Royal Society for the Blind

Based in South Australia, Royal Society for the Blind (RSB) is a not-for-profit organisation providing services and equipment to Australians who are blind and visually impaired. RSB helps people participate more independently in the community. With growing funding pressures in the NDIS environment, RSB remains heavily reliant on supporter generosity.

But RSB had been experiencing a steady donor decline. After this was identified, the team partnered with direct mail specialists Ask² to build RSB’s active donor database significantly as part of a three-year plan. They also needed to renew donors regularly and find ways to convert a significant number to monthly giving, further increasing ROI.

RSB had never conducted donor acquisition through direct mail. They undertook a trial campaign, ‘For Your Eyes Only’, to test response. It focused on four main areas of RSB’s work, illustrated with descriptive and emotive case studies. The campaign was split into two waves.
The mailing results exceeded expectations. Active donors increased by 49.4% from 3,794 to 5,667. This comprised 1,869 new donors, and 154 lapsed donors. All key metrics performed better than anticipated.

The campaign continues to attract new donors and re-engage lapsed ones, and has extended RSB’s reach in a meaningful, cost-effective manner.