Skip to main content
CauseMic Work with us

Friends of the Columbia Gorge

Post-Disaster Content Strategy for an Environmental Nonprofit

CauseMic built Friends of the Columbia Gorge a prioritized content roadmap to keep donors engaged after disaster urgency faded.

The Challenge

Since 1980, Oregon-based Friends of the Columbia Gorge (FCG) has worked to preserve the Columbia River Gorge, a National Scenic Area spanning Oregon and Washington.

When the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire burned more than 48,000 acres in the Gorge, FCG launched a special fundraising appeal that generated an immediate spike in donations.

 

But that surge in support quickly faded. As time passed and the immediate urgency was gone, the perception that the forest was recovering on its own made donors feel their contributions were less critical.

FCG needed to acquire new members, retain existing donors, and increase giving from more of their supporters to continue their vital work. Thankfully, the team had some capacity to create relevant content. They just needed to know how to approach it.

a mossy log with the Columbia River in the background

Friends of the Columbia Gorge engaged CauseMic, posing two questions:

  • How can we use our existing communications channels to accomplish our fundraising goals?
  • Given our small team, where should we focus our efforts to make the greatest impact?

Our Solutions

We helped FCG identify which content opportunities were worth pursuing and where to focus their team’s efforts.

Content Audit & Strategy

  • Channel by channel, we audited FCG’s content against its fundraising and engagement goals, identifying what was working and where there were opportunities to improve.
  • We prioritized FCG’s goals based on the potential impact and the effort required to complete them.
  • We developed a comprehensive content strategy with a prioritized list of projects, including donation page improvements, Google Analytics 4 tracking and reporting, and automated email series.

The Results

  • FCG now has a clear roadmap of projects tied directly to its goals, allowing the team to tackle high-impact, lower-effort work first.
  • Staff are prepared with specific tactics for making existing content more relevant and effective at converting website visitors into donors.