Anyone familiar with runners of the Boston Marathon are likely also familiar with the fundraising that those runners and their teams do in the leadup to the race. The Boston Athletic Association’s charity program provides invitational entries to the Boston Marathon, so thousands of runners pledge to raise funds for their cause. The runners trying to raise funds often reach out to friends and family, coworkers, local businesses, and try a variety of fundraising tactics.

Joe Carroll, who’s running in the 2020 Boston Marathon, worked with IgnitePOST to reach out to potential donors. The results of his IgnitePOST fundraising campaign showed that by contacting potential donors with personalized handwritten notes, those potential donors were not only more likely to offer a donation than if they had just been contacted via email, but they were more likely to offer a donation of a higher average amount than a donor who was not sent a handwritten note. We asked Joe a few questions about his recent campaign below.

IgnitePOST: What was your budget for this fundraising campaign?

Joe: It was $300 total.  

How many people did you contact for this campaign?  

I had 105 people on my mailing list. The address list I used was fairly old, so I had 6 letters come back as not the correct address - so I assume 99 reached the intended recipient.

What were your goals for this campaign?    

My first goal was to raise money for Boston Children's Hospital. And my second goal was to contact people who had donated when I ran the marathon in past years but who I am not in contact with regularly.

What were your expectations?

I was hoping to raise $1000.

How many people responded to you in some way?

19 people got back to me.

This is an impressive response rate of 19%.

How many people made a donation?

18 made a donation. One of the people who got back to me told me she received the card and had actually already donated.

Even more impressive than the response rate is this 18% conversion rate.

What was the average donation made of the people who responded to your card?  

$178

What is your average donation made from non-IgnitePOST initiated donations?  

$113

What was the total amount raised from the IgnitePOST-initiated donations?  

$2,750. It's been 1 month since I sent the letters and I am still receiving donations generated from IgnitePOST every week.

This number was almost 3x the expectations and goals set when creating the campaign.

Were there any people who donated that you wouldn’t have expected to? Were there any donations that were higher amounts than what was expected?

Yes, I received two $250 donations from people I had not seen in 2 yrs and a couple of others who hadn't donated in a few years that I see periodically.

When looking at the campaign from beginning to end, the numbers jump out: 19% response rate, 18% conversion rate, and hitting almost 300% of the goal that was initially set. Fundraising can be awkward and impersonal when it’s done via email or other digital means. By sending a handwritten personalized note, the contact was made more personal, and the results of the campaign show how a personal touch can have such an impact.

IgnitePOST helps brands create magic moments for their customers. Our real pen and ink handwritten notes cut through the digital noise to surprise and delight customers exactly where they are in their shopping journeys.

Our intelligent software integrates with existing systems for easy set up and our robotics work at massive scale using ballpoint pens to give warmth to each note. This software-hardware combination generates perfectly timed and crafted moments that drive customers to action as our above industry average conversion rates show.

If IgnitePost sounds right for your business, contact us here for more information.

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