Newark Academy Founders Day Fundraising Campaign
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Newark Academy (NA), one of the nation’s oldest private schools, was celebrating its 250th anniversary and chose to mark the occasion by launching their first Founders Day appeal.
They wanted the design to honor their long history and accomplishments but have a “fun” celebratory feeling as well. As one of several campaigns the academy holds throughout the year, the goal was to differentiate the Founders Day appeal in a meaningful way.
Trillion designed a short-folded card that evoked a traditional feeling while the layout and photos kept the card feeling modern. Copy was personalized for seven different audiences, or segments, and the card included a remittance envelope as well as a QR code for digital donations. Artwork was also prepared for the accompanying email campaign, a series of timed email blasts that gave updates and encouraged even more participation.
RESULTS
The Founders Day Appeal was a success, raising $318,383 for the school’s annual fund, with an average gift of $1,000. Of the donors, 9% were first time donors and 7% were SYBUNTs. Because this was the first time the academy had celebrated their Founders Day, the campaign also raised awareness of the school’s impressive history; future campaigns can invoke that pride during fundraising.
