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Creativity Meets Crowdfunding in Lutzie 43’s Unforgettable Giving Tuesday Campaign
The Mission
Reduce distracted driving incidents and honor the legacy of Philip Lutzenkirchen.
Campaign Goal
Create a repeatable end-of-year campaign that thoughtfully symbolizes Philip’s story and appeals to new donors every giving season.
The Lutzie 43 Foundation educates communities to prevent distracted and impaired driving accidents, like the avoidable tragedy that took Philip Lutzenkirchen’s life in 2014.
Philip’s father, Mike Lutzenkirchen (and the foundation’s executive director) was determined to reach more people with his story, but needed guidance to do that through fundraising. Katie Stotts, a Creative Strategist at the Knight Eady creative agency was there to help.
Creativity Meets Crowdfunding
In 2017, the Lutzie 43 Foundation shared their story with donors everywhere during peak Giving Tuesday season. The custom crowdfunding campaign, known today as the “43 Day Campaign,” draws donors in from all corners of the world with a strong emotional tie. The campaign has continued to run every year since, steadily growing in overall fundraising revenue, average gift size, and donor acquisition.
The 43 Day Campaign’s Growth Trajectory
$48,000
in 2017
$48,000
in 2017
$60,000
in 2019
$87,000
in 2021
Building an Annual Campaign With Long-Lasting Meaning
The Concept
The campaign runs for 43 days to symbolize Philip’s football number at Auburn University and create a critical sense of urgency among potential donors to offer immediate support. There’s a huge focus on donor acquisition, making sure every donation ask is paired with the tangible impact it makes to prevent tragedies.
The Message
The Lutzie 43 Foundation understood that the simpler the message, the greater the impact. Donors were called on to contribute to the Lutzie 43 Foundation’s “43 Day Campaign” to help meet a specific fundraising goal in 43 days.
Drawing in Donors
The organization elevated its clear and compelling message through a targeted email campaign, postcard mailer, unique giveaways, and creative PR efforts, including a social media dance challenge in remembrance of Philip’s famous touchdown dance featured on CBS.
Being able to create a branded, premium donation page helps set the foundation above the rest. The options Classy provides in a crowdfunding campaign page ensure the foundation’s goal is clear and donors know exactly what their contribution is funding for the Lutzie 43 Foundation.
The Results: Campaign Growth 2017-2021
Nearly Doubled
year-end giving totals
Increased Gift Size
by $345 on average
54% Conversion
rate in 2021
How Classy Brought the 43 Day Campaign to Life
Classy’s crowdfunding platform (gives) Knight Eady the platform to bring the campaign vision to life through:
- Custom campaign pages to highlight particular messages and needs
- A simple way to include compelling foundation photos and videos
- Real-time donation tracking to engage vetted donor segments
- Flexibility to set donation levels around targeted and proven gift amounts
- Simple donation checkout pages that give donors a frictionless experience
- Flexible payment options including PayPal, ACH, and digital wallets
- Reporting and donor insights to inform creative strategy decisions
Impact blocks made it possible to designate donations to specific programs such as:
- A PFL Character Scholarship
- Funding a 43 Key Seconds Talk
- Providing Adapted PE Field Days
- A 43 Key Seconds physical key for student drivers
Classy is critical to the success of the 43 Day Campaign! The Lutzie 43 Foundation uses Classy for a number of reasons and has found success by leveraging all the tools Classy has to offer. Classy’s payment processing system, Classy Pay, has made it easier for donors to give. By allowing donors to pay through PayPal, ACH transfer, and Venmo, it meets all donors’ needs and makes it easier for them to complete their transaction.
