Project Bread

"The Walk for Hunger event has become even more successful since we started to use Convio to expand our reach online. From 2005 to 2007, we increased online donations by nearly 200% while doubling the number of participants registering online. It's thrilling to develop this new online success, and easy to do so using Convio’s tools to manage our site, engage with our constituents, and make it easy for them to raise money."

- Stacey O'Halloran DiCarlo, director of Web development &
e-marketing, Project Bread — The Walk for Hunger

About Project Bread

As the state's leading anti-hunger organization, Project Bread is dedicated to alleviating, preventing, and ultimately ending hunger in Massachusetts. Through The Walk for Hunger, the oldest continual pledge walk in the country, Project Bread provides millions of dollars each year in privately donated funds to more than 400 emergency food programs in 135 communities statewide. Project Bread also advocates systemic solutions that prevent hunger and that provide food to families in natural, everyday settings, including schools. Over the last four years, the organization has invested $2 million in grants to community organizations that feed children where they live, learn and play.

To maximize results of its annual, one-day fundraiser, "The Walk for Hunger," Project Bread needed to increase:

Awareness — Although The Walk for Hunger is the oldest continual pledge walk in the country and the largest annual oneday fundraiser to alleviate local hunger, increasing awareness is always a priority
Number of participants — Attracting new participants each year to drive overall participation rates is essential to maximizing results
Total donations — Every dollar raised helps feed more hungry people each day

Implemented Convio Fundraising, TeamRaiser™, eCommerce, Web Content Management and DataSync solutions
Send branded, effective email appeals that are relevant and personalized for each constituent
Use strategic online outreach to help achieve overall event goals and keep constituents engaged year-round

Launched well-designed Web site (with assistance of third party designer) that is frequently updated and uses conditional content to improve the online experience
Drove walk participation, increasing online donations almost 200% in two years; exceeded $1 million dollars in 2007
Increased number of donations received online by 161%, with the average gift size climbing from $37.83 to $42.44 in two years
Increased Web traffic during Walk season by more than 50%
Increased number of participants by 106% in two years
Email open rates rose as high as 51%
Achieved significant online results while only hiring one additional staff person during the last two years