Conservation International

"As a thought leader in the nonprofit sector, Convio has published research, including the Wired Wealthy study, that has influenced how we target mid-level and major donors. Convio also gives us the tools we need to implement our constituent relationship management strategies so we can meet our fundraising objectives." - Beth Wallace, Vice President of Digital Marketing, Conservation International

About Conservation International

Conservation International (CI) applies innovations in science, economics, policy and community participation to protect the Earth’s richest regions of plant and animal diversity and demonstrate that human societies can live harmoniously with nature. Founded in 1987, CI works in more than 40 countries on four continents to help people find economic alternatives without harming their natural environments. 

The challenge

• Received majority of donations offline from major donors
• Wanted to leverage the Internet to target mid-level donors, and to help develop potential major donors cost-effectively
• Needed to tap into the personal networks of existing donors and strengthen CI's brand within these social circles
• Wanted to increase the number of donors who would make "unrestricted" gifts (unlike major donor gifts, which were restricted to specific programs)

The solution

• Selected Convio's email and fundraising solutions
• Send an email newsletter regularly to cultivate constituents and encourage participation in an online community, which offers various benefits and opportunities to support CI
• Launch a three-part email series targeting all constituents each month, culminating in a hard ask
• Created a welcome series of emails with content designed to broaden constituents' interests to include other core concerns of CI
• Use email to keep major donors informed of details about gala fundraising events, including save the date information, donation forms, and photos and videos from events

Results

• Received $1 million in donations online during FY07
• "The Great Turtle Race" campaign, which was promoted through email, social networks and a micro-site, attracted 50,000 new constituents within a two week period and garnered extensive media coverage about the plight of leatherback sea turtles
• Drive traffic to their website through CI's Facebook™ page; have approximately 2,000 friends (as of September 2008)
• Grew email addresses from 4,000 to more than 100,000 in two years (an increase of 2400%+)

Related links

• Conservation International - Case in Point (PDF)
• Visit Conservation International's website at www.conservation.org