October 29, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
The goal: Increase the number of people who give at least $25. In 2007, the think tank set a goal of securing one million such donors in 10 years.
The approach: Advertise on talk radio. The organization recognized that it was not reaching everyone who might be interested in its mission through direct mail alone. So it enlisted the conservative talk-show hosts Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity to spread the word. The two talk jocks regularly mention the Heritage Foundation’s blog and direct listeners to a Web page called “Ask Heritage” that encourages people to give. Heritage also runs 30-second advertisements on Mr. Hannity’s show.
The cost: About $3-million per year.
The results: Some 540,000 people now give at least $25, currently the minimum to become a member of the organization, compared with 281,000 in 2007. John Fogarty, director of development, credits talk radio for bringing in about 30,000 of those new members this year.
— Caroline Preston
