Ray of Hope (ROH)
Growing Year-End Giving Through Strategy, Storytelling, and a Digital-First Pivot
Ray of Hope connected with Anchor Marketing after seeing the success of a previous campaign we led for another nonprofit organization. Inspired by those results, they were curious to see what we could achieve together, especially during the busiest fundraising season of the year. With rising need in their community and a short runway to prepare, Ray of Hope wanted to amplify donor engagement and maximize return through a more strategic, digital-first approach.
Services Provided
Campaign Messaging & Strategy
Social Media
Digital Advertising
Email Marketing
Landing Page Design & Development
Donation Form Integration
Fundraising Consulting
Performance Reporting & Insights
$$$$$
Ray of Hope is a community organization serving individuals in the Waterloo Region who are experiencing poverty, addiction, homelessness, and food insecurity. Through meal programs, youth support, addiction recovery, and employment training, they invest in people and help transform lives. Their mission is rooted in hope, dignity, and the belief that everyone deserves a second chance.
The Results
18:1
Return on investment (ROI)
Most Successful
Giving Tuesday to date
$370
Average donation size, compared to the industry benchmark of $125–$200 per donor.
>20 Seconds
Longer engagement time on campaign landing page compared to ROH’s main site
17.3%
Site conversion rate (compared to a 1–4% nonprofit average)
40%
Average email open rates across all campaign emails
What We Did
Campaign Strategy & Messaging
Strong CMO leadership played a pivotal role in the success of this dual-campaign approach. With a clear vision and strategic oversight, Danielle, as Fractional CMO, positioned the Thanksgiving campaign as a testing ground—gathering real-time insights to inform and optimize the more critical Year-End push. This intentional sequencing, guided by experience and data-driven thinking, allowed the team to refine messaging centred on dignity, hope, and community support. The result was a more resonant and effective Year-End campaign that built on proven creative and audience learnings.
Email Marketing
We created a full email series for both campaigns, using A/B testing to refine subject lines, visuals, and donor calls to action. Emails were strategically timed around Giving Tuesday and key year-end dates to increase engagement and giving momentum.
Ad Strategy & Audience Targeting
We deployed paid ads across Meta and Google Search, using high-performing content from Thanksgiving to shape the Year-End creative. Paid search was prioritized based on early conversion success, and targeting was adjusted to focus on key donor demographics and geographies.
Digital First Approach
When a Canada Post strike hit in the middle of the Year-End campaign, ROH faced a major disruption to their direct mail strategy. We quickly pivoted to a digital-first approach, reallocating our focus towards email and digital ads to maintain momentum and meet donors where they were: online.
Landing Page & Donation Experience
We optimized the online giving experience through a dedicated campaign landing page. As part of the development, we transitioned Ray of Hope to a new donation platform and completed a full integration with Fundraise Up. The result was a seamless, mobile-friendly donation journey that supported high conversion rates and strong average gift values.
“Anchor played a key role in helping shape our ambitious capital fundraising campaign, designing a lovely website and helping shape strong, cohesive key messaging, media materials, and providing helpful media training for our fundraisers. Their work gave the campaign a polished, professional look, and we received a lot of positive feedback from the community. We truly appreciate Anchor’s contribution to helping us launch a capital campaign we’re proud of.”
Vicky O'Rourke
Communications & Fund Development Coordinator,
Sunshine Coast Community Services Society
Sunshine Coast Community Services Society
Interested in how we can help your nonprofit achieve similar results?
Schedule a meeting with Danielle, our CEO, to discuss your goals and our proven strategies. Let’s make your next success story!
