Case Studies

Background

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (NSIC) is the largest Roman Catholic church in the United States and North America. Located in Washington, D.C., the Basilica is renowned for its unique architecture, large art collection, and rich history and heritage. Christmas is one of NSIC’s best fundraising seasons of the year thanks to its religious ties and calendar year-end timing. The goal in 2016 was to maximize gross revenue during the Christmas season by improving the performance of existing seasonal packages, such as the popular Christmas Ornament package.

TLC solution

The Christmas Ornament package is one of the more expensive packages but past efforts to decrease package costs have been unsuccessful. So, instead of trying to find yet another way to decrease package costs, the 2016 Christmas Ornament package included a more expensive, higher value premium with hopes that it would inspire a larger gift in return. The ornament premium used in the past was a bronze, die-cut piece, which we redesigned to a round, four-color, epoxy-coated piece. The other package components remained the same. The goal of increasing the average gift and therefore gross revenue was in sight.

Results

We were able to successfully increase not only gross revenue by 9% over the previous fiscal year, but also net revenue by 10%. The 2016 Christmas Ornament grossed $180,756, compared to 2015 Christmas Ornament which grossed $165,214.

The revenue gains were achieved thanks to an 8.5% increase in average gift. 2016 Christmas Ornament average gift was on average $2.56 higher than 2015.