Dragonfly help YDMT increase donations by 68%

The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT) is a small charity doing great things to support and encourage the wildlife, nature, landscape and people of the Yorkshire Dales. They organise programmes that involve the community in the preservation and appreciation of everything the spectacular Yorkshire Dales has to offer. 

As a charity, they know it’s important to give back to their donors and keep them updated on what’s happening in this special place. Their newsletter, Milestones, is mailed to their donor base quarterly. It updates the community on ongoing projects and offers a calendar of upcoming events over the next season. It’s a way for YDMT to thank their donors for their hard work and keep them engaged, as well as an opportunity for YDMT to appeal to one-off donors to give more regularly. 

Milestones is sent in two versions, one to regular donors and another to those who have given one-off donations. When Dragonfly began managing the Milestones project with YDMT, we provided a few small recommendations to help them improve communication with their donors with the view of increasing donations.

The first recommendation we gave was that YDMT made their cover letter more visually appealing, by using eye-catching images, logos and headings. We also encouraged them to include a clear call to action which is based around their key messages: “Help keep the Yorkshire Dales special” and “Do something amazing for our planet”. Dragonfly also designed a leaflet insert which was sent to occasional donors only, encouraging them to become regular givers.

These changes were implemented in YDMT’s Autumn Milestones mailing in 2019, and the results were huge! YDMT saw a phenomenal 68% increase in donations compared to the previous year, with average donations increasing from £22 to £37.

Mike Appleton, marketing and communications officer at YDMT said: “Our Autumn edition of Milestones was our first with Dragonfly and we are really pleased with the results. Nothing was too much trouble for Ellie and the team at Dragonfly and their advice really made an impact on how successful the newsletter was. We can’t wait to do the next one!”