About this Case Study

This case study provides an example for non-profit organizations seeking to refine their brand strategy and strengthen donor relationships. If you are in the non-profit sector with a focus on donor engagement or brand management, this case study is for you.

This case study focused on evaluating the effectiveness of North Texas Food Bank’s (NTFB) previous messaging campaigns and identifying new approaches to resonate with donors in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. By exploring donor attitudes and preferences, the study aimed to provide actionable insights to enhance NTFB’s outreach strategies.

Summary

North Texas Food Bank partnered with RKD to assess the impact of past campaigns and determine future messaging strategies to better connect with donors. Through this research, we examined donor motivations, familiarity with NTFB, and the effectiveness of different communication channels, ultimately guiding NTFB’s efforts to increase engagement and support.

Here’s the Challenge

NTFB needed to understand how their current messaging influenced donor engagement and how to optimize future campaigns. The primary challenge was assessing the impact of previous initiatives without directly asking respondents about them, requiring an indirect approach to uncover meaningful insights.

Here’s the Idea

To address this challenge, we designed a survey that explored:

• Donor familiarity with NTFB and their programs.
• Motivations for supporting organizations addressing hunger.
• Preferences for communication channels and messaging themes.
• Barriers to engagement and donation.

The survey aimed to indirectly evaluate how NTFB’s messaging resonated with donors while providing insights into preferences for future campaigns.

Here’s the Execution

We conducted a quantitative survey with 211 respondents, targeting individuals in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The survey included:

• Questions about the importance of addressing hunger in the community and familiarity with NTFB.
• Ranking exercises for motivations and preferred messaging themes, such as transparency and success stories.
• Evaluations of preferred communication channels, including social media, newsletters, and word-of-mouth.

Respondents represented a diverse demographic profile to ensure a comprehensive understanding of donor attitudes.