Pro Bono Work

Each year the Email Experience Council chooses a nonprofit with an email challenge and assembles a team of expert members to help them achieve their goals. We think there's no better way to showcase the power of email marketing than to demonstrate its incredible return on investment in the nonprofit sector, where manpower and financial power are especially precious. Our Nonprofit Projects also provide members with a chance to expand their skillsets and network with peers—all while giving back to the community.

Learn about our current and past Nonprofit Projects:

2009-2010: Direct Marketing Educational Foundation (DMEF)
2008-2009: Andre Agassi Foundation
2007-2008: Women's Bean Project
2006-2007: Ryan Andrew Kaiser Memorial Foundation

2009-2010: Direct Marketing Educational Foundation

The Team:

Project Chair - Erick Mott of Lyris
Project Administration - Ali Swerdlow of the eec

More information coming soon.

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2008-2009: Andre Agassi Foundation

Founded in 1994, the Andre Agassi Foundation is dedicated to transforming U.S. public education for underserved youth. The Foundation drives reform by engaging in practice, policy and partnerships that provide quality education and enrichment opportunities. At the core of the Andre Agassi Foundation is Agassi Prep—a charter school located in Las Vegas, Nevada—offering academic programs that enhance a child’s character, respect, motivation and self-discipline in preparation for college.

The Goal: Take the Foundation’s existing quarterly email, which leveraged its print newsletter content and graphics, and develop an email program filled with industry best practices. Introduce regular communications based on subscriber profile data and relevant content updates about the foundation and its efforts. And, most importantly, build a sustainable program that the Foundation can carry forward beyond the eec Nonprofit Project timeline.

The eec was also tasked with growing the subscriber base, attracting a broader range of donors, and assisting the Foundation with entry into the social media arena. During the first 8 months of the project, the eec has helped the Foundation with:

a rebrand;
development of a new sign up page;
a HTML branded double opt-in email;
triggered emails, designed to follow up with new subscribers and deliver content they specifically requested during the sign up process;
a new newsletter template;
creation of branded badges which supporters can download and host on their own blogs, social pages and websites.

Still to come is the launch of the Andre Agassi Foundation blog and further entry into the social realm. The eec team is also working alongside the Foundation's marketing and communications director, Julie Krell, to develop a comprehensive integrated marketing plan where email plays a significant role.

The Team: We'd like to thank all the eec members who helped make this project a success:

BlueHornet - Chris Frasier and Rachael Anderson, Project Leads
Bonnier Corporation
Direct Marketing Association
eROI - Dylan Boyd
FreshAddress
Goodmail
JupiterResearch
LYRIS
National Association of Home Builders
SendLabs
Smith-Harmon
SocketLabs
VIVmag
Zappos.com
Zinio

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2007-2008: The Women's Bean Project

The Women's Bean Project (WBP) helps women break the cycle of poverty and unemployment by teaching workplace competencies for entry-level jobs through employment and by teaching job readiness skills in their gourmet food production business. Founded in 1989, the Denver-based nonprofit primarily provides employment through its catalog and online store, which sells bean soup, cornbread, salsa, brownie mixes and other food items made by the women in the program. Sales not only provide the women in the program with critical experience, they also defray a significant portion of the organization's overhead expenses.

The Goal: Build an email marketing program for the WBP, which had previously sent out event invites, calls for volunteers and donor announcements using Outlook. Construct a variety of email templates for different messaging to reach its three audiences: customers, donors and volunteers. Develop a content strategy and email calendar. Ensure that the WBP staff is sufficiently trained to continue the email program at the end of the project.

The Result: We developed an ambitious but practical content strategy for the Women's Bean Project, where email can help reach new audiences, drive more ecommerce sales and donations, and simplify volunteer outreach. Initial emails generated 32% open rates and 15% clickthrough rates. Page views from email subscribers are two times higher than other sources.

For the full case study on our work with the Women's Bean Project, download the Women's Bean Project Case Study for free from the Research Store.

The Team: We'd like to thank all the eec members who helped make this project a success:

Executive Chair - Jeanniey Mullen of the eec and Zinio
Project Chair - Stephanie Miller of Return Path
Project Manager - Colleen Petitt of Antics Online
ESP - Executive - Scott Bleczinski of ExactTarget
ESP - Account Manager - Laura Opperman of ExactTarget
Content Strategist - Susan Tull of Blue Hornet
Segmentation - Rachael Anderson of Blue Hornet
Content Development & Strategy Support - Darlene Garbe of Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
Creative Designer - Blue Hornet
Analytics - Jeff Herrity of RedBoots Digital
Metrics & Measurements - Gregg Oldring of Industry Mailout and Chris Harris, Blackbaud, Inc.
Deliverability & List Growth - Sarah Hsueh of Leapfrog Enterprises
Fundraising Message Strategy - Bryn Erich of Future Integrated Marketing
Project Administration & Competitive Reconnaissance - Chad White of the eec
Project Administration - Ali Swerdlow of the eec

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2006-2007: Ryan Andrew Kaiser Memorial Foundation

The Ryan Andrew Kaiser Memorial Foundation (RAKMF) raises and donates grants and funding for the care and cure of pediatric heart patients. The New Jersey-based organization was established in late 2003 by Andy Kaiser after his 6-year-old son, Ryan, who was born with Complex Congenital Heart Disease, died unexpectedly. RAKMF's mission is to:

financially assist local families with critically ill children, who may not otherwise be able to afford proper healthcare;
provide grants and funding to doctors and hospital groups that specialize in the care and cure of pediatric heart patients; and
fund, plan and build childrens playgrounds.

The Goal: The primary goal was to introduce email into the fundraising and news sharing mix. A secondary goal was to update the website with an email opt-in option, and a donation capability. Most efforts would be focused on a pre-event newsletter series to support Ryan's Run, RAKMF's fundraising 5K run. Multichannel efforts included using the email series in conjunction with social networks and radio to drive awareness and participation in Ryan's Run and solicit donations.

The Result: RAKMF used email and a Gather.com group to drive people to tune into a live radio interview with Andy Kaiser, as well as a recorded version of the interview, which discussed the foundation and its upcoming Ryan's Run event. Rented lists to a very targeted and local group helped drive awareness as well as interest in the event. Finally, email opt-in on the site enabled RAKMF supporters to stay up to date on events leading up to the event, following the event and to learn more about donations being made. All together, the promotional effort doubled online donations, while also growing its email list by 10%.

The Team: