Will donation - To pass on the good

Will donations are a key pillar in the fundraising mix for most charitable organizations, but very few invest in cross-channel campaigns that enable them to generate qualified leads. One reason for this is that they only have limited capacity for acquiring and nurturing their leads. On the other hand, the topic of discounts is complex, as personal communication is required and therefore even more capacity is needed. Marketing automation can be a great help here. Offline acquisition of estate donations can be optimized and in some cases replaced by digital products. But it is not possible without personal contact. This is precisely the biggest challenge in campaigns for legacy donations: creating personalized communication that allows an authentic relationship to be established and at the same time relieves the burden on employees.

This was a particularly high priority for the Zurich Red Cross, as this is the only way to bind leads to the organization - the prerequisite for them to pass on their charitable work. At the same time, it is important to view the campaign as a true fundraising campaign with a clear call-to-action. Finding a balance between emotional and goal-oriented language is the key. It therefore requires an investment in good wording! In this way, emotionality should be used to pick up the leads and bring them to their destination with objectivity. All just wishful thinking? We say no. Because with our campaign for the Zurich Red Cross, we have found a new way.

The solution for a successful bequest campaign was an automated multichannel campaign. The aim of the Journey is to ensure that the Zürcher Red Cross is taken into account by donors in their will, but also to bind them to the organization. Because donating your estate means a commitment that goes beyond your own life - an investment in the future.

When creating the concept, all possible scenarios of a journey must first be thought through. What different touchpoints are there and how do we pick up as many leads as possible? Which stages should they go through and how are they best guided to their destination? What options for action are there and how can we best manage the bounce options? The call-to-action to make a will donation is a very big one. Potential will donors need to get something in return.

Therefore, the Red Cross in Zurich wanted to tell the story of the Red Cross train children in terms of added value. For the target group, it is an opportunity to get to know an important episode of a part of forgotten Swiss history and the solidarity that arose from it. In addition, the Journey gives them the opportunity to become part of the humanitarian history of the Red Cross themselves through the legacy donation.

Train children - one of the largest humanitarian campaigns of the Swiss Red Cross

Between 1942 and 1956, a total of 180,000 starving children between the ages of 4 and 10 from areas of Europe that had been damaged during the war were brought to Switzerland by the Red Cross Children's Centers for recuperation and cared for in foster families. It was one of the largest humanitarian campaigns under the leadership of the Swiss Red Cross.

Leads are acquired via three entry points: Facebook Ads, various Google Ads and emails to external and personal addresses. A free reminder diary acts as a lead magnet, providing an introduction to the topic of wills and creating a link to the topic of train children. This booklet can be ordered on a landing page and is also the entry ticket for the automated email journey, which consists of a total of 4 emails, each with a landing page.

In order to manage expectations, the content of the emails and landing pages was metered. An emotional introduction with a thematic focus on the Red Cross train children serves to pick up leads. As the journey progresses, the emotional content gradually decreases and the content dealing with wills and advice increases. Within the journey, all stations are networked with each other, and a sophisticated scoring system allows the interactions and interests of contacts to be precisely recorded over the course of the journey. Will consultants can then use this scoring to identify who is particularly suitable for a follow-up conversation, for example, where personal contact is worthwhile. These high-quality leads are offered a personal consultation at the end of the journey. The final stage of the journey is the opportunity to make a donation to the Zürcher Rote Kreuz in your will via the DeinAdieu platform.

The landscape of the Zugkinder campaign

When creating the concept, we had to think through all possible journey scenarios. What are the entry points through which we collect leads? Which channels do we use to do this as effectively as possible? What stages should they go through and what is the best way to get them to the destination of a legacy donation? What opportunities for action do leads have and how can we best manage the bounce opportunities? What happens if they want to leave the journey? The landscape depicts the path of a contact to their destination.

Measuring the success of such a campaign in figures would be wrong, because it takes a while. Legacy donations are not about direct results, where a large amount of donations can be expected within a very short time. Donors often decide years later to include an organization in their will. This makes it all the more important to maintain this relationship. This can be made possible by providing advice via a specific contact person. Inheritance donations are not only an investment in a better future for donors if they bequeath their estate in a charitable way as a sign of the solidarity they have experienced.

From the point of view of the Zurich Red Cross, it is also an investment in the future of the organization: the conception of an automated will donation campaign lays the foundation for further automated and cross-channel campaigns. These make it possible to build a relationship with donors and deepen it over time. This is crucial because it's about making a positive impact beyond your own life.