OneCause - Inbound Marketing Program of the Year

Company: OneCause, Indianapolis, IN
Company Description: OneCause is driving the future of fundraising with easy-to-use software solutions that help nonprofits connect with donors, improve the giving experience, and raise more money. Since 2008, we’ve helped 6,000 nonprofits raise more than $2.7 billion with our full suite of fundraising solutions including online giving, event management, auctions, peer-to-peer, and virtual fundraising.
Nomination Category: Sales Awards Achievement Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Inbound Marketing Program of the Year

Nomination Title: OneCause Pandemic Pivot Brings Record Lead Growth

During a pandemic, OneCause quickly pivoted its efforts to virtual fundraising, producing all-time record lead growth and engagement for the company. Our timely and relevant content has attracted a record number of new leads entering the OneCause marketing funnel, up 145.8% over last year. We’ve also seen our web traffic grow, up 28%, through our focused efforts on engaging thought leadership content and strong backlinking strategy.

OneCause is not just bringing in more leads – we’re bringing in more high-quality leads that are converting and moving through the sales cycle. Through our nurture strategy we’ve been able to convert a record number of those net new names, surpassing our pre-pandemic marketing qualified lead goal and are up 56% over last year. Our multi-pronged approach has helped us to impact revenue for both new and existing business despite the challenging environment of the pandemic.​

Briefly describe the nominated organization or individual: history and past performance (up to 200 words):

OneCause is driving the future of fundraising with easy-to-use software solutions that help nonprofits connect with donors, improve the giving experience, and raise more money. Since 2008, we’ve helped 6,000 nonprofits raise more than $2.7 billion with our full suite of event and online fundraising solutions. Our customers are nonprofits big and small (such as JDRF, Human Rights Campaign, Make a Wish). We recognize the current challenges facing nonprofits and provide them the tools they need to innovate and grow their fundraising. We share insights, proven best practices, and present innovative strategies to optimize fundraising year-round.

We’ve focused on creating a predictable revenue engine leveraging technology to scale operations and internal efficiencies from our marketing and sales teams. Starting at the top of the funnel we serve up quality thought leadership and content marketing to attract potential leads. Once prospects engage with our content, we use marketing automation and 17 targeted nurture streams to warm marketing leads and increase SQL conversions. Each stream serves up relevant content based on interest.In conjunction with our grading and scoring rubric we assign points based on content consumption,flagging those exhibiting buying behaviors for our Sales Development Representatives to conduct outreach.

Outline the nominated achievement since July 1 2019 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):

2020 has been a year of pivots, transitions, and new possibilities – especially for nonprofit fundraising. COVID-19 social distancing orders came at the height of the fundraising season, forcing thousands of charitable events to come to a screeching halt. Nonprofits that rely on donations were paralyzed as they had no virtual tools to replace their galas, auctions, and in-person fundraisers. OneCause went from supporting hundreds of in-person fundraising events a week to zero.

OneCause helped to lead nonprofits through the largest global fundraising pivot, as we accelerated product innovation, operationalized new virtual fundraising services, and transitioned our Marketing and Sales efforts to help nonprofits pivot to virtual fundraising. We launched a free, comprehensive COVID-19 Fundraising Resource Center with over 100 original content pieces including blogs, webinars, and case studies. Our resources and webinars generated 20,533 Net New Names, powering to an inbound marketing lead record145% over 2019.

We made significant investments in social advertising, website enhancements, SEO, and nurture campaigns to drive interest and cultivate new leads. We spent 2020 refining and building out our nurture strategy, resulting in 301,000 emails sent YTD, with a 33% Open Rate and 26% Click to Open Rate. We brought to market a new product, the Virtual Event Center, with a multichannel marketing launch generating 143 pre-release sales in the first two weeks of product release.And finally, our firstvirtual Raise Conference brought together more than 6,900 nonprofit professionals to learn about virtual fundraising and emerging best practices.

Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):

We've attached a link to our COVID-19 Fundraising Resource Center with over 100 original content pieces including blogs, webinars, and case studies from nonprofits who successfully transitioned. Our resources and webinars generated 20,533 Net New Names, powering to an inbound marketing lead record- 145% over 2019.