Founded in 1973 by Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau, The Cousteau Society is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to protect the Earth's water systems, marine and fresh water, for future generations.

Challenge
The Cousteau Society celebrated the 100th anniversary of Jacques-Yves Cousteau's birthday in 2010. We saw this as an excellent opportunity to reinvigorate their lapsed donors and asked for their renewed support. It is always less expensive to renew lapsed donors than to acquire new ones.

Solution/Campaign
Special Anniversary Card. Using a message of "Continuing the legacy of Jacques Cousteau," we mailed donors a special anniversary membership card to supplement their annual membership card mailing.

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing pediatric HIV infection and eradicating pediatric AIDS through research, advocacy and prevention and treatment programs.

Challenge
EGPAF needed to include a small sub-set of their major donors in their broader 20th Anniversary "Join the Moment" campaign in the fall of 2009. Understanding that major donors need to be approached differently than smaller donors, the Foundation needed a repositioned package.

Solution/Campaign
Repositioned Creative. We adapted the "Join the Moment" mailing by using a handwritten address on the envelope and a different reply card. Rather than include a gift string with suggested amounts calculated according to the donors' last gift, the reply card invited donors to write in their own gift amounts.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is a nongovernmental organization that promotes human rights and justice around the world. Each year, HRW publishes more than 100 reports on human rights conditions in 90 countries, pressing government bodies, the UN, etc. for changes in policy and practice. HRW received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize as a member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

Challenge
When Human Rights Watch (HRW) hired EuroAmerican in 1998, the organization depended upon large donations and foundations for most of their revenue. They did not have an ongoing direct mail strategy in place to enhance their fundraising efforts.

Solution/Campaign
Acquisition package. We created a package using pictures and emotional appeals, capturing the essence of Human Rights Watch's activities.

Testing. We constantly test variations to identify the most cost-effective way to add new donors

The National Urban League is a civil rights organization dedicated to the economic empowerment of historically underserved urban communities. Today, over 100 local affiliates provide direct services to improve the lives of over 2 million people nationwide.

Challenge
The National Urban League (NUL) sought an effective strategy for soliciting lapsed donors and motivating them to renew their commitment to the League. It is always less expensive to renew a lapsed donor than to acquire a new donor.

Solution/Campaign
Handwritten Cards Campaign. EuroAmerican created a handwritten card campaign targeting lapsed donors containing the message, "We miss you. Please come back and renew your support as we begin our second century of service." Cards were sent to higher-value donors and were signed by the VP for Development.

Mailing Strategy. To improve the open rate, we sent the card in a blank envelope, hand addressed, with a first-class stamp.

Founded in Thailand in 1982 by two French doctors, Handicap International's teams of volunteers and professionals work to enable disabled people and the most vulnerable members of society regain their dignity and a place in their communities. Handicap International received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize as a member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

Challenge
Handicap International began its U.S. direct mail program in 2006. While initial response to acquisition mailings was good, any brand-new donor base will always be small. Handicap asked us to find a cost-effective way to renew these donors without the advantage of an economy of scale.

Solution/Campaign
Distinctive Package. By intermittently sending the distinctive acquisition control package — with a unique handmade bamboo crutch affixed to the letter — to donors, we inexpensively solicited them and renewed their support.

Achieve Economy of Scale. We achieved an economy of scale because we mail much larger quantities in acquisition than in house mailings.

The 900 members of the Franciscan Friars, TOR trace their roots directly to Saint Francis of Assisi. Members serve in missions around the world including in the U.S., Europe, India, Bangladesh, South Africa, and Central and South America.

Challenge
Franciscan Friars needed a way to increase the scope of their services in the eyes of their donor base so it could expand its sources of funding. Existing communications with the donor base focused solely on its efforts to help the poor.

Solution/Campaign
Newsletter. EuroAmerican created a newsletter that was more story-driven than mission-driven. Stories from Sri Lanka and Paraguay supplied concrete examples for donors of the services provided by the Franciscan Friars including supporting schools and basic human needs.

Mailing. We strategically timed the newsletter to mail during the summer to prime donors for fall and winter solicitations.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is a nongovernmental organization that promotes human rights and justice around the world. Each year, HRW publishes more than 100 reports on human rights conditions in 90 countries, pressing government bodies, the UN, etc. for changes in policy and practice. HRW received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize as a member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

Challenge
Human Rights Watch produces an impressive annual report, called Impact, each year for their large donors. Too large and expensive to send to smaller donors, they needed a cost-effective way to still provide the content to small donors.

Solution/Campaign
New format. EuroAmerican created a mini-annual report that summarizes the major points of Impact.

Reduced Cost. The smaller, less expensive format was designed to mail in a 6"x9" envelope.

International Planned Parenthood Foundation/Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF/WHR), formed in 1952, is recognized as the largest sexual and reproductive health organization in the world. IPPF/WHR works to advance reproductive human rights through grassroots activities and international policy.

Challenge
IPPF saw a high attrition rate among its valuable monthly donors and needed a way to retain these donors.

