Apogee and DonorBase omnichannel cooperatives power acquisition success

Data Axle Nonprofit helps TrueSense Marketing fuel strong acquisition performance across clients in seven sectors.

Case study highlights

92%

of campaigns yielded top response rate

65%

of campaigns yielded highest RPM

Background

This past year, TrueSense Marketing expanded their engagement with Data Axle Nonprofit to improve acquisition performance across their diverse client base. Data Axle Nonprofit harnesses the power of two established omnichannel donor cooperatives to drive performance and acquire high value donors. By leveraging donor transactional data and advanced analytics, they can optimize performance and increase fundraising revenue.

TrueSense is a premier fundraising agency specializing in “full circle fundraising.” They provide campaign strategy, execution, and analytics to national and chapter-based nonprofits across many sectors, including Feed the Children, The Braille Institute, Ronald McDonald House, The Salvation Army, and many food banks, children’s hospitals, veteran service organizations, and higher ed foundations.

The Challenge

Rising costs and macroeconomic factors have impacted nonprofit acquisition programs in the last two years. To address these challenges, and in collaboration with agency partners, Data Axle Nonprofit continues to work to improve performance using data driven approaches and leveraging technology/analytics.

In 2023 TrueSense decided to test multiple cooperative databases in a concerted, thoughtful, and year-long effort. Results would be monitored across campaigns and nonprofit verticals to find the best co-ops for their clients. Armed with these results, TrueSense would then select the best performing co-op to be the primary co-op data source to enhance their client’s donor acquisition and fundraising programs.

The Test

TrueSense included Data Axle’s Apogee and DonorBase omnichannel cooperatives in head-to- head testing against other leading nonprofit cooperatives to assess response rate, average gift, revenue per thousand, and universe size across seven nonprofit vertical markets.

When utilizing cooperative donor data like Apogee or DonorBase, audiences are identified, ranked, and delivered for every campaign through advanced modeling techniques customized for each client. With Data Axle Nonprofit providing strategic insight and recommending the best selections for each client’s media plan, TrueSense received data needed to meet the geographic needs of every participant within their acquisition campaigns, for each vertical market, and every campaign within the year.

Provided with these critical data points, TrueSense set a goal to ensure testing and evaluate at year end.

Results

Apogee outperformed the competition – producing double-digit increases in response rate and revenue per thousand based on comparable mail volumes.

  • Top response rate in 92% of 39 campaigns
  • Highest revenue per thousand in 65% of campaigns.

As a cost-effective addition to this testing, DonorBase was utilized as a secondary source, omitting Apogee names to provide more universe without duplication. DonorBase secured the highest overall average gift size.

Digging into the data at the vertical market level we see:

Takeaways

Results show that when utilized together strategically, Apogee and DonorBase cooperatives:

  • Generate above average response rates
  • Produce high average gifts
  • Yield stronger revenue per thousand
  • Fulfill the target volume goals regardless of sector
  • Provide deduped prospect names between two unique co-operative databases

With the results of cumulative, year-long testing, TrueSense and Data Axle Nonprofit are set to partner on additional campaigns to power acquisition in the coming year.

My team and I are so pleased with the results that the Apogee co-op data deliver. The revenue driven by a higher response rate over other leading co-ops in head-to-head testing put us on firm footing to grow our clients’ acquisition programs and fuel healthy, high-value donor files.
– Jen Starrett, Chief Operating Officer at TrueSense Marketing

With Data Axle’s expertise, the above outcome is applicable to any nonprofit facing similar challenges. In an unpredictable donor environment, Data Axle provides solutions for making acquisition campaigns cost-effective while maximizing return on investment.

Data Axle Nonprofit is the foremost partner for nonprofits who want access to in-depth donor, consumer and organizational data, the resources to append existing data in real-time, and to successfully design and execute complex omnichannel campaigns.

Connect with our team to learn more about our work with agency partners and nonprofits, and how Apogee and DonorBase cooperative data can boost acquisition and fundraising programs.

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