Case Study: Donor Experience Officer

Mid-Level Donors- 

Both Covenant House International and Operation Smile wanted to give their mid-level donors a better experience.  These committed supporters were largely being treated the same as a much smaller donor - they got the same stewardship and thank-yous, they might get a different mail piece or email communication but for the most part, their donor experience was not commensurate with their level of support.  

Goal:

The goals of the DXO program include:

• Give mid-level donors a one-to-one experience
• Personally thank these donors for their support
• Increase retention among the mid-level donor population
• Boost cumulative giving
• Uncover major gift and planned giving opportunties

Story:

A StoryCause DXO has approximately 1,000 mid-level donors in his/her portfolio.  The DXO is responsible for stewardship, personalized appeals, donor interviews and more.  The DXO gives the donor a face and a name that they can connect with.  The donor's experience starts with a "interview".  Here, the donor is thanked for their giving and the DXO asks questions to uncover the donor's "origin story" - why they started giving, what is most important to them about the work the organization does, where do the organization fit in the donor's philanthropic priorities and more.  These interviews are recorded and transcribed and are available for the organization to review.  Going forward, the DXO can refer back to the donor's story and preferences to align stewardship and appeal outreach to what the donor cares most about.  Portfolios are reviewed periodically to determine which donors should remain in a DXO portfolio, who should move up and who should be move backed to mass market and new mid-level donors can be added to the portfolio.  

Results:

Both Covenant House International and Operation Smile have seen significant lifts in cumulative giving from their portfolio donors as well as an increase in mid-level donor retention.  The DXO programs are also leading more mid-level donors to become major gift prospects as well as uncovering both existing and potential planned giving opportunities.