Driving registrations to Whitman Walker’s fundraiser
Personalized texts drove 1222 new participants to Whitman Walker’s 33rd fundraiser event to end HIV.
2 min read | Illustration by Mayara Lista
Whitman Walker Health has been providing inclusive and stigma-free care to the LGBTQ community since 1973. For more than 33 years, they have been raising funds for HIV-focussed care and research through their Walk & 5K to end HIV event.
Challenge
New race participants were struggling to reach their fundraising targets
Past participants with experience in securing sponsors were not engaging with reactivation emails, and new participants were falling short of their fundraising goals. The Walk & 5k to End HIV organizers needed an effective strategy to reactivate lapsed participants, and offer guidance to new ones.
We were missing an opportunity to revitalize participant engagement and create a sense of renewed enthusiasm for our event, which is now in its 34th year.”
— David Mallory, Director of Annual Giving
Solution
Peer to peer messages to over 4,000 participants went a long way.
Tried and true email marketing was falling short of the Whitman Walker Foundation’s goals. By designing and implementing a peer-to-peer messaging strategy, we were able to send over 4,217 personal invitations to come participate another year. We were also able to offer private advice and coaching through SMS to 1,222 new participants who needed guidance on how to ask their peers to help them reach their targets before the race.
Results
We raised $150,000 in additional revenue through SMS marketing.
Through our peer-to-peer messaging strategy, the team at Whitman Walker were able to win-back 29% of their lapsed participants. They also noticed that participants who were receiving both emails and SMS from their team were more likely to hit their targets, and bringing in 20% more funds than those who were only receiving emails.
Banter staff brought great creativity, responsiveness and collaboration to the table. We were so pleased with the registration and fundraising results that we jumped at the chance to work with them again.”
— David Mallory, Director of Annual Giving