{"id":25262,"date":"2023-01-17T13:20:22","date_gmt":"2023-01-17T21:20:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pro-migration.local\/?post_type=resource&p=25262"},"modified":"2025-06-16T16:06:40","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T23:06:40","slug":"direct-relief","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/gofundme.to\/__proxy\/pro.gofundme.com\/c\/case-studies\/direct-relief\/","title":{"rendered":"Direct Relief tops 35% conversion rate by prioritizing donors and data"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The results after seven months:<\/h3>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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$5.8M<\/h3>\n

raised on GoFundMe Pro<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n

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35%<\/h3>\n

average conversion rate<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n

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5,811<\/h3>\n

new first-time donors<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

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Direct Relief\u2019s unique approach to fundraising<\/span><\/h2>\n

Founded in 1948, <\/span>Direct Relief<\/span><\/a> is a humanitarian organization that provides emergency medical assistance and disaster relief around the world. In December 2022, Forbes <\/span>ranked<\/span><\/a> it first in international charities and awarded a score of 100% for both charitable commitment and fundraising efficiency.<\/span><\/p>\n

Direct Relief takes a unique approach to fundraising by not proactively soliciting donations. The organization would rather bring people together for a cause than invest in marketing to them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

GoFundMe Pro sat down with Heather Bennett, Vice President, Community Engagement, and Steve Lange, Director of Web, to discuss Direct Relief\u2019s unique approach to fundraising, prioritizing donor experience, and staying data-driven.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When an outdated fundraising software wasn\u2019t cutting it anymore\u2014enter, GoFundMe Pro<\/span><\/h2>\n

Direct Relief had been using another fundraising software for years until the platform stopped meeting its growing needs and the customization it required drained the team\u2019s time and resources.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At Direct Relief, 100% of donations go towards the programmatic activity of the donor\u2019s choosing such as global access to medicine, Ukraine Crisis Response, or U.S. storms and flooding. It\u2019s a promise the organization makes and keeps with donors. With GoFundMe Pro, this was possible with just a few clicks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Putting donors first by being data-driven<\/span><\/h2>\n

Changing tech platforms can be daunting, but that was no problem for Direct Relief with the GoFundMe Pro team and network in its corner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Direct Relief was introduced to <\/span>Media Cause<\/span><\/a>, a nonprofit marketing agency that worked diligently to set up <\/span>Google Analytics Universal Analytics<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Google Analytics 4<\/span><\/a> tracking prior to launching on GoFundMe Pro. Media Cause simply hooked up GoFundMe Pro’s data layer with Direct Relief\u2019s existing Google Analytics account.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alongside Google Analytics, Steve utilizes GoFundMe Pro’s native reporting to gain deeper donor insight, monitor what is performing well, run tests, and make necessary tweaks to campaigns or main donation pages. With these tools, Direct Relief is able to more efficiently allocate online and staffing resources.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s even more impressive is that Direct Relief has one of the <\/span>best average conversion rates on GoFundMe Pro at over 35%<\/b>! That is twice the rate of industry benchmarks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another project Media Cause has been helping Direct Relief with is implementing cookie consent banners on their website. Although this is not required for nonprofits, <\/span>Direct Relief feels strongly that its donors have a right to control their data. <\/b>\u00a0In the same way that they honor donor intent, they also honor donor data.<\/span><\/p>\n

All of this effort is to make the donation process easier because donors don’t have a lot of time these days. If someone has made the effort to visit Direct Relief\u2019s donation page, then the experience should be as intuitive and easy to navigate as possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Donors are doing good in the world through their support of Direct Relief. They deserve to be recognized for that and the process deserves to be easy. None of this work happens without them.<\/p>\n\n \n