Greenpeace USA newsletter: the origami whale

A flood of origami whales created by supporters cascades onto a Greenpeace desk. Below, easy instructions. That so many supporters made and sent in their paper whales shows the universal appeal of a simple involvement device.

By definition most Greenpeace supporters are activists, at heart at least. So when the organisation provides a direct way to get engaged, they love it and respond with enthusiasm. Which is just great for building donor relationships.

More case studies from Greenpeace

SOFII's view

Opportunities for donors to actively participate in something appropriate usually pay off. Once you’ve realised this, then the idea of asking donors to construct an origami whale is inspired, but really very simple. And as always, the simple ideas show that they work best with donors

Medium of communication:

Direct mail.

Type of charity:

Environmental/animals.

Target audience:

Awareness, regular gift, single gift.

Country of origin:

USA.

Creator/originator:

Greenpeace USA

Name of exhibitor:

Matthew Sherrington, development director of Greenpeace USA, Washington from 2003 to 2007; now fundraising and communications strategy consultant with The Good Agency, London, UK.

Date of first appearance:

2006.

Summary/objectives:

We at Greenpeace USA wanted to use our newsletter to deepen supporter engagement. We wanted to make it more personal and to offer our traditional donors, who gave through direct mail, the opportunity to participate in our campaigns. We also wanted to do better at raising spontaneous donations.

Background:

Influence/Impact:

This was part of our desire to reach out to supporters, engage with them, and help them feel they were part of the campaigning mission – make being part of the Greenpeace movement real.

Details:

To re-develop the newsletter, we tested the changes. Firstly, by enclosing the cover letter and reply envelope we increased spontaneous donations. Secondly, by adding a campaign action we engaged even more people and further increased spontaneous donations.

Results:

Response rates were three to four times higher than special appeals, confirming supporters’ interest in getting involved. Feedback included ‘thank you for getting the petition to me and not asking for money!’
We took the time to record all the off-line non-financial actions supporters did. Over a 12-month period, 20 per cent of our direct mail supporters also responded to a non-financial request to take part in a campaign action (not counting any on-line activity).
As a result of our emphasis on supporter engagement, we increased e-mail penetration from four per cent to 30 per cent of donors and member renewal rates for some supporter segments increased by up to 40 per cent.

Merits:

It’s an example of transforming the humble newsletter, with new energy and purpose, to deliver a real involving experience to supporters. Not just petitions in appeals commonly used to lift response – but asking supporters specifically, and only, to participate in a campaign action.

It was highly supporter focused. The format and content reflected the level of information supporters said they wanted. The covering letter introduced a more personal contact with a named staff member. And because there was never a direct financial ask, it was obvious to supporters that the campaign action was authentic and not a trick to prompt donations.

Mal Warwick highlighted the newsletter in his Jan 2007 e-newsletter as an example of innovative practice. Have a look at it, here.