Growing a Digital Donor File With a Full-Funnel Digital Advertising Strategy for a Cancer Research Institute

Challenge

With a donor base built largely through direct mail and limited digital reach, a nonprofit cancer research institute struggled to attract new online supporters. The priority was not just to strengthen digital fundraising efforts, but also to grow the digital donor file, introducing new audiences to the mission and nurturing them toward their first gift.

Solution

TrueSense Marketing developed an evergreen digital advertising program built around a full-funnel strategy — awareness, consideration, and conversion — that’s designed to grow the organization’s base of digitally acquired donors. The approach centered on three cornerstones of digital acquisition success:

• A purposeful mix of advertising channels to reach and reengage potential donors.
• Tailored creative aligned with each objective, audience, and medium.
• A deep understanding of the user journey, from the first ad interaction through donation.

Awareness and consideration campaigns focused on education and inspiration, directing audiences to narrative-rich advertorial pages through programmatic display, native, Google Demand Gen, and social platforms. As prospects demonstrated interest, retargeting efforts deepened engagement with mission-driven content. Conversion ads then featured emotional patient stories and clear calls to action, driving donations primarily through high-performing social and search channels — the two media responsible for the majority of direct revenue attribution.

Results

The full-funnel strategy proved highly effective in expanding the organization’s base of digitally acquired donors and strengthening its online presence and performance. Storytelling-driven content built trust and engagement early in the funnel, converting awareness into meaningful action and giving. Maintaining an always-on presence rather than relying on short campaign bursts helped to sustain momentum and drive consistent donor growth throughout the year and at key fundraising times such as calendar Q4.

Key outcomes included a 45% increase in new digitally acquired donors, a 62% increase in online revenue, and a 77% increase in average gift size. The results demonstrated that when awareness, consideration, and conversion efforts work together through a holistic approach, a foundation for scalable digital donor acquisition can be curated.