Institute of FundraisingInsight SIG Awards 2012

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to thosemembers of the committee who have dedicated considerabletime and effort to make these awards happen. Especially so,as committee members are all volunteers and this work hashad to be slotted around busy ‘day jobs’.

The IoF Insight SIG is dedicated to making a practical andsustainable difference in the sector and the instigation of theseawards has a close strategic fit with our goals and guidingprinciples.

We aim to further the development of individuals who analyseand interpret data for a living and to create understanding ofthe importance of analysis and the impact that it can have. Wefacilitate discussion, sharing and learning from each other.These awards, and the case studies behind them, are a fineexample of this and represent significant progress towards ourgoals.

This is a major achievement for our SIG and we are proud tohave the endorsement and support of the wider Institute ofFundraising.

Steven DoddsChair, Insight SIG Committee

Planning Partner, united

Message from the Chair

Congratulations!Congratulations to all the winners and finalists for our inaugural Institute of Fundraising Insight SIG Awards.

We were thrilled at both the quality and quantity of entries we received to this first year of our awards. Thank you toeveryone who entered. The breadth of subject areas covered and the effort that was put into each entry is testamentto some outstanding use of data and insight currently going on in the fundraising sector. These awards were createdto promote, reward and celebrate best practice.

I was particularly pleased to see all sizes of teams and charities reflected in the entries. Resource and budgets arescarce across the board and intelligent use of data can make a real difference to an organisation’s ability to generateincome, irrespective of its size. The passion behind some of the case studies positively sang out from the page! So welldone to everyone who has been involved in an entry which has won an award or been highly commended.

Many thanks must go to our esteemed panel of judges who gave us their time and energy during our highly debatedjudging sessions. We are also exceptionally grateful to our sponsors. Without them we would not have been able toget our award scheme up and running.

We are very privileged to see such fine examples of insight and analysis skills in our sector. These increasingly importantdisciplines deserve improved recognition - our inaugural awards are a great step in the right direction.

Thank you again to everyone who has supported us this year.

Janet Snedden FIDMCommunications & Events, Insight SIG CommitteeDirector, Metametrics

Our sponsors

Wood for Trees provides an intelligent and proactive approach to dataunderstanding. We place the focus firmly on insights, and what youcan do with them, rather than the tools used to find them.Our approach fits particularly well with the charity sector, wheresuccessful fundraising is hugely dependent on effective managementof immense quantities of supporter data. We've developed a clearWood for Trees methodology: employing a structured initial approachto scope resources and requirements, building to a tailoredprogramme. We have specialists who are highly experienced in everyaspect of data understanding, from hygiene processes to complexanalysis and modelling, but the acid test of our effectiveness is theaction our clients are empowered to take as a result of our work. It'sonly worth something if it means something, so we make a point offollowing up with clear recommendations for action, often workinghand-in-hand with clients through the implementation stage.Every project for every charity client is different, but a common threadruns through every job Wood for Trees has ever done: the applicationof creative, outside-the-box thinking to cold hard facts. We learneda long time ago that it’s easier to see round corners if we stand inunexpected places.

Datatech Analytics is the leading agency in the field of analytical anddata driven recruitment. During its 15 years Datatech has developedfruitful relationships with the charity and fundraising arena. Thelaunch of the IoF Insight SIG Awards 2012, is a great step forward torecognising the input of data and analytical professionals within thisever growing sector.Datatech is proud to have worked closely with many of the leadingcharities that are nominated for awards and believes that their teamsrepresent some of the most forward thinking and ground-breakingtechniques used in the Insight industry as a whole today.Whether you are recruiting for a new addition to your team, or indeedseeking the next career move within the insight arena, please contactus to discuss your needs in depth.

The REaD Group is a data management company which helps charitiesderive more value from their supporters by doing clever things withtheir data. So whether you are seeking to acquire more supporters,win back single donors, up-sell to regular givers or simply to improveand build donor loyalty, we understand that the 'supporterexperience' is critical to the success of any data management strategy.The REaD Group model is based around a four stage process which,once in place, will ensure your campaigns continue to benefit fromtop quality data that will deliver optimum results every time.The process we follow is simple: Accurate and complete supporterdata drives improved supporter insight, which enables bettersupporter management, which grows your supporter loyalty, whichwill naturally feed back into your supporter data - all of whichcombined will deliver an outstanding supporter experience, therebyincreasing your fundraising revenue.

fast.MAP are leaders in panel based online marketing research. Forcharities we believe insight is at the core of a successful fundraisingstrategy. Our team of senior marketers has real-world experience ofworking with charities of all sizes and major consumer brands.Using our panel of over 40,000 UK adults, representative of the UKpopulation, we help charities dramatically improve the performanceof their fundraising campaigns and marketing spend through effectiveinsight. This includes pre-testing advertising campaigns, tailoringcampaigns to audience segments, understanding and sizing markets,new product development and brand tracking. Projects can be livewithin hours and accurate results available within 48 hours.We are exclusive insight partners with the DMA and the IOF InsightSIG’s Research Champions.

