The Challenge

Before adding texting to its toolkit, DAV's biggest challenge was connecting its upper-funnel communications to its lower funnel. As Lavardo explains, awareness isn't solely a communications function — it has to start from the upper funnel and carry through to fundraising results.

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The Approach

Texting tied to specific campaigns

In 2024, DAV sent seven text messages — different from anything the organization had done before — each attached to a specific fundraising campaign. Those seven texts alone raised over $10,000, simply by adding one new piece to campaigns that already existed.

One standout example: during Make a Will Month, DAV sent a text kindly asking supporters to consider leaving DAV in their will. That single message raised significantly more than expected.

The "no-ask" test

DAV's fundraising strategy centers on relationship-building before solicitation. Lavardo runs what he calls a no-ask test: supporters receive specific, engaging messages with no donation requests for three months. Only when a campaign launches does the ask come. The goal is for supporters to feel that the organization "isn't just about getting in my pockets."

Meeting supporters where they are

DAV takes a deliberately multichannel approach. As Lavardo puts it: "Speak to them how they want to be spoken to, meet them where they are... if you consistently just go email, email, email, you're not understanding. You have to diversify. The more platforms you speak to them from, the more you give them the chance to self-select."

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Why Prompt.io

For DAV, what sets Prompt.io apart is the human element — both in the partnership and in the platform:

"Biggest kudos is your willingness and eagerness to help solve the problem... at the heart of every client, every donor is that personal touch where you feel like someone, not something, cares. Which is also why we love Prompt.io, because there are other competitors who try to knock on our doors and say, 'Hey, you should use this product.' And we ask if they have two-way human personal communication? They just don't have that."

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The Results

By focusing on relationship-building, diversifying communication channels, and testing new approaches, DAV is raising significant funds — including $10,000+ from just seven campaign-linked texts in 2024 — while fostering long-term connections with supporters and volunteers alike.

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