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Case Study

Marketing a Workplace Giving Platform 

Groundswell

Building bridges between companies and nonprofits.

The Challenge

Groundswell is an application that lets anyone become a strategic philanthropist, with each user donating through their own tax-advantaged personal giving account.
 
The giving account is modeled after a traditional donor-advised fund (DAF). But unlike the DAF, the user has total control over its distribution. 
 
Moreover, Groundswell allows businesses to provide matching and gift funds to employees. This enables the employees to make larger donations and increase their impact, ultimately improving both staff engagement and corporate philanthropy.
 
However, the app being new meant potential users had to be persuaded to embrace a new donation platform.
 
Plus, not only did Groundswell need to create interest in their app, they also had to overcome security concerns users would have about connecting to a bank account.

Groundswell sought answers to questions like:

  • How do we get donors to forgo traditional giving and embrace Groundswell’s new platform?
  • How do we instill trust for users to connect our Groundswell app with their bank accounts?
  • To communicate our app’s benefits, what compelling content can we use across multiple channels to attract and engage both donors and corporate management teams?

Our Solution

To overcome Groundswell’s challenges with effective solutions:

  • We used simplified, targeted messaging to communicate Groundswell’s multiple benefits, such as: “Research, discover, and donate all in one place,” and “At the end of the year, you’ll get a single tax receipt for all of your donations.”
  • We welcomed new users with a series of emails, each cheering a newly completed step in the conversion process. Each also featured a special security call-out and link to more information. This helped alleviate concerns about connecting a bank account to complete their conversion.
  • We helped develop their digital brand voice that struck a balance between cause activist and corporate HR expert. We then engaged audiences over specific social media channels, using content that championed high-profile or priority causes, events, timeframes, and needs.

The Results

$750,000

Pledged to nonprofits via Groundswell app within the first two months

3.5%

Ongoing donor conversion rate after retargeting incomplete sign-ups

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“Jake and I wanted to extend a huge thank you for all the amazing work and partnership over the last 7+ months. When we first reached out we needed a lot of help to get ready for our launch, and CauseMic played a key role in helping us to get to that finish line.

That was a big milestone for us, and we're glad you were a part of it. Not to mention the ongoing support helping us launch a newsletter and keeping our social media alive.” 

Meg Vandervort
Director of Marketing

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