Metametrics is a new breed of analytics agency that blends brandmarketing, planning, CRM and insight practice to help our clientssimplify marketing investment decisions and improve ROI. We are ayoung, growing, innovative organisation with a strong background inthe Not for Profit sector.We believe that analytics will provide the next wave of competitiveadvantage for organisations of all sizes. As data proliferates, theability to clearly understand what is important and act upon it willbecome essential for communications and fundraising success.

Media PartnerBridging the gap between sales, marketing and IT, DatabaseMarketing informs both those who work directly with the tools,techniques and data and those who decide which systems andservices to choose for their company.Reporting on both B2B and B2C issues, each edition contains realjob-useful information.

Our judges

Gavin GrantCEORSPCA

Chair of judges

Antony BegleyManaging EditorDatabase Marketing

Jim BaggettManaging DirectorWood for Trees

Ginette TessierHead of Insight &PerformanceRNLI

Lindsay EastonCEOBrain ResearchTrust

James SpearsHead of DirectMarketingCLIC Sargent

John WhiteheadSupporter Planning& Insight ManagerWaterAid

Michelle de SouzaHead of CRM & GroupDatabaseAge UK

Mike DoddsCEOProximity

Nigel MagsonFounderAdroit Data & Insight

Paul SeabrookDirectorfastMAP

Patrick DunnHead of Data & AnalysisSave the Children

Sabrina DroomAnalysis ManagerUnicef UK

Scott LogieChair, DMAStrategy DirectorOccam

Sioned JonesInterim SupporterMarketing DirectorOxfam GB

Steven DoddsChair, Insight SIGPlanning Partnerunited

Fundraisers and donors were matched to Channel Spectrum, acommunication preference directory derived by DataTalk from theBMS and other data. Differing preferences for the two groupsshowed the influential groups were more engaged with directchannels, whereas the passive groups opted out of these but wereopen to localised communications such as newspapers and leaflets.Comic Relief explored how supporter engagement could change. Anew strategy saw the construction of a marketing directory, usedwith household demographic segmentation to coordinatecommunication with active fundraisers and stimulate behaviour ofdonors/team participants. As a result Comic Relief began to investin acquisition communications for the first time.

ConclusionThis insight into the cross-over effect of 'real’ neighbourhoodrelationships completely refocused CRM activity, and shows howdata analysis can fundamentally change the perspective of anorganisation. It demonstrates that word-of-mouth communicationbetween supporters, particularly with an 'infectious brand' such asthose built by Comic Relief, can cross internal organisationboundaries and generate an unforeseen but significant uplift.Comic Relief were able to identify completely new communicationmethods during the subsequent highly successful Sport Relief 2012campaign. Dramatic effects have been seen, such as an uplift indexof nearly 600 for a localised campaign in Belfast, and Comic Relief isnow able to extend the reach of their TV exposure.

What the judges saidThis project shows a holistic understanding of the relationshipbetween insight, marketing, human behaviour and brand. Thegenuine discovery of something new challenged conventionalthinking and led to a significant change in the way in Comic Reliefconducted its communications strategy.

Driving strategy winnerCharity: Comic Relief/Sport ReliefPartner: DataTalk, Streetwise Analytics, The BPSEntry: Sport Relief 2012 registrations - Leveraging an ‘infectious brand’

ChallengeComic Relief had a target of over 1 million participants in the SportRelief Mile 2012, requiring an increase in registrations of over 33%.Though recruitment budgets were frozen, it was hoped increasedattention on sport due to the Olympic Games,would help.

SolutionInitial focus was on doing what had worked previously as effectivelyas possible, so Streetwise Analytics worked with DataTalk and theBritish Marketing Survey (BMS) to refresh the existing householdlevel segmentation and add depth to the understanding of segmentcommunication preferences.

ResultsData exploration driven by insight derived from BMS consumerengagement tracking enabled exploration of views, opinions andpreferences of consumers that live nearby. People who anticipated'’engaging in charity communications' alongside 'health activities'formed localised hot spots, with an index of over 145 compared toconventional intention distributions. This identified the segmentsmost open to engagement with Sport Relief participation.Historically the database split into two groups: fundraisers whooriginate events, actively participate and generate sponsorship, anddonors who provide revenue mainly via payment on the night of TVevents. Fundraisers generated a high proportion of the income andwere the traditional focus of all outbound communication activity.Localised analysis of historic transaction data around participationin and donation to Red Nose Day and Sport Relief showed that, notonly are fundraisers much more valuable individually than donors,their presence generated nearly six times the value of revenue fromdonors. Density of donors is nearly three times higher in the vicinityof a fundraiser, with almost double the value of donations. This facthad never been identified before. Composition of teams involved inSport Relief events was also explored. Over 60% lived within 400mand intriguingly formed linear-like shapes, indicating local streetgeography was having an impact.

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Driving strategy highly commended

Charity: Marie Curie Cancer CarePartner: Wood for TreesEntry: Income forecasting tool (FORt) for long term planning

ConclusionHuge sums of money are at stake for Marie Curie Cancer Care inthe planning process. FORt adds weight and authority to theinternal sell: 'Trust us and our strategy over the long term'. Itenables them to become more proactive, purposeful and confidentin looking at options, creating time to consider and tailor strategy,and has encouraged a real shift in thinking about fundraising.Furthermore FORt will also save valuable time in budget planning. "The FORt tool has enabled us to plan for strategic growth usingreal hard evidence of what investment in different channels willhelp us achieve. It changed our strategic thinking in a couple ofways. We shifted focus from recruiting through one medium toanother. As well as strategic guidance we can now view andcompare five year ROIs for all recruitment channels. This has led tosome surprises! FORt has enabled us to invest in fundraising withconfidence, but it has also saved us millions of pounds inexpenditure as it has shown the optimal channels in which toinvest." Richard Yorke, Head of Individual Giving, Marie CurieCancer Care

What the judges saidThis project shows a robust approach to planning. The movementaway from 'short termism' towards long term thinking should beencouraged and this work enables Marie Curie Cancer Care tomake confident decisions regarding their future strategic direction.

ChallengeMarie Curie Cancer Care has a stated objective to increasefundraising income from individual giving by over £11 million in fiveyears. This requires more than just new ideas for fundraising, itdepends upon a cultural shift away from short term campaignplanning to long term strategic thinking.

SolutionWood for Trees were asked to develop a strategic planning tool,building in a considerable degree of user flexibility and control, sothat different scenarios can be created and followed through overperiods of up to ten years. Trust was key. Everyone in the charity, tothe trustees and beyond, needed complete confidence in theparameters and analysis used.Detailed knowledge of the Marie Curie Cancer Care database gainedthrough projects over a number of years meant Wood for Treesknew they were working with dependable data, crucial in buildingpredictive models. They were also provided with a detailedspreadsheet of the 2012-13 budget, which gave the structure forthe forecasting model as well as the baseline scenario. There arecurrently two strands to the FORt model: regular and cash giving. Alottery strand will be added mid 2012.

ResultsFundraising expenditure can be projected and mapped up to tenconsecutive financial years ahead. The expected effect uponfundraising revenues and resulting break-even points over theentire period can be examined and shown graphically. Examplescenarios are 'What if we front-load regular giving investment overa five year period? How does that affect revenue in the fourth andfifth years?' and 'What effect will x% more investment in warm cashappeals have on revenue each year over five years?'The outputs from the model can be trusted because they are basedon established parameters and actual results from fundraisingactivity (regular giving and cash) since 2009. The lottery model willbe added shortly and give FORt even more predictive force.

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Innovation winnerCharity: Age UKEntry: Regular giving attrition reporting tool

ResultsThe resulting tool is a single workbook enabling comprehensiveattrition analysis for key Age UK products and channels, improvingthe understanding of attrition within the organisation. It is used bynon-analyst senior managers and for KPIs by Age UK trustees.The report can be fully updated within two hours, savingconsiderable time and analysis resource. Furthermore, automaticpredictions within the tool can used as a basis for scenario planning,allowing evidence-based forecasts to be developed and promoted.

ConclusionA major strength of the reporting tool is that it is interactive anddesigned for a non-analyst end user. It has strong functionality,allowing powerful comparisons of attrition by any dimension toprovide insights, helping to understand patterns of charitable givingwhich is vital when determining marketing activity. The previousburden of responding to separate requests for attrition analysis hasnow been eliminated, freeing-up resource and making updatinganalysis a far more straightforward task.

