Habitat Sees More Than 4X Increase to Its 2023 #GivingTuesday Donations. Find out what made the difference.

It’s natural to imagine that as the CEO or executive director of an organization, you have to be good at everything.

Not true.

Smart leaders become aware of their blindspots and don’t ignore them.

Challenge

Such is the case for one of my clients, Keith Sterling, Interim CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery and Delaware Counties, who had no qualms confessing that marketing is not his strength.

Alexandra ZeigerHe brought Bower & Co. in to guide and mentor the organization’s mission-driven, enthusiastic—though new-in-her-role—marketing director Alexandra Zeiger.

She recognized several strengths: her creativity, social media experience, and her ability to execute (with her team) engaging and enticing visuals.

However, an overabundance of questions and gaps—that the CEO was unable to help her address—undermined her confidence.

• What ideas would be the strongest to pursue?
• What tactics will work and what won’t?
• What is reasonable and sustainable for the organization?
• What systems and procedures were necessary?

She struggled to figure out where to begin to support the fiscal year goals. 

Solution

Bower & Co. knew that getting this bright, eager marketing director started tackling these questions and gaps immediately would catapult her confidence.

Here’s what we did:

• Skills assessment and learning goals—so we addressed what she most needed.
• Virtual strategy lab to get clear on the marketing goals; learn; apply the learning; adopt proprietary Bower & Co. tools; and brainstorm specific content ideas, tactics, and timelines to get her on track.
• Identify ways her leadership could build more collaboration and success in her role.

"Working with Bower & Co. has provided me the foundation and tools to build sustainable marketing procedures and practices for the affiliate," said Alex. "We are finally able to pivot from being reactive to proactive because we now have structures in place to set and track viable goals." 

Now, Alex has 90 days’ access to me to gain feedback on materials and campaigns and get her questions answered fast.

Results

Alex and her team and colleagues immediately applied her new ideas and stronger decisions to the 2023 GivingTuesday and year-end campaigns. We were thrilled to hear that so far, for GivingTuesday just the physical mailer raised more than FOUR TIMES what they raised last year on that one day. Their email appeals grossed even more.  

"Our Giving Tuesday efforts were much more intentional, engaging, and personal," said Alex, "and as a result, they were the most lucrative. The shift from donation-centered marketing to donor-centered marketing was the most impactful and would not have been possible without Bower & Co.'s guidance." 

Here are a few additional details and milestones about the campaign:

• Two $10,000 donations and one for $5,000.
• Of the two $10,000 donations, one donor expressed interest in speaking with the development department to discuss additional contributions. 
• The other increased their gift by $7000 from 2022.
• The organization’s newsletter generated more than any other newsletter since Alex began working at the organization about two years ago.
• The numbers of gifts in response to the emails and the physical mailers each increased, too.

And these results don’t include general contributions for the month of November.

Not only has the organization seen terrific results, but also Alex remains hopeful and encouraged to continue the year-end campaign.

"What was once a semi-daunting responsibility is now far more thrilling!" reports Alex. "I am excited to continue leveraging our brand in our community and engaging with donors in a way that's more than just transactional. With Bower & Co., we are prioritizing the mission and approaching our marketing efforts more holistically, authentically, and energetically." 

How are your #GivingTuesday and year-end results?

Is your marketing team focused on outcomes? Or confused with no one to turn to for guidance?

If marketing and communication that get results is not your strong suit, let’s talk about how I can support you and your staff. For a response within 24 hours, email me here.

Young staff members love being mentored, and professional development is a leading approach to improving staff retention.