One new item this year was the inclusion of six different LSU campuses across Louisiana, in addition to the flagship in Baton Rouge. In honor of this shift in strategy, we wanted a theme that would include all participating campuses and landed on the theme “Bold Steps Forward.”

Our tier 1 and tier 2 direct mail pieces included a branded wrapper enclosed within a closed envelope, along with the letter, reply card, and reply envelope. We also offered a tier 3 postcard, which included a QR code and URL to give early.

The intended audience for this piece was past Giving Day donors, consistent fiscal year donors who may have yet to give on a Giving Day, LSU Foundation board members, and others who strategically made sense to include.

This piece served a dual purpose: first, to encourage donors to give, and second, to raise awareness about LSU Giving Day. Our Giving Day direct mail piece is consistently the highest-performing piece we produce each year.

A distinctive feature this year, given the participation of seven different LSU properties in LSU Giving Day, was the invitation extended to other campuses to join our tier 3 direct mail postcard initiative. Of the other campuses that took part in LSU Giving Day, four different properties, in addition to LSU Baton Rouge, took part in our Giving Day direct mail appeal.