What the judges saidThe development of this reporting tool has taken insight beyondthe CRM and analysis team, empowering others to make keydecisions. It represents a vision for what data analysis could be andshows how useful it can be when insight is spread across anorganisation.Attrition is a difficult area to monitor effectively and the rigorousmethodology applied and delivered by this in-house team makesthe project even more commendable.

ChallengeIn Age UK almost 60% of income generated by fundraising activitycomes from regular (as opposed to one-off) gifts, mostly fromindividual donors. The challenge is to maintain, and increase, thiscentral source of revenue. Understanding retention is key, butprevious ad hoc analysis had led to only a partial understanding ofdonor attrition and was always lengthy and resource-intensive.

SolutionIt was decided to develop an attrition reporting tool covering allmain regular giving products and channels, in order to improveunderstanding of retention/attrition and direct allocation ofmarketing spend.The extract of regular giving data for analysis required cleaning andmanipulation. A major concern was the treatment of donors whohad upgraded the size of their gift and whether this should this beconsidered as a continuation of the original gift or a separaterecurring gift. It was further complicated by the fact that prior tothe merger of Age Concern and Help The Aged, systems recordedupgrades differently. Cross department consultation led to theagreement of a rule-set for the data methodology to be employed.It was important was that results of the analysis were presented ina way that would engage the user, so charting was chosen as themost effective medium. However, the combination of five products,nine channels and six instalment frequencies would have meant270 visualisations, and been too difficult for meaningfulinterpretation. Functionality from existing profiling tools was usedand a 'point-and-click drop-down menu system’ constructed withinMS Excel, allowing the user to select an area of attrition analysisand display the relevant chart, produced on demand from resultsfor all combinations held in the background. Techniques such asadvanced pivot tables and Excel macros, were utilised to producethe user interface, with multiple drop-down menus allowing forpowerful comparisons of attrition between any product, anychannel and any payment frequency.

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Supporter acquisition winnerCharity: The Royal Marsden Cancer CharityEntry: The Marsden March 2011

ResultsEffective use of online gathered useful supporter data, allowed thecommunications plan to adapt as winning messages became clearand led to a high level of supporter-get-supporter activity.All expectations were substantially exceeded. Registration had toclose early due to high demand, recruiting 1,960 walkers, 80% ofwhich were new supporters (including 120 staff walkers). Thefundraising target was smashed by more than 500%, whichcombined with tight cost control gave a return of 11:1, instead of2:1 as anticipated. In total over £1.2 million was raised.

ConclusionSound data insight laid the foundation for a winning formula,creating an enduring and unique fundraising event for The RoyalMarsden Cancer Charity with the potential to become a consistentincome stream and acquisition channel.It raised the profile of the charity within the hospital, especiallyamongst staff, and proved to be a great way of galvanisingcommunity support, increasing brand awareness locally. TheMarsden March 2011 was the most profitable event in the charity'sten year history and strengthened team working, giving the staff anenormous boost.

What the judges saidThis is a great example of using data to make a real difference to acharity and it shows a unique move away from individual giving togroup giving and community involvement. The passion andcommitment of the team involved was clearly apparent from theirentry and led to this being a unanimous category winner! They areto be congratulated on a job very well done.

ChallengeThe Royal Marsden Cancer Charity knew their fundraisers had ahigher lifetime value then cash donors, were good at fundraising,often recruiting friends and family as supporters, and, though theyliked to take part in organised charity events, a high proportion didnot participate in their portfolio activities. This inspired the firstMarsden March: a 14 mile walk between the Royal Marsdenhospitals in London and Surrey by patients, their friends, family(and dogs), hospital staff and pupils from local schools.A recruitment target was set for 1,500 walkers, at least 750 newsupporters, and the aim of £150,000 revenue. Additional objectiveswere to raise the profile of the charity within the hospital and thelocal community, as well as gaining better supporter insight.

SolutionData insight informed the creation of a striking identity with acompelling call to action and the supporter base was targeted forbest sources of new walkers/supporters.Analysis of existing supporters revealed that the majority offundraisers were patients or close family and friends recruitedthrough the hospital. Recruitment efforts were therefore focused inareas of high footfall in the hospital, in the hospital magazine, face-to-face and with staff. Warm corporate supporters, such as retailoutlets on the route, schools and community groups were alsoidentified and encouraged to display posters and register teams.Valuable supporter data was gathered during the online registrationprocess to help steer targeting and messaging for future events. Acomprehensive online communications programme was plannedin-house to maximise supporter engagement and to keep the costslow. Existing technologies were utilised as much as possible, sointegration tests were vital to ensure they would work together.Managing expectations with internal stakeholders was important,so key members of the hospital senior management team werebrought into the pre-event planning and recruited to walk orvolunteer on the day itself.

