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National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum - Founding Sisters & Individual Giving

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The National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum builds civic power with Asian American and Pacific Islander women and girls across the United States, organizing for policy change in support of reproductive rights, health, and justice. With 96% of revenue coming from foundation grants, the organization recognized the need to diversify their funding sources and build a sustainable individual giving program.


National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum- Isra Pananon Weeks

Overview

With support from Progressive Multiplier, NAPAWF developed a donor engagement program focused on reconnecting with their Founding Sisters (donors who have made planned gifts), activating board members, and cultivating major donors. By creating targeted communications calendars, donor portfolios, and direct outreach strategies, NAPAWF exceeded their financial goals while building infrastructure for sustained individual giving. The project revealed important insights about donor segmentation and the power of focused engagement with current supporters over lapsed relationships.

Key Strategies & Tactics

NAPAWF's individual giving initiative consisted of several integrated components designed to diversify revenue while engaging different segments of their supporter base. The organization began by creating an annual communications calendar that helped outline their approach and efforts throughout the year, moving from broad messaging to targeted communications with tailored content for specific donor segments.

They developed donor portfolios for nearly 200 major donors, distributing them among staff members based on historical giving levels. This allowed the Executive Director, development staff, and other team members to manage personalized outreach rather than having one person serve as the gatekeeper for all donor contacts. The organization conducted direct outreach to Founding Sisters and board members through one-on-one communication and direct mail, while sending regular email solicitations to their broader donor file.

Using EveryAction as their primary tool, NAPAWF worked to identify target audiences and segment them into appropriate funding buckets. They sent monthly informational emails to build engagement before making direct asks, and implemented a multi-channel approach that included both digital and mail appeals throughout the year.


Lessons Learned

  • Small Audience Segments Present Conversion Challenges

    The Founding Sisters group of 162 individuals proved too small of a target audience, particularly because many had disengaged long ago. Reconnecting and converting lapsed donors after years of minimal contact was difficult, requiring more resources than the potential return justified.

  • Current Relationships Yield Better Results

    Increasing engagement with active board members and existing donors enabled NAPAWF to increase the size of donations from current supporters. This approach proved more effective than attempting to reactivate long-lapsed relationships, ultimately allowing them to exceed their overall revenue goal despite missing targets for specific segments.

  • Communications Planning Requires Cross-Team Buy-In

    Organizations should ensure compliance and buy-in from other departments, particularly communications teams, at the beginning of projects. Without this alignment, development teams may struggle to execute their plans or need to create resources themselves, slowing progress.

  • Consistent Tracking Maintains Momentum

    Organizations benefit from setting aside dedicated time to capture results on a regular basis. Having external reminders and accountability helps maintain focus on tracking progress throughout the project lifecycle.

  • Staff Capacity Determines Sustainability

    Consistent staffing to oversee projects from ideation through execution is critical. High turnover creates significant challenges, with NAPAWF experiencing nine staff changes during the project period, leaving only four original team members by completion.

 

By The Numbers

10% Increase in revenue from $250+ donors, 158% Increase in major donors giving annually through upgrade strategies, 64% Overall increase in individual donor revenue

 

The Multiplier Effect

ROI (2)

 

Impact

NAPAWF created systems and infrastructure that will serve their fundraising efforts for years to come. The communications calendar they developed became a model for future planning, providing a framework that could be adapted year after year. The donor portfolios and segmentation work established a foundation for ongoing major donor cultivation that distributed relationship-building responsibilities across the team rather than concentrating them with a single leader.

The project demonstrated to NAPAWF that focusing resources on engaged supporters produces better results than attempting to reactivate long-lapsed relationships. This insight will shape their donor strategy moving forward, allowing them to allocate time and resources more effectively. The organization used insights from their board and donor data to inform future approaches, creating a more data-driven fundraising culture.

The revenue generated through this initiative directly supported NAPAWF's organizing and canvassing work, particularly for voter engagement in Florida, Georgia, and Texas, with plans to expand into Nevada. In Chicago, the increased financial stability enabled them to bring necessary resources to reproductive justice partnerships with organizations like In Our Own Voice and Latina Institute, collaborations that require significant financial commitments to participate as equal partners.

 

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