm Sandy. The direct response fundraising team had to quickly rework their planned fall emergency campaign to solicit additional resources and focus specifically on this relief effort. If the campaign could launch while Superstorm Sandy recovery efforts were still in the news, CAP could leverage the exposure for increased results.

The direct mail team quickly drafted an emergency appeal and used “Rapid Response Team – Disaster Strikes” letterhead and envelopes, kept on hand for incidents such as these. The digital team worked closely with the direct mail team to incorporate email, a dedicated URL on the mail appeal, real estate on CAP’s homepage, and search engine marketing. Videographers were deployed to the scene to document clean-up efforts and emergency assistance. This video was used in email communications and on the CAP website.

The results:

• Exceeded revenue targets by $25,000
• Average gift online: $86.44 (higher than standard online average gift)
• Average gift offline: $45.00 (almost double standard direct mail average gift)