Challenge
The Wikimedia Foundation manages a massive global supporter base, with more than 18 million online-acquired donors. The challenge was identifying which of those donors were most likely to respond to direct mail—without sacrificing efficiency or over-mailing—while creating a framework for testing, learning, and long-term optimization.
Solution
Faircom partnered with Wikimedia Foundation to build a data-driven segmentation and targeting strategy designed to pinpoint high-potential direct mail audiences. Using donor analytics, giving behavior, demographic appends, and propensity modeling, we developed refined target segments and tested varying mail cadences to validate performance. A sequestered universe was tracked throughout the year, allowing for clear measurement, meaningful insights, and continuous refinement of the strategy.
Results
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10:1 program ROI
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+29% higher average gift from mail responders vs. online-only donors
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+22% higher average gift among higher-cadence donors, with no drop in response
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+116% improvement in response rate from top propensity segments
