WhatWeDid

Bark Media helped surpass a multi-million dollar fundraising goal with a relationship-building impact storytelling campaign

BytheNumbers

$2.6M+ Raised in a Single Day

5% Increase in Total Number of Gifts

5,000+ Individual Contributions

Opportunity

The University of Kansas (KU) Endowment sought support for its annual one-day crowdfunded giving initiative. The initiative had a history of success, but this year the team had a few specific challenges to address: align the one-day campaign with its broader, multi-year capital campaign; use storytelling to express the impact of the campaign outcomes; and engage the inactive segment of their email list.

Outcome

The University of Kansas (KU) Endowment sought support for its annual one-day crowdfunded giving initiative. The initiative had a history of success, but this year the team had a few specific challenges to address: align the one-day campaign with its broader, multi-year capital campaign; use storytelling to express the impact of the campaign outcomes; and engage the inactive segment of their email list.

Howwedidit

Humanize the power of collective philanthropy through grassroots gifts.

People are more likely to donate if they can see how their contribution makes a positive impact so we focused on impact-based storytelling.

Develop an impact story-based strategy

Create content fostering emotional connection

Integrate clear, effective calls to action

Activate a multichannel strategy.

It takes several touchpoints before an individual is inspired to make a donation so we worked to communicate across multiple channels.

Test messaging through social media campaigns

Design social media posts to drive website traffic

Launch emails flows to deepen relationships

Empower champions to share the campaign

Connect meaningfully with donors to support future goals.

Relationship-building is at the heart of successful fundraising. We worked to use content to learn about what motivated the audience.

Elicit engagement through storytelling

Gather action-based data from donors

Expand potential donor base

Strengthen brand identity through human connections

Testimonial

“Bark Media was a fabulous partner for our team for campaign support. They created compelling storytelling that allowed us to connect with our donors in a meaningful way. They listened and understood our goals and objectives and produced rich content that helped us successfully engage donors on our giving day.”

Opportunity

Outcome

Humanize the power of collective philanthropy through grassroots gifts.

People are more likely to donate if they can see how their contribution makes a positive impact so we focused on impact-based storytelling.

Activate a multichannel strategy.

It takes several touchpoints before an individual is inspired to make a donation so we worked to communicate across multiple channels.

Connect meaningfully with donors to support future goals.

Relationship-building is at the heart of successful fundraising. We worked to use content to learn about what motivated the audience.

Rhonda Gillespie / Assistant Director / Annual Giving / KU Endowment

JenniferKongs

RochelleValverde

JessicaKellner

OneDay. One KU.

The Next Big Idea Starts Here Campaign

Opportunity

Outcome

Humanize the power of collective philanthropy through grassroots gifts.

People are more likely to donate if they can see how their contribution makes a positive impact so we focused on impact-based storytelling.

Activate a multichannel strategy.

It takes several touchpoints before an individual is inspired to make a donation so we worked to communicate across multiple channels.

Connect meaningfully with donors to support future goals.

Relationship-building is at the heart of successful fundraising. We worked to use content to learn about what motivated the audience.

Rhonda Gillespie / Assistant Director / Annual Giving / KU Endowment