Advocates for Youth: Building Independent Revenue Through Donor Development

Advocates for Youth stands as a national leader championing young people's rights to sexual health information and services. With a network spanning 95,000 youth activists across 1,200 campuses in 50 states and 103 countries, they focus on youth-led advocacy, reproductive justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and comprehensive sex education.

Overview

Advocates for Youth developed a comprehensive individual donor program to generate independent revenue while advancing their mission.

By designing a three-pronged approach that included new donor acquisition, donor upgrading through stewardship, and alumni engagement, Advocates for Youth built a foundation for financial independence while strengthening their movement-building capacity. The project transformed their approach to fundraising and created pathways for deeper community engagement.

Key Strategies & Tactics

Advocates for Youth's individual donor initiative consisted of several integrated components designed to diversify revenue while engaging different segments of their supporter base:

• New Donor Acquisition: Targeting the Hope in a Box donor list with a tailored email onboarding series that introduced their work and culminated in donation requests
• Donor Stewardship Program: Implementing a formalized communication strategy including a monthly "AFY Insider" newsletter, personalized thank-you messages, and one-on-one outreach to major donors
• Alumni Engagement: Connecting with former youth activists through dedicated events, a LinkedIn group, and targeted communications to build a pipeline for them to become donors
• Multi-Channel Marketing: Utilizing email campaigns, direct mail, in-person events, and personal outreach to reach different donor segments

Lessons Learned

• Look Beyond Obvious Donor Segments
  Family members of alumni emerged as an unexpected but promising donor prospect group
• Email Drip Campaigns Drive Results
  Structured email sequences proved effective for donor cultivation and solicitation
• Donor Newsletters Build Engagement
  Regular, impact-focused communications achieved exceptional open rates (51% average)
• Recurring Donors Provide Stability
  Monthly donors showed significantly higher retention rates (71-88% compared to 60% benchmark)
• Personalization Drives Major Gifts
  One-on-one cultivation remained the most effective approach for securing significant contributions
• Demonstrate Success to Build Internal Support
  Small wins helped overcome resistance to new fundraising approaches

The Multiplier Effect

Impact

Advocates for Youth created a sustainable model for independent revenue generation that aligns with their mission of youth empowerment. Their donor development strategy not only produced immediate financial returns but established systems for long-term sustainability. The monthly "AFY Insider" newsletter became a powerful tool for sharing impact stories and maintaining donor engagement, with open rates far exceeding industry standards.

The organization discovered that personal appeals and relationship-building were particularly effective for securing major gifts, resulting in nine major donors contributing nearly $117,000—far surpassing their initial targets. They also found that family members of alumni represented an untapped donor segment they had never previously considered.

Perhaps most importantly, the initiative created a pipeline from youth engagement to alumni involvement to financial support, strengthening Advocates for Youth's community connections while building sustainable revenue.