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When the news came that a 6.8-magnitude earthquake had leveled parts of Morocco, many of them remote, Trócaire’s fundraising team knew their supporters would be headed to the website to help with humanitarian relief however they could. Could we put together a suite of emergency digital fundraising communications on short notice, using extremely limited imagery and content? The answer was yes, and the result was a homepage banner and donation …

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“Take a bow,” the email began. “We’ve had over three times as many legacy info requests in the space of 3+ months than we would sometimes have in a full year. Huge thanks to both of you for hitting the nail on the head, listening to my ramblings, and for your instinctive understanding of what we needed.” This lovely message from Irish humanitarian organization Trócaire’s legacy officer was just the start …

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With as many as eight in ten donors leaving after just the first year, new donor attrition is one of the biggest problems faced by the nonprofit sector today. So if you need a better way to keep your new donors connected and giving – and most nonprofits do – your donor welcome process is a great place to start. And when it comes to keeping donors, MQI makes for …

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Printing at the near-million mark each Lent, the annual Trócaire Box has been woven into the generous culture of people across the island of Ireland. And the Lent campaign itself is a year-long effort with the iconic coin Box and its supporting elements comprising just one part of an overall fundraising plan that crosses every channel: direct mail, email, social media, parish posters, cards, digital, radio, TV, and more. But …

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Spend half an hour searching nonprofit annual reports, and you’ll find advice that ranges from  ditching your donor recognition lists to stripping the title of “annual report” from your annual review, right down to changing the publication’s name to gratitude report or donor impact report. And gratitude reports, especially, often read nothing like the annual reports sent to government funders, corporate supporters, grantors, private donors, and the like. Sometimes walking supporters …

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The human catastrophe stopped us in our tracks. Driven by climate change, the worst drought in Somalia’s history left people there – and across other parts of East Africa – facing a hunger crisis that teetered on the edge of famine. We knew Trócaire supporters would want to help, and knew the organization was in a unique position to help: thanks to local partners and the generosity of donors, for …

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ChildVision is a remarkable charity helping children in Ireland with sight loss and other complex disabilities, and advocating for their rights. With diagnoses that reach far beyond blindness, talking about what each child faces can be really difficult. But by using story to create a safe space, even the toughest and most complex topics can be tackled effectively – in this case, cortical visual impairment (CVI), and the fact that …

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How can you create a multi-channel campaign that will thank donors... deepen connection... drive leads for legacy, monthly, and major gifts... help fund a matching appeal... and reveal donor commitment and identities, to boot? Enter the Supporter Survey, which Trócaire asked us to help create, slated to launch in the slower summer months – and timed perfectly to help fund a matching offer at Christmas. It’s important to note that …

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Too often, hospital foundations run the risk of breaking the “rules” of good supporter newsletters: photos of people holding those giant donation checks, large articles on the latest golf tournament or gala... not the news we know supporters respond and give to. But St. Helena Hospital Foundation wanted to rise above, focusing on grateful patient stories, lifesaving technology, and more. And as a small hospital in a Napa Valley community …

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This supporter newsletter set an all-time fundraising record for Irish humanitarian charity Trócaire – including a 67% increase in response rate for donors who received a special 25-year giving badge to honour their connection to the feature story on 25th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda, and the support and healing they helped make possible all through the 25 years in between. The newsletters are part of an ongoing and …

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This appeal for animal anti-cruelty charity Animals Asia brought to life the story of how sun and moon bears often require emergency surgery and special, lifelong care after being rescued from lives in captivity on bile farms. In creating this direct mail fundraising pack, we wanted donors to feel personally connected to the bears they were helping by donating to help fund a gallbladder surgery. And we wanted a distinctive …

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MQI is an amazing organization helping people who struggle with homelessness and addiction. Back in 2010, my design colleague Sandie Collette and I were asked to create a Christmas direct mail appeal based on gratitude: reasons clients and staff of MQI were grateful to donors for all they helped make possible, while still connected to an unrestricted, urgent ask for support. The result was the Book of Thanks, which that …

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