Case Study: United Way End-of-Year Giving 2025 Email marketing
Project Details
When United Way of Summit and Medina approached their end-of-year giving campaign for 2025, we made a strategic decision to test a completely organic approach. After years of paid advertising, the goal was to see if we could drive donations through authentic storytelling, email nurturing, and organic social content without spending a single dollar on ads. I developed and executed a content-first strategy focused on weekly email touchpoints, compelling video production, and social media amplification.
Campaign Strategy
We built a six-week email nurture campaign paired with organic video content to inspire giving. I created, filmed, directed, and edited a CEO-led video featuring a personal call for donations that showcased United Way's impact and urgency. This video became the centerpiece of our multi-channel organic strategy, posted across all social platforms to maximize reach without ad spend.
The email campaign ran weekly from November through December, with each send strategically crafted to build momentum, highlight specific programs, share impact stories, and create urgency as the year-end deadline approached. I developed targeted messaging and copy for each touchpoint, nurturing our existing donor base of approximately 24,000 contacts.
Email campaign breakdown:
EOYG Email 1 (11/17): 24,441 sent, 24,058 delivered, 8,039 opens (33.9% open rate), 6,340 unique opens, 18,626 clicks
EOYG Email 2 (11/26): 24,275 sent, 24,052 delivered, 7,090 opens (29.5% open rate), 5,616 unique opens, 32,612 clicks
EOYG Email 3 (12/2): 24,232 sent, 24,020 delivered, 7,025 opens (29.2% open rate), 5,843 unique opens, 31,478 clicks
EOYG Email 4 (12/10): 24,215 sent, 24,007 delivered, 7,126 opens (29.7% open rate), 5,911 unique opens, 36,491 clicks
EOYG Email Holiday (12/22): 24,170 sent, 23,996 delivered, 6,950 opens (29.0% open rate), 5,678 unique opens, 33,811 clicks
EOYG Email 5 (12/29): 24,136 sent, 23,979 delivered, 6,386 opens (26.6% open rate), 5,088 unique opens, 32,506 clicks
Content
Results
Email performance:
145,469 emails sent across 6 campaigns
144,112 total deliveries (99.1% delivery rate)
42,616 total opens with 29.2% average open rate
34,476 unique opens across the campaign
185,524 total clicks demonstrating high engagement
Campaign impact:
$3,900 raised with $0 ad spend
100% organic strategy proving the power of authentic storytelling and email nurturing
Strong donor engagement through consistent weekly touchpoints
CEO video amplified across all social platforms, driving awareness and action
Key insight:
This campaign demonstrated that with a cultivated email list and compelling content, paid advertising isn't always necessary to drive results. The combination of personal storytelling, strategic email cadence, and organic social amplification created a cost-effective fundraising approach that maintained donor relationships while delivering measurable revenue.