Alzheimer’s Association finds Success with Hustle
The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Their mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health.
They also produce the world’s largest peer-to-peer events with the goal of raising awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. “Engaging hundreds of thousands of supporters with limited staff and resources has been a growing challenge,“ says Noel Beebe, Director of Digital Fundraising. “Our events continue to grow each year, and we are seeing less success with traditional communication channels like email and phone calls as they become more and more saturated.” So the Association turned to Hustle as an additional way to deepen engagement with their supporters.
Relationship-building with event participants is a key strategic focus for the Association’s peer-to-peer events, so Hustle was a natural fit. Using Hustle allowed Association staff to reach out to growing numbers of supporters in a personal and authentic way, and offer a new channel of customer support to those who need it.
For organizations facing similar challenges, here are a few ways the Alzheimer’s Association has used Hustle to support their events…
Bank Day Invitation
Bank Day is a day designated for Walk to End Alzheimer’s® participants to turn in cash and check donations and pick up wristbands and T-shirts before Walk day. This helps alleviate long lines at the Walk, and ensures that fundraisers receive full credit at the event for all of their fundraising efforts.
Before implementing Hustle, the Kentucky and Southern Indiana chapter struggled with getting participants out to their Bank Day event, despite sending email invitations and leaving voicemails inviting participants to attend. In 2019, a chapter staff member used Hustle to reach out to 900 registered participants and invite them to come to Bank Day. 45% of those contacted through Hustle responded. It became clear that participants didn’t fully understand what “Bank Day” was — the agent was able to quickly respond and explain the benefits of attending. As a result, they had their largest Bank Day turnout ever.
Lapsed Team Captain Recruitment
In peer-to-peer fundraising, Team Captains are core to the success of any team event. They recruit, raise funds, coach others and are often among the most engaged in the mission of the organization. Retaining Team Captains from one year to the next is vital to the success of any peer-to-peer team event.
In 2019, the Alzheimer’s Association used a staff of two throughout the fall to reach out to over 17,000 past team captains that had not yet registered for the current year’s event. While many responded they truly could not attend, the Hustle conversations gave fantastic insight into the life events of their participants as well as previous poor experiences with the event that could be addressed. It provided an opportunity for relationship-building that had not emerged in other forms of communication. Ultimately, 12% of Team Captains that received a text from Hustle went on to register, and those captains went on to raise over $400,000.
Longest Day — Register and Raise
The Longest Day is a “do-it-yourself” fundraising campaign culminating on the summer solstice. Participants across the globe are encouraged to select an activity of their choosing and turn it into a fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association. In 2019, in an effort to get participants to start fundraising earlier in the season, the Alzheimer’s Association leveraged Hustle to invite over 3,300 current and past participants to register (if they hadn’t already) and raise $200 within the month of April. Those who hit the goal would receive a limited-edition baseball hat for their effort. As a result, 339 participants went on to meet the challenge, and The Longest Day saw a 36% increase in revenue compared to the same month in 2018.
Looking Forward
After piloting several projects, the Alzheimer’s Association rolled out Hustle to its 80 chapters nationwide to get Hustle in the hands of those who know their events and supporters best.
“We are loving Hustle so far! We used it to promote our Walk Launch Party (a combination of a volunteer kickoff and past team registration event), and it worked really well! I’m very excited to continue using Hustle as a constituent engagement tool. “
— Alex Schoeneck
Development Events Manager
Alzheimer’s Association, NYC Chapter
We at Hustle are honored to support the vital work of Alzheimer’s Association. If you’d like to get involved with the Association, explore here.
To learn more about what Hustle can do for your organization, connect with our team.
Huge thanks for post contributions from Noel Beebe of Alzheimer’s Association!