Solution/Campaign
Personalized Message. EuroAmerican created a handwritten card campaign targeting these lapsed donors specifically. The card was signed by the regional director and the message on the card told donors how much IPPF missed their support and asked them to come back on board.

Mailing Strategy. To improve the open rate, we sent the card in a blank envelope, hand addressed, with a first-class stamp. Once a mailing is opened the chances it will get a response multiply.

Challenge
When an emergency strikes, Action Against Hunger needs to get the message out to their donors immediately through every available channel. Any delay means that Action Against Hunger misses their chance to raise funds to fuel their disaster relief efforts.

Solution/Campaign
Develop ActionGram. We created an ActionGram template, which simplified the development process and allows us to drop in text and go to print. The broken red band on the envelope indicates severe emergency.

Reduced Turnaround Time. Due to our long-standing relationships with our vendors, they prioritize the ActionGram jobs and mail them in a few days.
Contain Costs. Use presorted rate first class postage rate instead of regular first-class stamps.

As a major academic medical center, Montefiore Medical Center in partnership with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, combines clinical care with research to deliver the most current treatments to its patients.

Challenge
Montefiore Medical Center needed to maximize its efforts to cultivate planned gifts from its donors. They needed a way to make all their donors aware of this giving option, understanding that they had a small direct mail program and a limited budget.

Solution/Campaign
All-In-One Brochure. To make sure that everyone was informed about the ways they could support Montefiore, we worked closely with their director of development to determine all the types of planned gifts they were set up to receive. We then created an all-in-one brochure that integrated the reply envelope and reply card into the brochure. Our strategy was to make it as easy as possible for anyone to show their interest in planned giving options.

Integrate into Existing Mailing. By including the brochure in thank-you letters for every renewal gift — which act as a soft direct-mail ask — we covered the donor base while keeping cost low.

Brooklyn College of the City University of New York is an innovative liberal arts institution recognized for its academic excellence and offers over 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The college has been designated as one of "America's Best Value Colleges" by the Princeton Review.

Challenge
Brooklyn College needed to find a way to capitalize on the work they had done for a capital campaign (traditionally designed around large donors), extend their reach, and include their direct-mail donors.

Solution/Campaign
Create a Campaign. We created a direct mail campaign adapting many of the elements of the capital campaign.

Effective Messaging. We incorporated messaging appropriate for a
direct-mail audience — "Past achievements do not guarantee a successful future. And they should not represent our limits."

International Planned Parenthood Foundation Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF/WHR), formed in 1952, is recognized as the largest sexual and reproductive health organization in the world. IPPF/WHR works to advance reproductive human rights through grassroots activities and international policy.

Challenge
When IPPF/WHR approached EuroAmerican, their existing donor acquisition results showed a need to redirect the program to produce stronger results and lower the cost per new donor.

Solution/Campaign
New Acquisition Control Mailing. We developed a control piece that more directly focused on IPPF/WHR's core mission.

New Acquisition Schedule. We needed to allow for changes to the control package over time based on results, so,we developed a new schedule that maintained the overall number of acquisition pieces mailed per year while reducing the amount mailed per campaign. This also significantly reduces risk.

Church World Service (CWS) works with partners to eradicate hunger and poverty, respond to emergencies, advocate on hunger-related issues, and promote worldwide peace and justice.

Challenge
Tens of thousands of devoted constituents participate yearly in CWS's annual CROP Walks, which take place nationwide. Neighbors walk to raise awareness and funds to fight hunger locally and internationally. Loyal to their individual congregations, these constituents are not CWS donors. CWS needed a strategy to convert CROP Walkers into donors.

Solution/Campaign
Develop a Test. We developed a test mailing to determine how these potential donors would respond to a direct mail solicitation while controlling cost and risk.

Targeted Creative. We created a second version of an existing acquisition mailing that focused on hunger and used it to targeted CROP Walkers specifically.

White Plains Hospital Center (WPHC) is a voluntary not-for-profit health care organization providing high quality acute health care and preventive medical care to people in Westchester county and surrounding areas.

Challenge
White Plains Hospital Center needed a cultivation publication that was less expensive than their annual report and geared more toward direct marketing and not communications.

Solution/Campaign
Refocused Report. We developed a Development Annual Report that focused on how community support had helped the WPHC achieve its goals. We created a strong case for continued and additional support by citing specific advances that the Hospital was able to make in the past year as a direct result of of donor contributions. We deleted a recap of the year's events to further refocus the content.

The Central Park Conservancy is a private, not-for-profit organization that manages Central Park under contract with the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation. The Conservancy provides 85% of Central Park's $27 million annual operating budget and is responsible for all basic care of the Park. Central Park is the most frequently visited urban park in the U.S.

Challenge
The Conservancy was looking to meet two challenges: (1) They had a matching gift offer they wanted to take full advantage of; and (2) They needed to address donors' perception that the Conservancy didn't need their support because the Park looked so exceptional.

