Direct Relief Partners Closely with Classy to Boost Their Fundraising Strategies and Raise More, Faster

Mission

To improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies

Challenge

Quickly accept donations after an emergency arises to urgently provide aid where it’s most needed

Solution

With Classy’s fundraising platform, Direct Relief is able to create a new campaign or add a program designation to its main donation page and start raising funds in minutes following an emergency

“The folks at Classy have partnered with us in ways that go far above and beyond what we’ve experienced in the past. We feel empowered to make in-the-moment decisions, and our relationship has led us to have greater insights into our data and online donation activity than we’ve ever had before. It’s helped us identify opportunities to grow our overall fundraising activity further.”

– Steve Lange, Director of Web

Results on Classy:

2 minutes

to add a new program designation

10 minutes

for a non-technical team member to create a new campaign

1/4

of online donation volume comes from digital wallets

Quickly Raising Funds When an Emergency Arises

When an emergency strikes somewhere in the world, Direct Relief contacts its partners on the ground to assess their immediate needs. The team then jumps into action to start fundraising and activate and mobilize support as quickly as possible.
After an internal conversation, and based on the scope and magnitude of the emergency, the team then decides whether to add a program designation to their Classy main donation page. This way, when donors come to their site to find out how they can help, they can choose exactly where their donation goes, and Direct Relief honors this donor intent.

It might take two minutes to add a new program designation if I really took my time. This ability for donors to choose how they want their donation to be used is something we frequently take advantage of. If we decide to spin up a campaign page for an emergency response, it might take a non-technical person 10 minutes, which proves how easy the Classy platform is to use.
Steve Lange
Director of Web

When someone wants to donate immediately in response to an emergency, Direct Relief has made it easy to give directly on a mobile phone with digital wallets like PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. In fact, digital wallets are such a popular choice they make up almost 25% of Direct Relief’s total donation volume on Classy. Donors can check out faster, in fewer steps, and without spending time searching for their credit card, which leads to lower overall abandonment.

**Multiple payment options on a Direct Relief donation page**

Direct Relief has built a strong relationship with Classy that goes beyond product features and fundraising campaigns.

A Strategic Partner, Not Just a Vendor

The Direct Relief team always checks the transaction report, which shows all transactions processed through Classy to better understand how its various program designations are performing. The Classy team works closely with Direct Relief to help them glean further insights into their campaigns’ performance and identify opportunities to improve their fundraising strategies.

The Direct Relief team is also actively engaged in Classy’s new product developments to identify areas that will improve the donor experience and drive greater results. Most recently, they have started using Classy Studio, a flexible campaign builder that allows for an even faster checkout process so that the donations can be used immediately to support where they’re needed the most.

Classy’s active product development, openness to feedback, and close monitoring of performance help to optimize Direct Relief’s web presence for success. The knowledge of what Classy is building for the future and how we can be a part of it gives us confidence. It’s easy to look ahead and see what we’ll want to pursue together.
Steve Lange
Director of Web