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Supporter development & retention winnerCharity: RNIBEntry: Active raffle to committed giving campaign

ResultsIn year one over 14,000 raffle donors converted to the committedgiving programme, giving a conversion rate of 4.56% compared to2.5% with equivalent ‘cash to committed giving’ campaigns. Anaverage gift of £70 pa means these donations equate to a totalincome of just under £1 million every year.The propensity model enabled a markedly higher level of donorsegmentation, reducing risk for the raffle team, whilst resulting insignificantly better response rates to a committed giving ask than ifrandomly selected. Donor attrition levels of 14% were lower thananticipated and significantly better than many other committedgiving campaigns. The campaign was especially successful amongstwarm recent raffle supporters, who had received tickets but not yetraised any money.

ConclusionThe results clearly demonstrate the effective way this campaigndevelops supporter relationships. The insight team providedevidence to break down departmental differences and support asuccessful collaborative fundraising approach.

“Insight is strongest when it facilitates change, rather than just beinginformative. Within RNIB, the direct marketing and rafflefundraising teams had grown alongside each other into vast silos,despite sharing a common audience. This exceptional piece of workunlocked a barrier in our strategy which will be worth millions ofpounds year after year and has provided us with an income growthopportunity in times of very tough acquisition.” Nick Mason, Headof Fundraising Strategy, RNIB

What the judges saidThis was bold, game-changing, silo-busting work which deliveredresults. The structured, empirical approach broke down team wallsand could open up all sorts of opportunities within the charity,wider than the original project scope.

ChallengeRNIB's 2009-14 fundraising strategy planned for £8 million incomegrowth from Individual Core Value Givers. The donor developmentand raffle programmes, both multi-million pound fundraisingdepartments with independent budgets and targets, were seen askey to meeting this. Forecasting showed that the donordevelopment ‘committed giving’ programme offered the greatestpotential for growth in supporter development and retention.Historically supporters who were considered 'active', ie those whohad requested raffle tickets regardless of the level of incomereceived, were excluded from data selections made for committedgiving campaigns. This area presented the most favourableopportunity for development and led to the proposal that activeraffle donors should be included in appeal selections. This met withmuch resistance to change and raised numerous concerns overwhat impact the campaign might have on the income anddevelopment of the raffle programme.

SolutionThe insight team worked to reduce these concerns and prove theadvantages of inter-team fundraising activity by running a pilotscheme with 5,400 active raffle donors selected at random.The pilot was a huge success with just under 5% of active raffledonors approached converting to a committed giving donation. Ifrolled out, the results predicted minimal losses for the raffleprogramme, whilst forecasting significant increases in income fordonor development. Despite this, neither department were yetready to commit to such drastic change in the way donors weredeveloped and retained.The insight team built a 10 year model to demonstrate the potentialimpact of the campaign across fundraising. Transparent campaignreports were created, allowing regular monitoring and evaluationand limiting risk. A logistical regression model was used to selectactive donors, targeting those most likely to convert, maximisingpotential ROI and further limiting the effect on raffle income.

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Supporter development & retention highly commended

Charity: Guide Dogs for the Blind AssociationEntry: Legacy pledger acquisition - Will you be a life changer?

Responses from the first events were analysed and this informationused to make the next venue selections. A continual process ofdefining the 'best' targeting was used throughout the year, everyfew events. Improved targeting allowed the legacy team to focuson direct mail and follow up telephone activity for warm prospectsand press and radio activity for cold prospects.

ResultsAll objectives were achieved - more pledgers signed up with a lowercost per recruit. All project pledger/prospect measures beat allprevious years. Pledger conversion more than tripled and pledgerincome per attendee increased significantly to over £8,000.

ConclusionImproved knowledge and understanding of donors and theirpropensity to pledge led to more targeted supporter recruitmentacross the fundraising product mix. Strong teamwork added to thesuccess of this project, with the data team’s continuous targetingimprovement allowing the legacy team to focus on other methodsof recruiting pledgers.All aspects aspects of data were used: data enhancement, datamining and modelling, analytical systems, geographical mapping,drive-time and location analysis. This is also a good example oftaking learning from an external consultant and ensuring that skillstransfer/training enabled Guide Dogs to move the strategy into aproduction environment and on into further development.

