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World Bicycle Relief

Integrated Fundraising Campaign for a Global Humanitarian Nonprofit

World Bicycle Relief raised $828,500, a 12% year-over-year increase, and added 5,000+ new supporters by consolidating campaign strategies.

The Challenge

World Bicycle Relief (WBR) provides vital mobility in rural regions around the world with their game-changing Buffalo Bicycle. The Buffalo is designed to serve those who have to travel long distances over rugged terrain with heavy cargo.

Their long-term vision “is to inspire all sectors to address the transportation needs for nearly one billion people who need to get to school, work or healthcare.”

When they came to us, their two mid-year campaigns had distinct goals. However, the campaigns quickly became problematic. Their approaches were stale. Their timing conflicted. And the two concurrent campaigns were creating confusion among the WBR team and its supporters.

Moreover, WBR’s lean capacity prevented their team from producing new, creative content to support leaders across their five global markets.

a happy rural woman with a bike in the background

Accordingly, World Bicycle Relief needed answers to questions like:

  • How do we evolve creative tailored to our three key target audiences: mass market, corporate partners, and corporate partner employees?
  • How do we successfully merge two of our primary campaigns: Pedal to Empower and the Mid-Year Appeal?

Our Solutions

We brought World Bicycle Relief’s overlapping campaigns together into one coordinated, phased strategy designed to amplify reach and drive giving.

Campaign Strategy and Storytelling

  • We refined the Pedal to Empower narrative and executed it in three phases.
    • Phase 1: Lead acquisition and peer-to-peer fundraising for the Pedal to Empower ride.
    • Phase 2: A comprehensive fundraising sprint that leveraged a $200,000 matching gift.
    • Phase 3: A follow-up retargeting campaign designed to inspire new first-time gifts and convert existing donors to monthly supporters.
  • In partnership with WBR, we revised their core messaging to align stakeholders around a compelling narrative supporting both brand awareness and fundraising goals.
  • We developed a new project plan that allowed us to support their existing marketing team and generate alignment and consistency across all five global markets.

Audience and Channel Strategy

  • To widen brand awareness, acquire new leads, and increase donations, we increased WBR’s paid social investment nearly tenfold.
  • We used multichannel marketing including email, social media ads, direct mail, and organic social media, introducing new segmentation to drive conversions during each phase.

The Results

  • Raised $828,500 during the campaign, a 12% year-over-year increase.
  • Acquired 5,000+ new supporters to be cultivated for ongoing support.
  • WBR established paid media baselines, with paid channels driving 52% of all website traffic during the campaign.

 

CauseMic streamlined our process, eliminating a lot of back-and-forth between stakeholders.

CauseMic’s solution of condensing two campaigns into one created less overall work for both planning and execution phases.

CauseMic helped produce clearer and more robust pitch materials for corporate solicitations.

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