Improving Fundraising at the Danish Cancer Society
BCG partnered with the Danish Cancer Society to develop a fundraising strategy for 2015.
The Danish Cancer Society is a highly respected, not-for-profit organization whose goals are to fight cancer, improve cancer patients' chances of successful recovery, and limit the side effects of cancer. It works to realize these goals through research, cancer patient support, and prevention education.
Historically, the organization has been a successful fundraiser, but it was looking for ways to significantly grow its revenue beyond the approximately 500 million DKK raised in 2006. So, a target of 750 million DKK in revenue was set as part of the Danish Cancer Society's vision for 2015.
BCG was asked to develop a fundraising strategy to help the Danish Cancer Society reach this target, under the provision that the highly valued brand and image of the organization would not be compromised.
The fundraising strategy was developed based on a four-step approach:
Analyze the market for fundraising in Denmark and look at key competitors and international success stories
Understand relevant customer segments and select segments with highest fundraising potential
Analyze marketing funnels for each segment, identify relevant fundraising strategies, and estimate the fundraising potential of each segment
Define the fundraising strategy for 2015, detail it at relevant levels, and create plans for implementation and follow-up
As a basis for the development of the fundraising strategy, extensive research was conducted—including a survey with more than 2,000 respondents, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews.
The project resulted in a fundraising strategy that consisted of five sub-strategies:
Strategy for maintaining the Danish Cancer Society's high brand value and image
Fundraising strategy for private persons
Fundraising strategy for corporations Fundraising strategy for foundations
Strategy to enhance internal cooperation and processes to ensure effective and professional fundraising
In turn, each of the five sub-strategies was detailed in relation to:
Objectives and strategies
Goals and financial targets for 2015
Description of the most important initiatives
The implementation plan
The project has been pivotal in setting the Danish Cancer Society’s course for future fundraising, and the organization now knows what to do to reach the target of raising 750 million DKK by 2015.
Since the project, the Danish Cancer Society has been implementing project recommendations in its day-to-day work, and it has been successfully tailoring fundraising initiatives to target specific segments.