case study
Smile train: Award-Winning Connection with Donors’ Hearts
Standout stories + consistent donor care = smiles for children in need.
I began serving Smile Train in the spring of 2022, working with my remarkable partner MESG Marketing. And we’re still going strong.
Smile Train is the world’s largest cleft-focused nonprofit. Their sustainable model supports surgeries and comprehensive treatment from local healthcare partners around the world. Smile Train’s compassionate donors have supported 1.5+ million children in need with safe, free cleft care over the past 25 years.
OUR SMILE STRATEGY
When I came on board, Smile Train’s gifted senior copywriter had his hands full, serving many functions across the organization. Their team recognized that a solid email fundraising program needed additional support. So we made a great match, with my donor writing expertise rounding out full-service digital fundraising from MESG.
We continue to work with a winning recipe in donor communications:
1) Vivid storytelling, inviting supporters into the lives of one patient, one family at a time.
I’m thrilled to work with a team who invests in an abundant – and growing – bank of stories and photography from the field. I get to draw from rich content, allowing copy to bring the cause to life. Emotionally-resonant stories allow us to invite donors into the mission, again and again.
2) A consistent flow of timely appeals – balanced with equally consistent cultivation, thanks, and stewardship.
Our strategy for donor comms hinges on frequent touch points throughout the year. Smile Train supporters expect to hear from them weekly – whether with a special ask and offer, a celebratory report or impact story, or a fun way to make a difference beyond making a monetary gift. And supporters continue to respond abundantly, again and again. They want to feel deeply connected, and it shows.
3) A committed focus on the wellbeing of both donors and Smile Train patients and families.
Alongside ethical storytelling practices, Smile Train has embraced a focus on donor identity and belonging. Our copy speaks to the heart and soul of the person behind the financial transaction. As in any good relationship, we want each donor to know that their best self is seen, cared for, and part of a community of shared values.
RECOGNIZED WITH GOLD!
We grow Smile Train’s giving with conscious collaboration. As a team of strategists, creatives, and execs, we’re always approaching donor comms with curiosity and a willingness to test, assess, and refine. Our mutual trust translates into trusting relationships with Smile Train donors. And in turn, another healthy child’s smile.
With this approach, we’ve stared down some of fundraising’s most elusive challenges – like how to re-engage lapsed donors.
Extra outreach to lapsed donors was central to a highly successful year-end email campaign in 2022 – along with abundant stewardship between appeals, deliberate segmentation, the use of matching gifts that increased on prime giving dates, and MESG’s relentless commitment to maintaining strong email deliverability.
I’m proud to be recognized for my Smile Train donor copywriting! Our year-end email campaign won a GOLD MAXI Award from the Direct Marketing Association of Washington in 2023.
Wins from this campaign included:
Response rate of .45%, blowing past the .08% industry benchmark for fundraising emails.
Total number of gifts increased 33% over the previous year.
Increasing end-of-year revenue by 22.59% over the previous year.
click on sample emails from this campaign to read:
UP NEXT? MORE SMILES
In 2024 and beyond, we’re energized to grow Smile Train’s Frequent Smiler community of monthly donors and to nurture relationships with newcomers – while consistently meeting and exceeding ambitious fundraising goals. Among our mantras: “No wait list for a child in need, ever!”
Let’s chat about your fundraising goals.