1. Client Story
  2.  » Usdan

Usdan

Summer camp was cancelled, but donors gave even more
When summer camp was cancelled due to COVID, the organization had no tuition income. How could they fill the hole and stay afloat?
USDAN logo
  1. Problem / Challenge

The Usdan summer camp shut down due to COVID, so no tuition was coming in. How could they fill this hole?
  1. Solution

​Working with Veritus Group, the Executive Director learned to talk to parents and new donors using Permission-Based Asking™.

  1. Results

With a focus on top donors, the ED was able to continue camp online AND increase donations by over $200,000!

“The simplicity of the Permission-Based Asking model works. Weekly coaching helps us build skills, but also allows us talk out our reasons for procrastination. Overall, the weekly coaching allows what we learn and work on to be highly personalized. Plus, my colleague and I just enjoy being with our Veritus coach.”

– Lauren Brandt-Schloss

Executive Director, Usdan

When Summer Camp Stops for COVID

What the Organization was Facing

Usdan is a long-established organization with a small pool of donors who are mostly alumni and parents, with a few key community supporters.  Because the camp is named after a family that continues to support camp with a foundation, and because there are tuition fees, it can be difficult to articulate the need for others to join in funding the camp.

When a COVID shutdown left the camp without any tuition-paying campers, the ED and staff had to turn to parents and other donors to replace the lost income. They were unsure how to conduct these difficult conversations.

After adopting Veritus Group’s training and recommendations, Usdan used Veritus’ Permission-Based Asking™ when asking parents to donate the lost tuition, and to seek help from major donors.

The organization was able to offer on-line camp classes for the first time, expanding their reach from the greater New York area to 8 states! Further, they secured key gifts from new donors, up over $200k from last year, ensuring the facilities were able to open in summer 2021 for a modified in-person camp.

She loves summer camp.

The Results

Heart

Passions & Interests

Staff learned a great deal more about donor passions and interests after listening with curiosity, and keeping communication open with regular touch points.

8 States

The Camp Expands

Because of strong donor support, the organization was able to offer on-line camp classes for the first time, expanding their reach from the greater New York area to 8 states.

$218,000

Increased Giving

The camp was shut down, but parents and major donors pushed giving UP over $200,000 during COVID!

More FEATURED CASE STUDIES

Greater Public

Greater Public

Fundraising in public media has a long history of highly successful membership drives. But over recent years, the trend line for membership has been flattening, and it became clear that philanthropic giving remained underdeveloped. Together, Veritus Group and Greater Public set out to see if public media stations could shift from a membership mindset into a relationship fundraising model.

Pinky Swear Foundation

Pinky Swear Foundation

Despite open lines of communication between Program and Fundraising, Pinky Swear lacked an efficient and consistent way to leverage their data to really show donors what their specific gift would mean for the families served.

Lock Haven University

Lock Haven University

The university needed a strategy for developing long-term relationships with donors so that they didn’t depend solely on events for giving.