Robbins - Utah Food Bank

Utah Food Bank

THE UTAH FOOD BANK staff and volunteers work together to gather and distribute emergency food to individuals and families experiencing the pain of hunger in Utah. Last year the Utah Food Bank distributed over 21 million pounds of food to meet over 1.39 million requests. Food is gathered and sorted in the Utah Food Bank warehouse and then distributed throughout the state to more than 260 food pantries, churches, senior centers, after school programs and group homes.

Project
2005 Holiday Acquisition Campaign

Situation Analysis
The Utah Food Bank had an established direct mail program but wanted to test the effectiveness of an outside consultant, with the goal of getting maximum results with a minimum investment.

Objective
To help support its statewide hunger relief program, the Utah Food Bank wanted to acquire more new donors. Robbins' extensive experience within the Food Bank sector had proven that Holiday Acquisition programs perform well.

Strategy
The Robbins strategy was to design an inexpensive, yet effective package that would keep costs down. The package also needed to create a sense of urgency, in that without the donor's immediate help, needy people in the donors' cities and towns stood in danger of being hungry over the holidays.

By designing a mini notecard format and blind envelope to stand out in the mailbox, the card had a more personal feel than a letter. The cover illustration with food and hearth and home imagery evoked a feeling of holiday warmth and comfort. Laser copy allowed for personalization and localization, presenting how hunger impacts people in the donor's own community.

Results
The results were overwhelming. The response rate was 2.46% with an average gift of $44.69. The cost to raise a dollar was 56 cents!

This campaign won 3rd place in the FundRaising Success Magazine 2006 Gold Awards for Fundraising Excellence in the Acquisition 50,000 or More Mailed category.