What the judges saidThis shows the impact data analysis can make on the use of events.The team used a number of different measures, drilling down,working harder and moving the goal posts to realise better analysis.The fantastic results speak for themselves - three times the numberof legacy conversions will make a huge difference to the charity.

ChallengeEach year the legacy fundraising team hold a number of eventsaround the country to try to convert existing donors to becomelegacy pledgers. In 2009/10 a pledger propensity model had beenintroduced to improve targeting of invitees to these events. Thefundraising data insight team were asked to develop the modelbased on learning from the previous year. Objectives were toincrease the number of supporters pledging to leave a gift in theirwill, to improve identification of hot-spots for holding smallpledging events to targeted donors, to improve the cost-effectiveness of pledger recruitment and support diversification ofrecruitment methods.

SolutionA review of the original demographic variables used for the pledgerpropensity model saw additional variables added to furtherimprove targeting. Transactions across seven giving products wereused: cash, raffle, sponsor-a-puppy, lottery, regular giving, otherfundraising and dogalogue. Demographic variables used were:financial stress, outstanding mortgage, lifestage, households withchildren, age, household composition, Mosaic and fashionsegments. Profile reports were created, enabling comparisons to bemade across each variable and ranking them according to theirpredictiveness compared to general supporters.After also taking into account pledger conversion results from theprevious year, a number of models were created to score supporterpropensity to become a pledger and a predicted weight of evidencemodel selected for use. Geographical analysis was undertaken tocreate plots of the model top pledger decile compared to knownpledgers. This identified locations providing highest density of thisdecile based on drive-times, profiles and propensity scores.Previously around 28 events had been held. Using the model thenumber of venues was refined to 18 and the number of inviteesalso reduced, meaning smaller venues in better locations could beused and leading to increased conversion rates.

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Organisation: Age UKTeam: CRM & Group Database

Team of the year highly commendedwinner

The CRM and Group Database team is 40 strong and sits within theGroup Marketing function. Collectively, the group deliverstrategically aligned integrated marketing programs, thatconsciously drive brand values to deliver improved businessperformance, budget synergies and growth.Specific skill sets are sought and developed across the team, wherepossible promoting internally. Core disciplines include: import andintegration, database selections, insight, analysis and reporting,system development/support and customer engagement.The team is confident in its ability to consistently deliver. Happy toshare expertise within the sector, members of the team at all levelsare encouraged to get involved in IoF related activity, presenting orparticipating, and often host visits from other charities.The team is a mix of experience and 'new blood'. Five seniormembers of the team have been together for ten years and have astrong track record. Prior to the merger they were part of theproject team which implemented the CRM system at Help TheAged, making them stakeholders in the success of the project andambassadors of CRM within the wider organisation. The ability todeliver business as usual in addition to innovating to resolve issuesarising during the merger and driving growth post-merger, meansthe team is trusted and valued within the organisation.Learning is applied across departments/business units. The teamdoes not operate in silos, with cross-team project working activelyencouraged and is key to retaining staff. Regular training, internallyand through external courses, also contributes to the team havingone of the lowest churn rates in Age UK. This good team spirit isinvaluable. In the last few years four members of staff left the teamonly to return, citing the culture as the main reason.

What the judges saidThis team show a thorough understanding of what they are up toand actively shares best practice. The right balance of skills createsvaluable pieces of work for the organisation and is coupled with anenviable team culture.

The RSPCA database and insight team are responsible for a broadrange of requirements supporting the fundraising department,delivering all database analysis, reports and campaign selections.2011 was a busy year for them, seeing significant improvementsacross all areas of their work: improving processes, communicationwithin the team, training and provision of innovative solutions aswell as delivery of large scale high impact projects.Previously the team had been very reactive, under pressure todeliver to tight timescales. Evaluation of how they worked led toimplementation of regular planning meetings and a new briefingdocument and process. Better communication and support withinthe team resulted in improved communication externally and anincreased understanding and appreciation of their role.Development of the team was always a priority. They hadhighlighted the issue of silo working within the team and addressedit by training each other up across all areas. External training wasused to develop specific skill sets, they were encouraged to attendconferences and allow time to develop skills through self learning.Their role as an internal supplier was rewarded when they werevoted Team of the Year by fellow fundraising members in Dec 2011.

