Case Study: Catholic Charity Appeal
Building a Mid & Major Donor Powerhouse
How a premium donor track generated 31% of total mail revenue—
with a 29% response rate
The Challenge
For years, this Diocese in the Northeast relied solely on in-church appeals to raise funds for its annual Catholic Charity Appeal (CCA). This parish-led model lacked consistency, reach, and centralized messaging. The Diocese needed a unified, scalable solution—and a strategy to engage its highest-value donors more effectively.
The Approach: Launching a Donor Society, Reimagined
DaVinci Direct introduced a cohesive direct mail strategy for the CCA and elevated the Bishop’s Partnership in Charity (BPC), the Diocese’s mid- and major donor society, into a cornerstone of the campaign.
We created a three-part series tailored to BPC donor segments:
BPC Members:
High-end 9.5” x 6” cream stock envelope
Two-page, highly personalized letter and oversized reply device
Thank-you card outlining giving tiers
4-color glossy prayer card
BPC Prospects:
Nearly identical format, but with letter variables to invite donors to upgrade
Reframed thank-you card as an invitation to join
BPC Lapsed:
Simpler Monarch format with faux-handwritten note
Downsized reply device and no insert, optimizing cost
The Results
The revamped BPC program became a fundraising engine:
29% response rate from BPC Members; $1,900 average gift
21.2% response from Prospects; $661.50 average gift
11.7% response from Lapsed; $670 average gift
Cost to raise a dollar: 1¢ (Members), 4¢ (Prospects)
In Year 2, 25% of total CCA revenue came from direct mail—a channel that hadn’t even existed before DaVinci’s involvement. For the Diocese, the transformation was transformational.