Special Appeals

• What type of project are you raising funds for: Scholarship, Capital, Programmatic? 
• The average response rate for direct mail solicitations is 0.5 to 2 percent 
• The average response rate for email solicitation is 0.05 to 0.1 percent 
• Multichannel efforts (i.e., email, text message, social media and phone call) are recommended 
• Events that bring in money and are not coordinated by the DPAE Events Team are considered special appeals and go through DPAE. Transactional “Give to get” (a donor receives an item for their donation) campaigns are largely discouraged. They involve an extra layer of approvals and will require a budget for both purchasing the items and for fulfillment (i.e. shipping costs).
• Special appeals require a defined, targeted audience with an affinity for your area. 
• Try to avoid the times leading up to and directly following annual giving appeals, such as Giving Tuesday in November and Kent State’s Day of Giving in April.
• Leave adequate planning and approval time between your submission and the date of your appeal. 

• Setting unrealistic expectations for the amount of funds raised 
• Trying to fundraise for operational costs, such as things donors expect the university to pay for 

• Contact your assigned project manager and philanthropic advisor to discuss feasibility and timing. 
• Once you have approval from your area, ask the project manager to fill out the DPAE special appeal form. 
• Await approval. Keep in mind that resources are limited and not all special appeals will be approved. 
• If approved, work with your project manager and the annual giving team to create the assets and/or communication pieces needed for the appeal. 

What is a special appeal? 
A special appeal is a targeted solicitation of philanthropic gifts to support an existing Kent State University Foundation fund. The appeal is not directly tied to one of Kent State’s main annual giving campaigns, but it needs to have a strong case for support and a specified target audience with whom the message will resonate. 

How does the special appeals process work? 
Your Division of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement (DPAE) project manager can help you decide which method is best for your project and fill out the Special Appeal Request Form. The communication method used to reach your target audience will depend on several factors, including the timing, budget, target audience and audience size for your special appeal. 

Why is an established Foundation fund needed? 
An established fund is necessary in order to complete the request because the creation of a new fund requires approval from the Kent State University Foundation as well as a minimum donation amount to open a fund, which takes additional time. We are unable to take the necessary steps in the special appeals process until the fund has been approved by the foundation and has an official fund number into which donations can be deposited. For more information on fund creation, please visit https://www.kent.edu/alumni-and-giving/policies-and-forms. 

What is the general timeline for a special appeal? 
Special appeals will vary in timeline for completion based on several factors, including but not limited to: time of year, mode of distribution (i.e. digital or direct mail), design and planning needs, development of new email or mailing lists (if required), etc.  In general, a breakdown of the timelines (after approval) are as follows:  

• Direct Mail Timeline: Content creation (2 weeks + approval time) + data gathering (2 weeks) + printing (2 weeks) + mailing (1-2 weeks) = 8 weeks on average 
• Email Timeline: Content creation (1-2 weeks) + data gathering needs, if applicable (2 weeks) + approval time (1 week) = 3-4 weeks on average
• Crowdfunding: Content creation and approval time (2-3 weeks) + active fundraising period (3-4 weeks) = 5-6 weeks 

How do I determine the audience for a special appeal? 
Your division, college, regional campus or unit should have or be in the process of developing a strategic population group (SPG) and/or a regular email recipient list for communications to alumni and donors through DPAE. This is a great start for developing your audience for your special appeal proposal. If you do not have one of these groups developed, talk to your DPAE project manager about your audience and list needs.  

What sort of ROI should I expect for a special appeal? 
Below are equations that estimate the ROI that can be expected for various methods of special appeal communications. 

• Direct Mail: (Audience size) x 2% (this is the best-case scenario conversion rate) x $110 (KSU average gift size) = Appeal Goal 
• Email: (Audience size) x 0.1% (this is the best-case scenario conversion rate) x $110 (KSU average gift size) = Appeal Goal 
• Engagement Center: (Audience size) x 2.3% (this is the average cold-call conversion rate) x $110 (KSU average gift size) = Appeal Goal
• Special Appeals: Appeal Goal – Time – Expenses (printing, mailing, design, etc.) = Net Success 

What if my project does not raise enough funds to reach the goal?
If the project does not reach its goal, the funds are still deposited into the Kent State Foundation fund indicated for the project. If not reaching the goal will inhibit the project in any way, make sure to communicate with potential donors throughout the campaign about how the money raised will be used if the goal is not reached. 

What is a case for support, and how do I write one? 
A case for support is an appeal to audiences to contribute to the campaign. Successful cases for support often do the following: demonstrate past and present impact of the fund, tell stories that make the audience feel personally and emotionally connected to the fund and its recipients, explain how the funds raised will be used, convey urgency and leverage or build relationships and connections. 

What is a crowdfunding project, and how do I create one? 
Crowdfunding empowers members of the Kent State community to come together and inspire others to make a difference. In these projects, teams use an online platform to fundraise for a specific Kent State cause that is important to them. You can request a crowdfunding project by contacting your DPAE project manager. 

Do crowdfunding projects cost money? 
The Kent State University Foundation covers the platform fees so that 100% of the donors’ money goes to the project’s Kent State Foundation fund. Unlike other crowdfunding platforms, there are no fees, and all funds collected will go toward the fund selected, regardless of whether the goal is reached. 

If you have any questions, contact your project manager or annualgiving@kent.edu.