UK animal welfare charity secures donors in the USA
published in British English in UK Fundraising

Erica Waasdorp explains how UK charity International Animal Rescue developed a donor base in the USA.

International Animal Rescue (IAR) is a worldwide animal rescue and rehabilitation organisation with headquarters in the UK. The charity was founded in 1988 by John and Jo Hicks.

It is the charity's mission to provide a foundation for the compassionate treatment of animals through humane education and training. After specialising in providing comprehensive sterilisation and inoculation programs for stray dogs and cats, it has expanded to campaign internationally, for example against dancing bears in India and Turkey, the shooting of birds in Malta, and the illegal hunting of caged animals in Ireland.

Why did IAR start raising funds in the US?

IAR wanted to test new markets outside of the UK in an effort to expand its donor base for the dancing bear cause. One of the countries they considered was the United States (US) because of its responsiveness to animal protection causes and the philanthropic nature of Americans.

The goal was to find new contributors that are interested in animal protection in general and IAR's bear sanctuary in India in particular. IAR had once dabbled in the US with a fair amount of success. It was now ready to make a firmer commitment to considerably expand its donor base.

The approach

Because of Plymouth, Massachusetts-based DMW's experience in the animal-protection arena and its experience in working with international organisations, IAR asked the agency to help with a test appeal. In addition, DMW supported IAR with data-entry set up and other organisational startup requirements.

To generate the most cost-effective entry into the US for IAR and to get up to speed quickly on the organisation and its style, DMW worked closely with IAR's British agency, A Different Kettle, to develop the right tone and voice for the organisation here, and to ensure that it would be the most responsive pack for entry into the US. DMW trans-created the pack, adapting copy, paper sizes and other specialties, such as reply slips, payment methods, etc. to make it suitable for mailing in the US market. DMW created a special lapsed donor and acquisition version with personalised copy variations.

DMW's internal media department researched lists and negotiated exchanges to present the best test campaign possible. It reviewed its results database for the most relevant animal protection lists and presented a plan for a few individual states. The direct mail campaign of 50,000 pieces dropped in June of 2003. DMW also worked on a "thank-you" effort for respondents of the appeal, to be mailed along with IAR's magazine. This dropped as a follow-up effort at the end of September 2003.

Results

Without using any type of premium incentive, (which a lot of other US animal welfare organizations use), DMW grew IAR's donor base to close to 2,500 donors - an increase of nearly 1,000 donors - and established that the US is a viable market to continue to attract donors to IAR's mission. The response rate was 1.7 per cent, but more importantly, the average gift was $20.14. (close to £11) This well exceeded the client's expectations, both in response rate and especially average gift. The results of the current rollout of 100,000 pieces are almost finalised and are generating a comparable response rate. While the average gift amount is slightly lower, some of the lists have generated well over 2 per cent response. The donor appeal, a slight copy variation to the control, pulled an impressive 8 per cent response rate.

Next steps

IAR has just decided to roll out another 100,000 pieces in the spring of 2004 with the help of fundraising partner, DMW, with an expansion into new states. Following a slow, but steady roll-out strategy is paying off for this highly focused organisation.