Case Study
Houston SPCA
How Houston SPCA used Pursuant GivingDNA to create targeted segments of donors for mass communications and more personal outreach.
Houston SPCA is one of the leading animal rescue and protection organizations in the country with more than a dozen programs and services, including cruelty investigations and rescue, disaster response, adoptions, and so much more.
CASE STUDY
Houston SPCA
How Houston SPCA used Pursuant GivingDNA to create targeted segments of donors for mass communications and more personal outreach.
By the Numbers
By the
Numbers
$100k
Single gift from a donor who had previously never given more than $500–$2,500 annually
450
Well-qualified prospects identified for mid-level and major gift pipelines
145
Highly engaged major gift prospects identified for cultivation and qualification
The Challenge
Prior to working with Pursuant GivingDNA, Houston SPCA did not have a major gift program. They also had just opened their new Campus for All Animals facility in 2019 and needed steady funding to keep that project afloat as well as continue their existing programs. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic upended their plans.
The COVID-19 Pandemic
Just as she was coming onboard in March, Jamie Spiva and Jo Sullivan, Interim VP of Development worked to develop a new fundraising strategy in the face of a global pandemic. How could the organization continue to be donor centric when face-to-face asks were out of the question?
With a few clicks of the mouse, I was able to develop mid-level and major gift pipelines identifying 450 well-qualified prospects. We filled our portfolios directly from the GivingDNA Platform’s research, and it saved us days of research, data entry, and headaches.
With minimal cultivation (only two emails and one phone call), we received a $100,000 gift from a donor who had previously never given more than $500–$2,500 on an annual basis. GivingDNA helped us identify our best prospects so that we could maximize our time and resources.
The Solution
Pursuant GivingDNA initially identified 450 high-capacity prospects who had given $500-$4,999 in the past 2 years. They then narrowed that list to 145 highly engaged prospects and enrolled them in an email campaign.
In May, Pursuant partnered with HSPCA to create a segment of major gift prospects that Spiva would cultivate through personalized email outreach. The segment relied on GivingDNA’s data enrichment capabilities to find donors who had given $500–$4,999 in 1 of the past 2 fiscal years. From there, GivingDNA layered in the following data points:
● Net worth $2M+
● Discretionary spending $25,000+
● Donations to other organizations $500+ in the past 12 months
This led to a segment of 145 prospects to whom HSPCA sent a personalized cultivation email.
The Results
The first email sent to this enhanced major gifts prospect group resulted in a single gift of $100,000 from a donor who had previously never given more than $2,500 annually.
This donor had not been on HSPCA’s radar as a major gift prospect. With the help of GivingDNA, the client was able to identify him and send a simple message sharing an update on the work that Houston SPCA was doing. In response, the donor was inspired to make a transformative gift to the mission.
*Since the original publication of this story, we’re thrilled to announce that HSPCA has since received an additional $100,000 gift using the same toolset and strategy.
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