The Lutzie 43 Foundation was established in 2014 in loving memory of Philip Lutzenkirchen who tragically lost his life as a passenger in a distracted and impaired driving accident. The mission of the foundation is to inspire young people to make better decisions on the road and as friends by learning from Philip’s legacy and circumstances that surround his passing. As a registered 501(c)3, the foundation relies on donors and donations to continue its mission and increase its impact.
Knight Eady began working with Lutzie 43 in 2015. The foundation wanted to ensure that the their impact would be longstanding, thus it was important to develop year-round fundraising initiatives. Knight Eady developed an end-of-year campaign, the 43 Day Campaign, in hopes of creating a larger impact for the foundation. Through fundraising, Lutzie 43 would be able to expand its reach and make a difference in the lives of young drivers while continuing to share Philip’s story and legacy.
Forty-three holds a special place in the Lutzie 43 Foundation’s heart. It was the number Philip wore during his time at Auburn University and became a number that shaped branding and strategy for the foundation. The 43-Day Campaign takes place over the final 43 days of the calendar year to capitalize on end-of-year giving and Giving Tuesday, the largest donation day of the year.
In the first two years of the 43 Day Campaign, the foundation raised $48,000 and $54,000, respectively. With these successes and Knight Eady’s strategic guidance, the Lutzie 43 Foundation set out to have the most successful end-of-year campaign to date. Knight Eady worked with Lutzie 43 to create an award-winning fundraising webpage. Our team designed the site utilizing research-proven ux and fundraising tactics to tell the story of the foundation and their mission. Through a carefully crafted story mixed with fundraising goals and clever donation levels we were able to achieve a new record $60,000 raised in 43 days.
It was important for the 43 Day Campaign to have a strong donor communication strategy. Knight Eady worked in tandem with the foundation to identify the strongest platforms to communicate with donors - social media and email marketing. Email communication was segmented and targeted to different levels of donors based on their previous giving amounts. Social media was used to reach a larger audience and to make announcements and spread awareness between our giving milestones.
While raising money by itself is great, it was vital to focus on engagement and awareness to build a bigger community and grow our donor base for future campaigns. We focused on one initiative at a time and made it timely and relevant, with our biggest push happening around the holidays. Through impactful videos, photos and messaging, the campaign carried a powerful message that told potential donors about the foundation and how their donation would impact the Lutzie 43 Foundation.
As a result of the success of the 43 Day Campaigns, the Lutzie 43 Foundation has increased donations by over 60 percent and grown their database by over 400 unique donors. The foundation has awarded dozens of scholarships, funded multiple safe driving events to schools and organizations who might not be able to afford it, developed safe driving keys and lanyards and hosted more Adaptive PE Field Days for special needs students than ever before.
