November/December 2003

National Trust for Historic Preservation Increases Online Membership 109 Percent, Renewals 234 Percent Using Convio

Overview
Established in 1949, the National Trust for Historic Preservation (http://www.nationaltrust.org/) is a private, nonprofit membership organization that provides leadership, education and advocacy to save America's diverse historic places and revitalize communities. The National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) has an annual operating budget of $48 million and a staff of 310 in its Washington, D.C. headquarters, six regional offices and 23 historic sites that work with the organization's 250,000 active members and thousands of local community groups in all 50 states.

Challenge
NTHP's constituents live in small, rural communities and large cities, and range from people interested in older homes to professionals involved in preservation projects and activist groups dedicated to the preservation movement. To help meet constituents' varied needs through the Internet, NTHP had outsourced development of its Web site; however, the staff in charge of online marketing, advocacy and membership quickly recognized shortcomings:

• The Web site did not allow the organization to collect information on constituent interests and then personalize Web content.
  
  
• The Web site's two giving options often forced constituents to donate less money than they desired. Also, the Web site's database sometimes crashed, losing constituent data and interrupting transactions before donations were completed. Consequently, constituents would call or email NTHP staff to confirm their donations or receipt of other information such as changes of address -- a drain on staff members' time. Additionally, affiliate Web sites lacked online giving capability, so prospects had to email requests for memberships, then send payments via mail.
  
  
• Although the organization published a magazine for members, coverage tended to be national and did not fully address individual member's interests. NTHP needed an inexpensive way to deliver regional and local news as well as stories and photos spotlighting member and volunteer achievements and notable projects -- key for building a sense of community and driving members and potential members to the Web site.
  
  
• Mobilizing its large member base to support regional and national advocacy efforts was costly and inefficient offline. NTHP needed to leverage the Internet for a cost-effective way to activate its members to support these initiatives.

Solution
NTHP chose Convio's Web content management, email marketing, online membership and advocacy software and services to recruit new constituents, build stronger relationships with existing members and stimulate more giving and volunteerism.

Because Convio captures information about online interactions with constituents, NTHP can now access data in real time about each constituent's interests, contribution history, and other interactions with the organization. Also, Convio synchronizes NTHP's online and offline data for a complete view of each constituent, allowing NTHP to tailor online content, solicitations and advocacy appeals to each member's interests.

NTHP also uses Convio to power an online Member Center for delivering special news, information, services and other benefits to the group's strongest supporters. With the Member Center, NTHP now accepts donations in a secure environment and delivers automatic acknowledgements along with IRS-compliant receipts, so staff members are fielding fewer donor calls about transactions. In addition, the NTHP Web site automatically displays giving level options based on donors' previous contribution levels, allowing NTHP to encourage higher donations.

NTHP's Web site offers multiple member and giving levels to encourage higher donations.

Using Convio, NTHP now sends a regular email newsletter to 20,000 email addresses -- a cost-effective channel for communicating news of interest to all constituents, and driving more constituents to its Web site for more information and/or to participate in some way.

NTHP also uses Convio's software to email timely action alerts. Constituents can respond by looking up relevant decision-makers such as lawmakers and sending customizable messages online, via fax or direct mail.

Results
With Convio, NTHP is attracting and recruiting constituents, building stronger relationships with existing members through personalized communications, strengthening ties with members in smaller communities and increasing online donations:

• Greater flexibility for members -- Because members now receive personalized Web content and online appeals consistent with offline appeals, online renewal of NTHP members is up 234 percent, and online giving has more than tripled from $29,000 to $100,000+ in one year.
  
  
• Online donations -- Using Convio to offer multiple giving options and improve its online donation process, NTHP has boosted new member acquisition online by 109 percent. The average new member and renewing member contribution has increased 32 percent and 30 percent, respectively.
  
  
• Reduced administrative workload -- Automatically-generated gift acknowledgements and IRS-compliant receipts free staff members to focus on other tasks. Additionally, members can go online to print new membership cards, change their addresses or check membership status, freeing up more staff time.
  
  
• Improved outreach and response -- NTHP can quickly and cost-effectively drive members to local events. For example, the organization publicized a U.S. Capitol tour to Washington, D.C. members, allowing them to register online. The event sold out in less than 15 minutes.