Missouri Botanical Garden
Appeal Type: Capital Campaign
Date: 2021 – 2022
Scope of Work
To support the Gateway to the Garden Capital Campaign—including funding the construction of the new Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center—Missouri Botanical Garden partnered with Daniller + Company to design and implement two major direct mail efforts engaging members and loyal donors. Each appeal invited supporters to help realize this transformational project, offering tiered recognition benefits to encourage increased giving.
Fall 2021 Results
The first campaign was a success with a return per dollar invested of more than $3. High-value giving was particularly strong, including multiple gifts at the $5,000 level and above.
Most gifts came from long-term members (7+ years), demonstrating the loyalty and generosity of the Garden’s core supporters. This successful initial effort set the stage for even greater returns in the next phase.
Spring 2022 Results
The follow-up campaign achieved exceptional growth, reinforcing the strength of increased member engagement resulting from multiple mailings. While the Garden mailed fewer packages, the number of gifts increased, and the average gift went up by $22. The response rate climbed by 0.43%, and the return per dollar invested more than doubled. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the second drop of this mailing, which was more economical likely because of the increased urgency toward the capital campaign deadline.
The campaign also received several higher dollar contributions, underscoring the effectiveness of the tiered giving structure and emotional appeal of the project.
Key Takeaways
- Strong Member Engagement: Long-term members drove the majority of response and higher-level giving across both campaigns.
- High-Value Conversions: The appeal successfully motivated significant gifts, with multiple donors upgrading to $5,000+ levels.
- Sustained Growth: The second campaign outperformed the first in both response rate and ROI, proving the effectiveness of phased outreach.
- Exceptional ROI: Combined campaigns surpassed revenue projections and demonstrated that well-crafted direct mail can yield major results for capital fundraising.
Conclusion
The Gateway to the Garden Capital Campaign exemplifies the power of personalized storytelling, clear donor recognition, and audience segmentation to drive transformational giving.
Through strategic creative and targeted follow-up, Missouri Botanical Garden’s member and donor base rose to the occasion—helping fund a cornerstone project that will welcome generations of visitors to come.
Together, these campaigns set a new standard for capital campaign excellence at Missouri Botanical Garden and showcased how deeply members believe in the Garden’s mission and future.
