An Australian donor program with untapped potential + a cause that mattered.
A health advocacy organisation whose tax appeal had never been a strategic priority. When Amplify Fundraising found a different kind of story that arrived with urgency, the result was nearly three and a half times what the program had ever raised.
Cause: Health / Cancer Advocacy
Services: Tax Appeal Development; Storytelling & Content; Multi-Channel Campaign; Data Strategy
The Challenge:
A tax appeal program with real potential but no clear, urgent proposition.
The Approach:
Amplify Fundraising identified a more compelling appeal strategy + authentic storytelling + integrated multi-channel delivery.
The Outcome:
Tax appeal revenue almost tripled, and a clear proof point for what becomes possible with the right strategy and support.
The Situation:
An appeal fundraising program with more potential than its results suggested.
Ovarian Cancer Australia (OCA) provides support, information and community connection for women living with ovarian cancer, including access to specialist ‘teal’ nurses in hospitals across the country. OCA had built genuine connection with a community of supporters, many through peer-to-peer fundraising events, and the cause carried real urgency for the people it reached.
What they had was real. What hadn’t yet been built was the strategic infrastructure to deepen those relationships, including an engagement journey that could turn community fundraisers and event donors into committed, appeal-responsive supporters over time.
The fundraising team could see the potential. What they needed was a clear appeal strategy and a disciplined process to help them realise it.
“The issue is rarely that a program is beyond help. It’s that no one’s yet made the case for investing in it properly – and shown what happens when you do.”
What Amplify Fundraising did:
Develop the appeal, then find the real story behind it.
Amplify Fundraising came on board to develop and deliver OCA’s tax appeal, bringing the strategic thinking and specialist capacity to take the program further than it had gone before.
Three things shaped the engagement from the outset.
1. Finding the more urgent proposition
The original appeal concept centred on raising awareness of OCA’s ‘teal’ nurse program. This was a genuinely important message, but not one that carried immediate urgency for donors. Partway through the engagement, Amplify Fundraising identified that several of the support programs that patients had come to rely on were at risk of being cut. That changed the nature of the appeal entirely: from ‘here’s what we do’ to more specific action, “here’s what we stand to lose.”
2. An insistence on authentic donor appeal storytelling
Telling that story well required a real voice. This was in the form of a patient willing to share what access to OCA’s programs had meant for her personally. We were able to speak with a woman living with a terminal ovarian cancer diagnosis who was still finding ways to contribute to the cause. This courageous woman gave the appeal its emotional centre, her story handled with care, dignity and complete transparency about how it would be used. It became the most powerful asset in the campaign.
3. Integrated direct mail, email and SMS
The campaign was delivered through multi-channel delivery, including direct mail, email and SMS, with different segments of the donor base reached through the right channel combination for their giving history and engagement. The focus was on the quality of the proposition and the integrity of the storytelling – not volume for its own sake.
The Turning Point:
When the proposition shifted, so did the result.
The moment the appeal found its urgent, honest centre, the campaign had something donors could respond to. Beyond a general awareness message, to a specific, time-sensitive reason to act right now.
We knew that a compelling case for support requires two things working together: a genuine reason to give, and a human story that highlights the importance of that reason explicitly. This campaign had both and the results reflected it.
Through the data generated from the campaign, we were able to demonstrate why certain tactical decisions mattered. These included identifying which segments responded to which channels, what the response rates revealed about the donor base, and what that pointed to for future investment. That analysis gave OCA a richer picture of their supporters and a stronger investment case for growing their appeal fundraising program.
The long-lasting outcome:
Three and a half times the result. And a program that shows what it can do.
Against a previous tax appeal result of approximately $87,000, the campaign raised close to $300,000 – nearly three and a half times what the program had previously delivered, on a total spend of around $30,000.
The engagement demonstrated something important to OCA leadership teams: that an individual giving program built primarily on peer-to-peer donors and community fundraisers can work. When the proposition is right, the storytelling is real, and the direct mail and digital channel strategy are integrated, it can succeed.
The campaign gave OCA clear, data-backed evidence of what their appeal fundraising program could look like with dedicated investment behind it. As fundraising studies go, it is tangible proof point of what becomes possible with the right strategy and right support in place.
“They [Amplify Fundraising] brought a stronger proposition to the table than the one we’d started with. We weren’t entirely sure at the time, but the results were undoubtedly clear.”
If you know there's more potential for your appeals than your results suggest, that's exactly the right time to speak with us.