“Authentic’s creativity and modern digital tactics have been critical to expanding our online fundraising and exceeding our goals for the year. We started from scratch and they are building our program into a reliable revenue stream and increasing our engagement with supporters of our cause. They are great partners to work with who deliver incredible results while always staying true to IJF’s mission and values. I wholeheartedly recommend them looking to upgrade their digital fundraising and engagement programs.”

— Briannon Gillis, Political Director

 

Fundraising Case Study Introduction: 

For over 35 years, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) has been a national leader defending and expanding opportunities for low-income immigrants. In February 2013, NILC established the Immigrant Justice Fund (IJF) as an affiliate focused on federal policies providing aspiring citizens a road to citizenship and societal integration.

Relying on advocacy connections and expertise, IJF ensures immigrant advocates have powerful policy impact in Congress. Since its founding, IJF has played an integral role nationally by advocating for immigrant youth, promoting immigration reform expanding vital access, amplifying the need for a humane system overhaul, and pushing for enforcement reforms protecting rights. IJF’s federal advocacy is essential to uphold justice and expand opportunity.

Challenge: 

With immigration rights under siege, IJF faced immense urgency to expand its supporter base and fundraising capabilities. Outdated legacy tactics and finite internal resources had stalled online fundraising growth for years.

Digital revenue remained far below potential, limiting IJF’s ability to maximize its advocacy nationwide. To drive real change on a federal level, IJF needed to completely transform its outdated fundraising approach. This required rapidly implementing an innovative digital and online fundraising strategy optimized for today’s landscape. The goal was engaging diverse supporters in a meaningful, personal way while dramatically increasing online donations.

However, IJF’s leadership recognized that their current tools and in-house expertise could not deliver the comprehensive digital expansion needed. With immigrant communities depending on their vital advocacy, IJF needed to partner with industry experts to develop an integrated, cutting-edge fundraising program. The stakes were high, but the opportunity to ignite nationwide support by modernizing their digital approach was immense.

Strategy: 

To transform their digital fundraising, IJF partnered with Authentic to develop an integrated, multichannel program and online fundraising strategy combining email, social media, and paid advertising.

Authentic implemented in-depth audience segmentation and research-driven messaging strategies. This enabled crafting content that educated different supporter groups on IJF’s vital mission and impact. Tailored email journeys sustained engagement while personalized fundraising appeals drove higher conversion rates. Targeted social media campaigns built awareness and affinity among key demographics nationally.

Through continual optimization, we refined the comprehensive digital and online fundraising strategy. The goal was maximizing reach, education, advocacy, donations, and growth across channels. With creative storytelling and resonating calls-to-action, Authentic revolutionized how IJF connected with supporters digitally. This laid the foundation for the dramatic online fundraising expansion needed to drive change on a federal level.

Tactics: 

— Segmented email campaigns combining urgent policy issues, impact stories, and clear fundraising appeals to inspire action

— Social media content and paid advertising campaigns educating and engaging target demographics

— Optimized petition pages and content downloads capturing supporter leads

— Retargeting engaged contacts across channels using tailored messaging

— Robust A/B testing to identify top performing content, offers, creative

— Automated email journeys delivering personalized nurturing based on supporter actions

— Smart suppression strategies ensuring relevant, welcomed communications

— Cross-channel reporting revealing optimization opportunities across platforms

This integrated mix of digital strategies formed the core of our ambitious effort to revolutionize NILC IJF’s supporter engagement and fundraising. With continual optimization informed by in-depth analytics, we maximized results across channels.

Outcome: 

The multi-faceted digital overhaul delivered transformative growth across key metrics:

— Increased average donations by 326%

— Donor rate improved by 40% compared to previous years

— Grew active email subscribed by 223% in first year

Through optimized supporter engagement and fundraising across email, social, and paid channels, Authentic fueled rapid expansion of IJF’s community and digital revenue.

The integrated digital and online fundraising strategy continues providing the robust funding and nationwide support vital for IJF’s essential advocacy empowering immigrant communities. Authentic’s work transforming their approach helped remove critical barriers to growth while amplifying the NILC Immigration Justice Fund’s mission during a pivotal time, making this a successful fundraising case study.

Examples: 

Fundraising Email #1

Fundraising Email #2