“The database and insight team has been developed in the last yearto bring data insight and market information to the heart of ourdecision making processes in fundraising. The shape and quality ofoutput has completely changed. Alongside impressive delivery onbusiness as usual, key projects have been successfully deliveredwhich underpin a step change in the fundraising engine. I amincredibly proud of this team and thank them for playing such apivotal role in our success." Catherine Cottrell, Head of Fundraising

What the judges saidThe pragmatic way in which this team improved both their workingpractices and recognition within the organisation is to becommended. Making fundamental changes to how a team works isalways challenging and time consuming, but they managed it whilstcontinuing to deliver high impact work.

Organisation: RSPCATeam: Database & Insight

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Supplier of the year highly commendedwinner

Wood for Trees started in 2007, deciding to capitalise on seniormanagement experience and build their business and reputationspecifically in the charity sector as a data specialist, working tobecome an exemplar of good practice in the world of fundraising.Five years on, they have developed in-depth relationships with awide range of charities including: Dogs Trust, Amnesty International,Marie Curie Cancer Care, British Lung Foundation, Blue Cross,Shelter, Concern Worldwide, ArtFund, Parkinson’s Disease Society,Chest Heart and Stroke (NI), and Action on Hearing Loss.They aim to empower and enhance their clients’ decision-making.Dramatic improvements to an organisation’s net income can oftenbe delivered by reviewing and improving current systems andstructures, introducing new analytical capabilities and ensuring theresulting insights equate to positive action.A large degree of bespoke development occurs as a programme ofwork takes shape. An organisation may have identified a data need,but not fully evaluated the cause of the problem or the best routeto an effective solution. The Wood for Trees approach to projects,employing ‘the application of creative, outside-the-box thinking tocold hard facts’, aims to provide significantly more strategic insightand resultant added value/ROI than expected.

“Wood for Trees have made a hugely positive difference to MarieCurie’s fundraising over the last year. They developed attritionmonitoring tools, put in place a new DM selection model helping toincrease net contribution per campaign by around £100,000 year-on-year and developed a predictive model which challenged ourstrategic thinking. The difference this tool will make to Marie Curieover the next 10 years can probably be measured in £millions.Wood for Trees have integrated themselves within Marie Curie tothe extent that they feel part of the wider fundraising team.”Richard Yorke, Head of Individual Giving, Marie Curie Cancer Care

What the judges saidThe broad scope of the full entry with many client testimonialsshows consistent delivery on service promise. They are a rounded

‘supplier of insight’, forging valuable relationships with their clients.

Macmillan’s strategy was reliant on better use of more accuratesupporter data to improve the efficiency of fundraising marketingactivities, reaching out to a wider range of supporters with a widerrange of fundraising products. The REaD Group has a close,effective working relationship with Macmillan and, by listening toand understanding their strategy, they were able to propose abespoke data cleansing service, In-line, which met Macmillan’sobjectives and cost less to run operationally than existing services.Before mailing, every data selection was evaluated, at zero cost, foraccuracy of contact details (deceased, goneaways, new addressesfor relocations). Extremely quick turnaround was possible, usuallywithin the hour for data files of up to 500,000 supporters. The datafile was reselected and checked until an acceptable loss rate waspredicted and the results fed back into Macmillan’s supporterdatabase. Results from over 200 campaigns and the developmentof a probability loss matrix further refined the process. Improvingthe reliability of the base data also ensured the accuracy of furtherpredictive modelling and segmentation.In the three months prior to using In-Line, over 20,000 mailingsto goneaway supporters were returned to Macmillan. During thesecond six months of 2011 the number of mail items returned wasless than 20, saving over £50,000 in wasted campaign andprocessing costs over the year. Consistent uplift of over 5% oncampaigns helped Macmillan achieve significant growth targets,from £132 to £140 million in 2010/2011. By the end of the year, asa result of targeting lapsed supporters and Macmillan’s acquisitionstrategy, the active donor base had increased by around 30%.The truly collaborative approach to the development of In-line, TheREaD Group’s flexible process of continuous service improvementand best practice knowledge of how data asset managementapplied to a charity, ensured a very successful implementation.

