From Fledgling to Solid Performer: Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Background
Sylvester opened as a dedicated, comprehensive cancer center in 1992 and today serves as the hub for cancer-related research, diagnosis, and treatment at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. Sylvester handles more than 1,500 inpatient admissions annually, performs 2,400 surgical procedures, and treats 4,000 new cancer patients.

Situation
When Amergent became involved with Sylvester they had just over 2,000 donors and no formal direct mail plan in place. Sylvester was not convinced that a direct mail program was the right path for a research facility to use for fundraising, but did decide to test acquisition packages with Amergent and another agency. In addition to the acquisition test (125,000), two small renewal mailings were created to cultivate the small group of donors that were already on the file. In that one year of direct mail testing, the donor file grew to over 4,000 names.

At the end of the testing year, Amergent was asked to present our vision for taking Sylvester to the next level. Building on the Sylvester mission statement, “The University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center seeks to reduce human burden from cancer through research, education, prevention, and the delivery of quality patient care,” Amergent created a plan that developed appeals throughout the year highlighting each of the topics raised in the mission statement. Amergent’s vision was adopted by Sylvester and we moved forward with five renewals and double the acquisition (250,000) in the next fiscal year.

The program has continued to grow every year, which included acquisition of 350,000, seven renewal appeals, four welcome appeals and three winback appeals (for lapsed donors).

Note: It is important to disclose that in our fourth year working with UM/Sylvester, they made the decision to cut back on acquisition for budgetary reasons. The donor file suffered a significant setback during that year.
 
Results
Since Amergent partnered with Sylvester on their complete direct mail program, the gross revenue has almost doubled, starting at $130,000 from $322,000 in five years. The active donor file has more than tripled during this same time – from 2,000 donors to over 7,000.

Amergent has helped Sylvester acquire higher quality new donors who have provided better, long-term support through sustained, repeated giving. The retention rate for first-year new donors is at a solid 34%. Long-standing donors are retained at an average of 58%, with a donor value of $85.

Here’s what Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center's growth history looks like – over a five year period:   

From a fledgling program, to a solid performer, Amergent has had the privilege to work with Sylvester on raising funds for their very important mission.