Innovation
Innovation
Background
As the fiscal year-end approached, our client wanted to highlight their fiscal year-end match opportunity before the June 30 deadline. The ministry had sent two direct mail appeals (May 9 and May 27) and wanted a way to reignite urgency and encourage giving before the matching gift expired on June 30.
The voicemail, recorded personally by the organization’s CEO, was sent on June 23, 2025, to active general donors who had received the direct mail campaign. The tone was urgent and heartfelt, emphasizing the impact of the donor’s gift.
The voicemail was just shy of 60 seconds long and touched on the economic challenges facing people today and asked them to share the life-changing love of Jesus. It then reminded them of the matching gift opportunity and asked them to donate before June 30 by visiting the organization’s website or calling their donor service number.
The Test
The campaign was structured as an A/B test, with 50,000 donors included in the voicemail panel. Of those, 38,000 had phone numbers on file and 18,000 messages were successfully delivered (the remaining undeliverable messages were largely due to invalid phone numbers).
Performance in the seven days following the voicemail delivery showed a clear lift among those in the ringless voicemail test panel:
- +8% response rate
- +14% revenue lift
- 8:1 ROI on cost
What Is Ringless Voicemail?
Ringless voicemail (RVM) is a communication technology that delivers a pre-recorded message directly to a recipient’s voicemail inbox—without their phone ever ringing. Unlike traditional phone calls or text messages, RVMs feel personal and are unintrusive. The donor simply notices a new voicemail from a familiar name or organization and can choose when to listen.
This makes RVMs ideal for moments of urgency, like a fiscal year-end match deadline, where the goal is to spark immediate action without disrupting the donor’s day. Because the message arrives as a standard voicemail, it feels authentic and one-to-one, especially when delivered by a recognizable voice, such as the organization’s CEO or a donor representative. In fact, the sending number itself can be customized to display a specific phone number and reinforce the sense that the message came personally from them.
The process is simple: organizations can record their message via phone or a quick voice memo and then review it before delivery. They can then upload the contact information, and it is ready to send.
Takeaway
This test proved that personal, human connection, even in an automated form, can drive meaningful lift when strategically layered into multi-channel campaigns.
By integrating ringless voicemail into the fiscal year-end campaign, this ministry was able to remind donors of the urgency and impact of their gift at exactly the right moment, boosting response, deepening engagement, and helping close the year strong.
