Transforming Partners In Health’s EOY digital fundraising with younger donors, surpassing revenue goals by 243%
In Short:
Delve Deeper transformed PIH’s end-of-year (EOY) digital fundraising by targeting younger donors through audience-driven paid media, compelling storytelling, and optimized advertising strategies—leading to record-breaking revenue growth and surpassing the original RoAS goal by 562%.
The Challenge:
As PIH, our long standing client, entered its most critical fundraising period from October through December 2024, the charity faced a growing challenge: its existing donor base was shrinking, and year-over-year contributions were in decline. To meet growth targets, PIH needed to attract new supporters while ensuring their paid media efforts delivered exceptional returns.
The biggest opportunity was in engaging younger donors, particularly those aged 25-34. However, capturing the attention of this Gen Z and Millennial audience required a fundamentally different approach—one built around relevant storytelling, audience-driven media investments, and a deep understanding of how younger donors engage with charitable giving online.
The Approach:
Delve Deeper designed a paid media strategy that revolved around the digital consumption habits and behaviors of Gen Z and Millennial donors. Every decision, from audience targeting to creative messaging to media allocation, was optimized to maximize engagement and conversion among this target audience.
To ensure younger audiences were primed to donate when the peak giving season arrived, we implemented an aggressive prospecting strategy in October and November. By focusing on high-intent in-market audiences – those actively researching charitable giving opportunities – we introduced PIH to new potential younger donors well before Giving Tuesday. We also coordinated a well-timed direct mail campaign ahead of Giving Tuesday to reinforce digital messaging and create an additional moment of engagement for high-potential donors.
In programmatic advertising, heavy investment in prospecting in video over display ads reflected younger donors’ content preferences, while YouTube was strategically used to reactivate individuals who had previously engaged but had yet to convert. Direct deal partnerships allowed for a balance between upper-funnel awareness efforts and lower-funnel conversions, ensuring that paid media remained both efficient and highly effective in driving action among this key demographic.
Since younger donors are highly engaged on social platforms, Delve Deeper crafted a personalized creative strategy in paid social that spoke directly and reflected their values and “micro-affinities.” Messaging centered on themes of justice and impact, with the “Curing Injustice” campaign framing donations as a direct way to fight systemic inequality. Urgent, purpose-driven calls to action ensured that engagement translated into donations, while a dynamic mix of short-form videos, static images, and carousel ads kept the content fresh and compelling. Frequent creative updates prevented ad fatigue, maintaining interest and deepening emotional connections between PIH and younger donors.
In paid search, to capture younger donors actively searching for holiday charitable giving opportunities, Delve Deeper optimized PIH’s campaigns to reduce keyword overlap, improve click-through rates, and ensure message-matched landing pages reinforced the donor journey. Instead of casting a wide net, the strategy focused on high-intent audiences —especially those who had recently searched for relevant causes—allowing PIH to reach Gen Z and Millennials most likely to donate. By prioritizing efficiency and relevance, paid search efforts turned moments of interest into immediate action, maximizing the impact of every ad dollar invested.
Summary:
Delve Deepers Results:
By placing younger donors at the center of its strategy, Delve Deeper helped PIH achieve unprecedented digital fundraising success.
Beyond exceeding short-term digital fundraising goals, the campaign laid the foundation for sustainable future donor growth. By combining precision targeting, compelling creative, and strategic media investments, Delve Deeper not only transformed PIH’s EOY fundraising performance in 2024, but also demonstrated how nonprofits can successfully engage younger audiences for long-term impact in 2025 and beyond.