What the judges saidThis entry demonstrates the pioneering of a solution that wascreative and cost-effective, benefiting Macmillan hugely andleading to the creation of a new service. A true joint venture.

sponsored by

Supplier: Wood for TreesCharity: Various

Supplier: The REaD GroupCharity: Macmillan

Charity: Alzheimer’s SocietyPartner: CatalystEntry: Finding a new audience

‘The Worried Well’

Charity: University of EdinburghEntry: King’s Buildings Library Appeal

Special recognition awardsCharity: British Red CrossEntry: Targeting, analysis & reporting

investment strategy

ProjectA backlog of analysis projects confirmed the urgent requirement fora review of the existing tools used by the database marketing andanalysis team. It was felt that more intelligent use of data was a bigopportunity for growth for the British Red Cross.Investment in the right toolset and creation of a consistent dataview, would allow the frequency and complexity of analytical tasksand marketing selections to significantly increase, allowing moresophisticated marketing activity and a supporter-centric approach.A clear business case was put forward and the recommendation touse SAS tools on top of a Microsoft SQL server data warehouseapproved. The project, led and delivered by the British Red Crosswith minimal external support, amidst a complex business as usualprogramme, was delivered on time and under budget, going live inDecember 2011.

What the judges saidThe challenge of steering a large infrastructure project through anorganisation cannot be under-estimated. The creation of a singlecustomer view will reap major dividends for the British Red Cross.

ProjectIn the development of new creative for cold acquisition campaigns,Catalyst's Chatalyst online research tool allowed testing of sevencreative concepts amongst a nationally representative UK audience.Data from the Economic Impact Tracker was used to see the impactto the sector, in terms of consideration and propensity to support.A new segment, dubbed 'The Worried Well' was identified,motivated by a different creative from the traditional audience.Conventional focus group research would not have shown if therewere other profiles motivated by the concepts. Dementiasupporters were also shown to be less likely to stop charitablegiving due to economic conditions, instilling the confidence toinvest knowing a return on investment would not be significantlycompromised by external factors.In campaigns during 2011, the Worried Well cohort provided ROIsup to 30% higher than traditional audiences, yielded higher averagegift aid values and were more likely to become regular givers.

What the judges saidValid research showing good practice and creative use of insight.

ProjectA discipline-specific capital project fundraising appeal with a verytight budget set a particular challenge for the University ofEdinburgh. The development and application of a regression basedscoring model led to the most successful fundraising mailing everand achieved double the target income.The results showed the benefit of targeting interest groups anddemonstrated the power and value of data analysis and predictivemodelling to the wider, non-data team. It legitimised andembedded the use of analytics within the organisation and haschanged the way that future fundraising will be approached, havingalready been broadened out to encompass telephone campaignsand major gift prospect identification.

What the judges saidThis well put together case study combined good practice, a robustapproach and a venture into new territory. It shows great progressand learning from a small team with limited resource and haschanged the culture.

Institute of Fundraising Insight SIG

FocusWe are dedicated to furthering the knowledge of analysts andpeople tasked with analysis functions throughout the charitablesector.For a long time Insight in fundraising has taken a back seat to thehigher profile areas of fundraising. Yet, the reliance that thesefunctions have on the information that the Analysts are providing isalso apparent. Sources of information on the techniques,developments, software and skills have been hard to come by andare in some cases non-existent. So we aim to get this informationand share it among our peers.By regularly soliciting feedback from our growing membership, thecommittee runs events covering a wide range of topics at all levelsfrom online analytics to fundraising specific excel techniques.Together we believe that we can take insight in fundraising forwardin expertise, raising it up the fundraising agenda.Run by a committee of volunteers, the IoF Insight SIG is dedicatedto making a PRACTICAL and sustainable difference in the sector andour goals and guiding principles are clear.

ObjectivesTo further the development of individuals who analyse andinterpret data for a living, so that insight and understanding ofdonor and supporter behaviour is improved.To make opportunities for people to meet, as a group, and discuss,share, network and learn from each other.To build awareness of analysis and analysts.To create understanding of the importance of analysis (andtherefore analysts) and the impact that it (and they) can have.

Key principles� Practical (no airy-fairy concepts)� Forum� Bottom-line focused� Mutual trust (some confidential information will be shared)� Sales-free (strict guidance for suppliers and members in

general)

Conference & events programmeWe hold regular friendly, informal networking meetings in London,always with an interesting presentation from a member or asupplier (and a bar!).A full day annual conference is held at the end of the autumn.

TrainingThere is a full programme of training courses conducted throughoutthe year covering a variety of topics.

Join usMembership of the IoF Insight SIG is FREE

See our website for more informationwww.insightsig.org

Follow us on Twitter (@IOFInsight) or join us on LinkedIn

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A community dedicated to providing resources and trainingfor analysts, database marketers, researchers and online

fundraisers to improve the opportunities for insight to makea difference in the charity sector

www.insightsig.org.uk