How Donation Campaigns Work at CORRECTIV

The end of the year is traditionally campaign season. This applies not only to NGOs, but also to media outlets financed by donations or membership fees. Valentin Zick from CORRECTIV's communications team explained to us what is important when planning a campaign. Among other things: Why you shouldn't be afraid of sending too many emails.

Central to CORRECTIV's annual fundraising campaign is a series of emails, with 12 to 15 emails sent to various target groups between mid-November and the end of December. In this case study, we therefore focus on what such an email series looks like, how a fundraising email should be structured, and what else is important. In this case study, we always refer to donations, but almost everything can also be applied to a membership model.

Sometimes more is more

The CORRECTIV 2023 donation campaign started on November 16, 2023. It essentially consists of a series of 12 to 15 emails sent to three different target groups:

• Newsletter contacts & one-time donors: These are all newsletter contacts and everyone who has donated to CORRECTIV at least once. The goal is to encourage them to make a first (or second) donation or, ideally, a recurring donation (monthly/yearly).

• Reactivating former donors: This target group consists of former regular donors who have canceled their regular donations. The aim is to win them back as donors.

• Regular donors: This target group already donates a fixed amount to CORRECTIV on a monthly or annual basis. The aim here is to convince them to increase their donation.

For each target group, the narrative in the respective emails remains the same, but the wording and calls to action are slightly modified.

12 to 15 emails may sound like a lot (and it is), but it is the number that works well based on the experience of CORRECTIV's communications team. By way of comparison, in 2019, CORRECTIV sent out just one or two emails per target group per donation campaign. In the 2022 donation campaign, the figure was 13. You don't need to worry that people will get annoyed at some point. This may be the case for a few individuals, but not for the majority. More emails usually means more money!

In addition to emails, CORRECTIV uses pop-ups on its website and breakers in articles. There are also two different landing pages: one for emails that only contains the donation form and one for links from the website that is enriched with 'trust elements' so that people understand what they are supporting. In the case of emails, this should already be explained in the email text (see below).

Major donors who have already made a donation to CORRECTIV in the past also receive a letter by mail asking them to make another donation.

Social media plays only a minor role in CORRECTIV's year-end campaigns. Although social media is important for reach, direct appeals for donations have hardly worked in the past. Direct contact with people via newsletters is much more effective.

It is also important to define goals for your fundraising campaign. How much money do you want to raise in total? How many new regular and one-time donors do you want to gain? Think about what good, realistic benchmarks might be.

On the following pages, we explain in detail how CORRECTIV's campaign emails are usually structured and provide further general tips for campaign emails.