The Goal
When SF-Marin Food Bank partnered with MissionWired, it was participating in a traditional syndicated direct mail program designed to serve dozens of regional food banks simultaneously. Because this shared model prioritized broad operational scale, its standardized format offered limited flexibility for customized creative, making it difficult for their organization to share authentic, locally tailored stories with its San Francisco and Marin supporters.
Restricted to a strict two-county footprint with high population turnover, SF-Marin Food Bank also needed to stabilize donor retention following peak pandemic giving spikes. To unlock its full fundraising potential, we set out to establish a fully customized, multichannel program that would deepen local donor relationships, scale mid-level and recurring giving, and drive long-term revenue growth – all while preserving essential production efficiencies.
THE STRATEGY
Tailoring Creative to Local Community
To ground our strategy in San Francisco and Marin culture, our creative team designed appeals rooted in regional history and community connections. For Black History Month, we introduced a campaign highlighting the rich legacy of local food activism. For Thanksgiving, we launched an interactive “Bag Tag” appeal asking donors to write personalized message tags placed directly inside grocery bags for participants at neighborhood community markets.
Leaning into tangible connection between supporters and neighbors drove exceptional donor response and established an authentic, local voice for SF-Marin Food Bank’s fundraising.
Aligning Channels for Rapid Response and Connected Journeys
During urgent community moments, we coordinated outreach across every channel so their message reached supporters wherever they were engaging. When a government shutdown caused federal SNAP benefits to lapse, our online and offline teams acted fast, rapidly deploying synchronized appeals across direct mail, email, digital display ads, and SMS. Reaching supporters in surround sound to communicate the urgency of the moment and connect the community with a way to take action, these efforts helped raise an astounding $19 million in 2025, far exceeding their usual baseline results.
Outside of emergency response, building a unified cross-channel strategy for SF-Marin Food Bank also helped to connect supporters’ journeys for a seamless interaction with their brand. To smoothly bridge offline touchpoints and digital action, direct mail pieces featured QR codes leading supporters to interactive online experiences. Through custom Sign For Good digital flows, donors could fill a virtual grocery cart with essential supplies and complete a gift that made those groceries a reality for local families.
Unlocking Lifetime Value Through Mid-Level and Non-Cash Giving
With geographic boundaries limiting donor acquisition to two counties, driving sustainable growth for SF-Marin Food Bank means growing the lifetime value of every supporter. We expanded their mid-level program by testing an increased messaging frequency to this targeting audience – a strategy that turned mid-level donors into a reliable cornerstone of their annual revenue. At the same time, we paid close attention to shifting donor giving habits by launching targeted appeals for non-cash assets as soon as we identified this growing avenue for charitable giving. By actively promoting gifts of stock, IRAs, and donor-advised funds, we saw these donors respond, powering a two-year surge in major non-cash contributions.
MissionWired quickly became a welcome extension of our team, helping with our fundraising efforts, partnering with us to act quickly in the face of SNAP cuts, and raising essential funds to keep our communities supported, now and long-term. Their experience, creativity, and tested ideas have helped us grow in new and exciting ways while acting as a backbone in our production efforts!
