Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind Achieves 32% Email Open Rate & Increases Recurring Donations with Giveffect

With the goal of increasing constituent engagement, learn how Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind achieves an email open rate of 32.1% and increases their recurring donations with Giveffect.

Organization Overview:

Since 1900, Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind (CLB) has been dedicated to helping the blind or visually impaired population of the greater Washington region overcome the challenges of vision loss. Their work enables people of all ages who are blind or visually impaired to remain independent, active, and productive in our society. Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind provides a variety of lifestyle-changing services to people who are blind or visually impaired in the DMV to achieve their highest level of economic independence and quality of life – regardless of their ability to pay. Their work enables people of all ages who are blind or visually impaired to remain independent, active, and productive in our society.

Challenge:

Over the last decade, Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind (CLB) has expanded its donor and advocate community with the help of Giveffect’s fundraising tools. Alongside their core constituents who require services, a significant portion of their supporters includes alumni, caregivers, and individuals not currently needing services. With this in mind, CLB is committed to keeping its audience engaged, recognizing the possibility that they—or others—may seek support or wish to contribute to the mission in the future. CLB has also observed members transitioning from receiving assistance to becoming supporters. Because of this, CLB prioritizes maintaining meaningful relationships with all its audiences using Giveffect’s email marketing tools. Therefore, CLB’s primary challenge is keeping its audience engaged.

Solution:

To achieve their goal of audience engagement, the team focuses on efficiently managing the monthly “Lamplighter” newsletter using Giveffect. Ensuring its smooth creation, editing, and consistent delivery is crucial for inspiring ongoing contributions from the audience.

Email Marketing & Analytics for Increased Audience Engagement

For their monthly communications, CLB utilizes Giveffect’s user-friendly email editing features to update and modify their emails as needed quickly. Jocelyn Hunter, Senior Director of Communications, notes, “Giveffect’s email editing feature is nimble and easy for me to manage very effectively.”

Additionally, Giveffect’s reporting and dashboard capabilities enable the CLB team to monitor constituent engagement metrics for each email, such as open and click rates. This data allows CLB to identify which emails most effectively engage their audience, informing strategic decisions for future email campaigns.

Recurring Donations & Membership Management for Increased Audience Engagement

To further increase constituent engagement and contributions, CLB strategically includes a call to action in its “Lamplighter” newsletter, urging its supporters to join the Monthly Sustainers Program, a society for monthly contributors. This appeal highlights how monthly donations directly benefit members, such as covering a low vision exam or purchasing a long cane, giving donors a clear understanding of the impact of their support. To facilitate easy enrollment for recurring donations, the team uses Giveffect’s email editing tools to seamlessly integrate a call to action button linking directly to the donation checkout page, where donors can opt for recurring contributions instead of a one-time donation.

Additionally, CLB’s recent upgrade from Giveffect’s Fundraising Tier to the Starter Tier has provided access to the Membership Management module. This tool allows more efficient management and automation of the Monthly Sustainers Program, including tracking memberships.

Results:

In 2023, the “Lamplighter” newsletter achieved remarkable success, boasting an impressive average open rate of 32.1%, which surpasses the industry standard by 10%. Additionally, the effectiveness of this newsletter is underscored by the CLB Sustainers Program. These Sustainers contribute an average of $56 in recurring monthly donations. This highlights the newsletter’s role, along with the ease of enrolling in the program, in fostering sustained support for CLB’s initiatives.

Are you ready to increase your nonprofit’s constituent engagement with email marketing or increase recurring donations with membership? Schedule your demo today to learn more about how Giveffect can help.