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American Cornerstone Institute

How a personal ask to match a gift amount affects overall conversions in an email appeal

Experiment ID: #194456

American Cornerstone Institute

Experiment Summary

Ended On: 01/06/2025

The American Cornerstone Institute sought to determine the impact of a more personal approach to soliciting a year-end gift match on overall conversion rates, including click-through rates from the email to the donation page and donation conversion rates.
They tested this concept through three emails sent during their year-end campaign. This write-up presents the results of email 3, which served as the kickoff email.
The control email presented the matching gift by stating that their gift would be doubled, thanks to a year-end matching gift challenge of up to $100,000. The treatment email presented the matching gift by saying that a generous donor wants to personally match their gift, allowing them to have double the impact.

Research Question

We believe that a personal ask to match a gift for potential donors will increase the conversion rate because it creates a sense of urgency and personal connection, motivating donors to feel that their contribution has a direct and meaningful impact, especially when paired with the opportunity to double their support through matching.

Design

C: Control
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T1: Treatment #1
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https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/382f54fe_1736186699243_EMAIL5-339x241.png [thumb_416_241-width] => 339 [thumb_416_241-height] => 241 [thumb_448_410] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/382f54fe_1736186699243_EMAIL5-448x319.png [thumb_448_410-width] => 448 [thumb_448_410-height] => 319 [thumb_448_410_retina] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/382f54fe_1736186699243_EMAIL5-896x637.png [thumb_448_410_retina-width] => 896 [thumb_448_410_retina-height] => 637 [thumb_574_382] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/382f54fe_1736186699243_EMAIL5-537x382.png [thumb_574_382-width] => 537 [thumb_574_382-height] => 382 [thumb_776_395] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/382f54fe_1736186699243_EMAIL5-556x395.png [thumb_776_395-width] => 556 [thumb_776_395-height] => 395 [gform-image-choice-sm] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/382f54fe_1736186699243_EMAIL5.png [gform-image-choice-sm-width] => 300 [gform-image-choice-sm-height] => 213 [gform-image-choice-md] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/382f54fe_1736186699243_EMAIL5.png [gform-image-choice-md-width] => 400 [gform-image-choice-md-height] => 284 [gform-image-choice-lg] => https://www.nextafter.com/wp-content/uploads/382f54fe_1736186699243_EMAIL5.png [gform-image-choice-lg-width] => 600 [gform-image-choice-lg-height] => 427 ) ) )

Results

  Treatment Name Conv. Rate Relative Difference Confidence
C: Control 19.8%
T1: Treatment #1 44.7% 125.8% 100.0%

This experiment has a required sample size of 27 in order to be valid. Since the experiment had a total sample size of 812, and the level of confidence is above 95% the experiment results are valid.

Flux Metrics Affected

The Flux Metrics analyze the three primary metrics that affect revenue (traffic, conversion rate, and average gift). This experiment produced the following results:

    0% increase in traffic
× 125.8% increase in conversion rate
× 0% increase in average gift

Key Learnings

The key learning from this experiment is that utilizing a more personal approach when asking for a matching gift can significantly increase conversion rates. In this case, the treatment email, which presented the matching gift as coming from a generous donor wanting to match their gift personally, resulted in a 125.8% increase in donations compared to the control email. This suggests that creating a sense of urgency and personal connection in donation appeals can motivate potential donors to feel their contribution has a direct and meaningful impact, particularly when paired with the opportunity to double their support through matching. Regarding the effect on email click-through rate, the treatment email showed no difference in click-through rate. There was a 3.9% decrease in clicks with only a 42% level of confidence. In future experimentation, it would be beneficial to continue testing the impact of personalization and emotional appeals in donation requests. By consistently incorporating these elements into fundraising campaigns, nonprofits like American Cornerstone Institute can further increase engagement, donations, and the overall success of their campaigns.

Experiment Documented by Jeff Giddens
Jeff Giddens is President of NextAfter.

Question about experiment #194456

If you have any questions about this experiment or would like additional details not discussed above, please feel free to contact them directly.