Solution/Campaign
Matching Gift. We placed teaser copy on the envelope about the matching gift offer to make sure that anyone even glancing at the mailing knew that this was a special opportunity to give. We reminded donors throughout the mailing that their contributions would go twice as far.

Need for Support. By contrasting the current condition of Central Park with that of the 1970's — when it was unsafe to be in the Park at night — we reminded donors that the Conservancy provides the constant maintenance and vigilance necessary to keep it a welcoming oasis in NYC.

ProLiteracy works with local, national and international organizations to build the capacity and quality of adult literacy programs. Their efforts include professional development and training, advocacy, and educational materials.

Challenge
ProLiteracy needed to secure a steadier stream of unrestricted income from their small donor base.

Solution/Campaign
Monthly Giving Program. Usually undertaken by large, name-brand non-profits, we knew we could cost-effectively start a monthly giving program by creating a simple brochure and include it in thank-you letters.

Simplified Package. We integrated a reply card and postage-paid reply envelope into the brochure so that donors had everything they needed to respond in one place. A flat gift option was included in the reply card to capture donor support.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is a nongovernmental organization that promotes human rights and justice around the world. Each year, HRW publishes more than 100 reports on human rights conditions in 90 countries, pressing government bodies, the UN, etc. for changes in policy and practice. HRW received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize as a member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

Challenge
True to their tagline — Tyranny has a witness — HRW needed to get the word out after the brutal murder of one of their close colleagues in Chechnya, on July 15, 2009. HRW encouraged its donors to take action and express their outrage about this awful crime.

Solution/Campaign
Initial E-mail Appeal. We immediately wrote and sent an e-mail appeal — which included a video and an appeal to write to Chechnya's president — to HRW's constituency upon news of the reporter's death.

Annual Report. We followed up with a reminder in their annual report mailing, called Impact, which HRW dedicated to her memory.

Church World Service (CWS) works with partners to eradicate hunger and poverty, respond to emergencies, advocate on hunger-related issues, and promote worldwide peace and justice.

Challenge
Church World Service needed a cost-effective way to recognize and cultivate donors in each of their giving circles, especially their major giving circles-Ambassadors of Hope, Stewards of Hope, and Messengers of Hope.

Solution/Campaign
Membership Card. Our solution was to create a single membership card with multiple versions. This enabled us to reduce costs, thereby enhancing ROI, and also provide recognition for each giving circle.

ActionAid works with 25 million poor and excluded people in 50 countries around the world, helping them lift themselves from poverty and stand up against the injustices that cause it.

Challenge
ActionAid USA had been late with its 2009 annual report. When donors received the publication in October 2010, many who had given in the current year were dismayed to find their names "missing" from the list of recognized donors. ActionAid USA needed to recognize and reassure hundreds of these 2010 donors, securing their loyalty and sustaining their donor status going forward.

Solution/Campaign
Personalized Message. EuroAmerican created a four-color newsletter that listed all 2010 donors by name and giving level and, with photo updates from the field, showed how their dollars were already hard at work helping the poor. A personalized cover letter mentioned the 2009 annual report, named each donor's respective 2010 gift, and positioned the newsletter as an advance look at 2010's. The latter point was a subtle reminder to donors that the lateness of the 2009 report accounted for their misperception of being overlooked.

Mailing Strategy. To convey that the package contained a message of recognition and gratitude, not a solicitation – thus improving open rate – we marked the outer envelope "We asked. You delivered. ActionAid 2010 Tax Information Enclosed."

Founded in France in 1948, Swiss-based IUCN is the world's oldest and largest global environmental network, with more than 1,000 government and NGO member organizations and nearly 11,000 volunteer scientists in more than 160 countries. It works to influence, encourage and assist societies to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature, and to find pragmatic solutions to environment and development challenges.

Challenge
IUCN required an updated communications brochure that would reach multiple language audiences. Each version had to effectively communicate IUCN's global partnership approach that brings together the world's largest community of environmental experts to work together to build a sustainable future.

Solution/Campaign
EuroAmerican, with offices in both the U.S. and Europe, created and designed English, French and Spanish versions of the brochure that share a common design "look" and message. They all effectively explain IUCN's global mission and invite new organizations to partner as a member, join one of its six commissions, or support IUCN's efforts.

Founded in Thailand in 1982 by two French doctors, Handicap International's teams of volunteers and professionals work to enable disabled people and the most vulnerable members of society regain their dignity and a place in their communities. Handicap International received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize as a member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

Challenge
Following the Haiti earthquake of January 12, 2010, we needed to let Handicap International's (HI) donors know that HI was immediately on the scene providing assistance. Traditionally, HI's donor message focused on helping landmine and cluster bomb victims. This message needed to highlight Handicap International's role as an emergency response organization.

Solution/Campaign
ActionGram. We used an ActionGram format to convey urgency. Its broken red band serves as a "red flag" to donors that this is a severe emergency requiring their immediate assistance. Our ActionGram template ensures quick turnaround and the mailing uses first-class postage.