WOCCU Targeting Consumers In New Fundraising Efforts

CALGARY, Alberta - Noting declines in government funding sources at all levels, the World Council of Credit Unions will launch its first direct-mail fundraising campaign targeting consumers outside the credit union movement. The WOCCU board approved the strategy, slated to launch this fall, at its meeting prior to the start of the 2007 World Credit Union Conference here this week.

WOCCU has traditionally received much of its funding through member dues, from agencies such as USAID and, most recently, a first-ever contribution of $8.7 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Despite that, charitable giving research indicates that as much as 85% of donations come from private individuals, according to Valerie Breunig, executive director of WOCCU's Worldwide Fund. The new campaign, designed to build a fund reserve over a five-year period, will attempt to tap this market in a seven-state pilot program starting this fall, she said.

"We want to diversify and increase our fundraising efforts through new markets," said Breunig, who will be working with EuroAmerica, a New York City-based firm specializing in fundraising for microfinance enterprises and similar causes. "We can take the money we raise and put it where we see the greatest amount of need."

Unlike past fundraising efforts, which relied heavily on grants from government organizations and sources with the credit union movement, WOCCU's new effort will step outside its historic channels and approach individuals with a proven track record of charitable giving. Information about the credit union movement and its contributions will be included in the solicitation materials, but they won't form the core of the message.

WOCCU's efforts to alleviate poverty through international development efforts will lie at the heart of the campaign's message, Breunig said.

EuroAmerica will purchase lists based on the age, education, income, charitable-giving habits and other recipient characteristics, and use direct mail to reach potential donors. Additional material about the campaign will be added to the WOCCU website and much the same language will be used for future campaigns within the credit union movement, she said. Roughly seven states will be targeted based on the lists EuroAmerica is able to procure.

No firm amount has yet been set for a fundraising goal, but according to Breunig, those who fundraise this way expect their efforts to break even with costs by year three. Still other sources say that once such an effort gains momentum, there may be as much as a 3-to-1 return on costs.

Estimated mailings will be in the hundreds of thousands of pieces, she added.

"You need to mail that quantity to generate any kind of response," Breunig said. "This is a very long-range program."