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Customer Stories:

How the California Academy of Sciences Achieved a 74% Open Rate with Personalized Thank-Yous

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WHO:

The California Academy of Sciences is dedicated to connecting people to nature and science through immersive experiences and educational programming. Their advancement team, led by creative fundraisers like Natalie Kramm, continually innovates to build deeper, meaningful relationships with supporters.

THE CHALLENGE:

After hosting annual fundraisers like SuperNatural (a family-friendly Halloween event) and Party After Dark (a gala after-party targeting young philanthropists), the Academy needed a stronger way to personally thank donors and maintain momentum post-event.

WHY EVERTRUE:

The Academy chose ThankView by EverTrue because of its powerful ability to create personalized, engaging video communications easily and effectively. ThankView’s intuitive platform allowed Natalie to quickly turn event highlights and strategic storytelling into impactful, personalized thank-you videos that donors loved.

The Results:

Natalie stepped up and creatively leveraged ThankView by EverTrue to deliver personalized, memorable video experiences, dramatically boosting donor engagement:

– Party After Dark campaign achieved an exceptional 74% open rate (far above industry standards of 22.7%).

– SuperNatural campaign similarly impressed with a 60% open rate.

– Generated heartfelt responses from donors, who genuinely appreciated the personalized effort and reached out specifically to thank the Academy.

Watch their ThankView!

The Full Story

Natalie recognized an opportunity to elevate the California Academy of Sciences’ post-event donor stewardship. Following the success of events like SuperNatural and Party After Dark, the team saw an opportunity to deepen connections with supporters long after the lights came up.

Using ThankView by EverTrue, Natalie strategically crafted engaging, personalized video sequences tied seamlessly to the unique themes of each fundraiser. These thoughtful, creative touches made donors feel uniquely valued and connected to the Academy’s mission and impact.

The response was phenomenal. The Party After Dark campaign achieved an outstanding 74% open rate, while SuperNatural reached a strong 60%—both dramatically outperforming typical industry benchmarks. Perhaps even more meaningfully, donors actively responded to the Academy, sending heartfelt messages of appreciation for the personalized outreach.

Through these ThankView campaigns, Natalie successfully transformed standard thank-you messages into genuine moments of connection. Her innovative use of EverTrue’s tools didn’t just boost engagement rates; it created lasting donor relationships rooted in authentic appreciation and connection.

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