A Stewardship Report That Engages for 12 Months

At Penn Vet, we've struggled with the age-old dilemma common among our fundraisers: to produce and disperse a donor honor roll in paper format or list donor names exclusively on our website. Two years ago, we came up with a solution that has brought impressive results. We write to share our ideas with fellow stewardship professionals in the field.

 The PennVet Annual Report Calendar

The first calendar annual report for Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine donors was created for 2016. The calendar acts as both a donor recognition piece and a promotional piece as each month highlights an amazing aspect of our mission. This is a practical use of an annual report because it has a specific purpose beyond listing donors and continues to remind our supporters of the work we do - healing animals. We know our donors love their animals and we know that they love to read about Penn Vet’s success stories. This combination gave birth to a calendar that illustrates how that love for animals is mutual through photos and stories of PennVet’s world-renowned veterinary teaching, healing and research.

Design Planning

Produced each fall, the calendar includes the following components:

  • Thank you messages from our Dean and our Chief Financial Officer.
  • Annual report impact charts.
  • A complete list of Penn Vet donors from the previous fiscal year, organized by level of giving (and marks those with years of consecutive giving.)
  • The honor roll begins in January and flows through each month on the calendar. Overflow of donors adds pages at the end that highlight donor profiles.
  • Each month highlights a patient or service and expounds on the work of Penn Vet in the region, the country and the world through photos and captions.

Tips for Success

  1. Start with a theme to build cohesion around your calendar.*
  2. Plan 6-12 months in advance for the content of your calendar.
  3. Find an excellent graphic designer who can put all the components together in a lovely piece. Your good relationship with your designer is key.
  4. Choose photos wisely. Your donors will be looking at them for 30 days at a time. Choose the ones that will draw them and make them feel good about your mission.
  5. Proof your honor roll over and over again. Let multiple staff members review the list.
  6. Make sure all the permissions are received from any donors or clients featured in the piece.
  7. Repurpose as many of the popular stories and profiles you already published throughout the year. This eases the workload immensely. But don’t forget to include new features as well.
  8. Make sure that every donor receives a copy of your calendar, regardless of giving level.
  9. Give your BRE an appeal code so you can track the gifts associated with the calendar.

* For our 2017 calendar, “innovations” is the theme. Each month highlights a new discovery in veterinary medicine, or a specialty area that Penn Vet pioneered. And we connect our donors to a holiday during that month such as World Cat Day and Take Your Cat to the Vet Day in the month of August, and National Dairy Month in June. November celebrates National Pet Cancer Awareness month, so Lewis, an adorable yellow Labrador who received successful immunotherapy treatment for osteosarcoma, is a perfect fit.

Giving Results

In FY16, the calendar business reply envelope (inserted in the center of the calendar) produced gifts in the amount of $59,255, an average gift of $100. The calendar was mailed to 3890 donors and 191 gave a total of 195 gifts. This is a 5% participation rate.

The cost of the project was $18,662 including postage.

ROI = $59,255 minus $18,662 divided by $18,662 = 2.2 or 220%.

Follow Up Survey for Feedback

We sent a follow up survey and here are the results:

  • Penn Vet Annual Report Calendar illustrates the impact of your gift - 90% highly agree
  • The calendar instills a sense of pride in your association with Penn Vet - 92% highly agree
  • Suggested themes for next year, in order of ranking:

1. Training the next generation of Veterinarians 

2. Innovations in research at Penn Vet

3. Penn Vet's vast history of achievements in advancing Veterinary medicine

4. Hospital patient stories

  • How do we rank in your giving decisions?

I plan to give to Penn Vet every year - 81.9%

I like to make memorial and celebratory gifts when appropriate - 31.5%

I select my charity gifts as my interests change - 9.4%

This was a one-time gift - 2.4%

Conclusion

A calendar annual report that thanks loyal donors, shares the impact of their gifts on our mission, and spreads the message of our world-renowned work at Penn Vet through photos and stories – is truly a model of success!

Mary Berger, Director of Annual Giving and Advancement Services
Barbara Belt, Asst. Director of Annual Giving and Advancement Services
University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine

Download the full calendar >>