How Goodwill Columbus is Using a Unique Rewards Program to Turn Donors Into a Community of Do Gooders

Background

Goodwill Columbus is more than just cool thrift stores. There’s a meaningful mission behind their work. The company has a variety of service programs, and as Simone Attles, the Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Goodwill Columbus, explained, “We give people a hand up, not a hand out. And we do a lot of that through our workforce development programming. We've had folks coming from truly living in their cars, to making a steady wage for the first time in their life.” They also offer a range of services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

Goodwill Columbus has thousands of people who donate their gently used items to the stores, which in turn supports programs that improve lives throughout the Columbus area. They needed a way to engage with those kind donors and help them understand the organization’s deeper impact in the community – and keep them involved in their programs. Thanks to the nonprofit organization’s creative marketing team, they now have that. 

‍

The Spark of an Idea 

Attles first started thinking about creating a digital rewards program a few years ago. She came across a mobile pass that a local real estate developer, Thrive Companies, has for residents of their communities. She then found herself interacting with the array of experiences that the local destination marketing organization, Experience Columbus, had built. 

As she searched for a way to connect with donors, she looked deeper into the technology platform that both organizations were using – and that’s when the creative ideas started flowing. “We've all had punch cards that you forget at home, and loyalty membership cards,” she explained. “But the fact that your phone could be the identifier for some sort of perk, was really interesting to me.” She then thought outside the box to do what no other Goodwill location had done before. She partnered with Bandwango to create the Do Good Rewards Program.   

‍

Creating a Rewards Program Around Donations 

Attles wanted to create a rewards program, but not for shoppers. She explained, “Our donations are our lifeblood. We really wanted to tailor it toward the donation door, because we know that was a behavior that isn't repeated as frequently and it’s a different thing we want to reward.” 

They saw an opportunity to engage these donors more deeply in Goodwill’s mission. Unfortunately, those people are in and out quickly and the staff at Goodwill doesn’t get to engage with them as much. “The donation experience takes about 15 seconds typically, so it's not people that we really get to stop and chat with. They don’t know as much about Goodwill, and we wanted to connect with that donor,” she said. Their end goal was to create a community full of Do Gooders that were all helping do great things in and around Columbus. 

Attles explained, “The real vision of this is that someone who's taking the intentional effort to bring something to our door is making an effort to do good. They're a do-gooder, they're a good person, and so the dream is to take these people and actually bring them together.” They are developing their community of Do Gooders and have projects in store for the future that will give their Do Gooders even more ways to work together to give back through Goodwill’s programs. Being able to acquire contact information and start communicating with these Do Gooders was the first step, though. 

‍

Fulfilling the Mission of Creating a Relationship With Donors

Passholders do have the opportunity to earn points each time they make a donation, and they can cash those in for prizes, but it’s about so much more. Katie Muller-Girard is the Marketing and Communications Manager for Goodwill Columbus and she shared, “I think this is really fantastic from giving members some sort of appreciation through  goodies, but I think it’s also a way that we can really drive deeper connection in our community.” 

Goodwill Columbus is using the opt-in email and phone numbers provided by their Do Gooders when they sign up for their pass. They stay in communication and share information on their ongoing community programs. Before the Do Good Rewards Pass launched, they couldn’t do that – because they simply didn’t know who those donors were. Muller-Girard said, “Knowing where and who our donors are is a huge portion of it. It would be really challenging to collect that information at the donation doors without Do Good. I think it presented a really unique opportunity to connect the mission with the donor, and no other program has given us the ability to do that.”

Learning more about their donors is also important to Goodwill Columbus.

“We don't have a great way to know if somebody donates four times a year or 20 times a year,” said Attles. “We know this is a small subset of the folks who come to our donation door, but just starting to learn some of that donor behavior has been really valuable.” 

‍

The Ease of the Do Good Rewards Program 

When the team was building the Do Good program, one thing was imperative – it couldn’t be a heavy lift for their employees accepting donations. They are working hard, and they didn’t want to add anything to their plate. By allowing a passholder to use GPS check-in when they make a donation, there’s no effort required from their employees. “I would say the best thing about Bandwango is the lack of employee engagement needed,” said Attles. 

It’s also simple for the marketing team to maintain.

“Maintaining the pass has been incredibly easy. I mean, it's really a blessing for me that I don't have to spend a ton of time in the pass,”

said Muller-Girard. “I think the self-sufficiency of the program has been helpful to us, not just with the employees at the donation door, but also for us. It allows us to be visible in the community, and be visible at the donation doors, without us having to monitor it 24/7, which has been great.”

Attles said it’s simple for donors to check in, too. “We've had users say that the ease of use has been so great.” Muller-Girard agrees and says she’s also received good feedback from those using the pass. “Some people are like, ‘I love the gamification of it, and it's really fun to know that I'm able to track what I'm doing.’ We've heard this a lot from people who have significant buy-in, from board members, and really active community members.”

‍

Marketing

Although the onsite staff isn’t expected to push the program to donors in their quick transaction, the team has found ways to market the program. One of Goodwill Columbus’ unique partnerships was with the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO). That organization’s mission is to keep things out of the landfill, so a marketing collaboration made perfect sense for both parties. SWACO served as another outlet that helped give the Do Good Rewards Program some additional awareness. 

Other forms of marketing have included:

• Pinterest
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Print media 
• Handouts at local events 
• A-Frame signage at the donation point 
• Information on the receipts
• Earned media
• Messaging

Goodwill Columbus also has a strategic messaging plan to stay in touch with passholders and share information on relevant topics. Muller-Girard spoke about their text, email, and in-feed messaging, and said, “We aim to do one of each every month. We really try to base it all around donations and mission messaging for the most part.”

‍

Results

“I would consider this a success,” said Attles. “And a great investment. Without the Do Good Rewards Program, we wouldn't have any of this data and we wouldn't have any of these email addresses.”

Even better – it’s easy. “The fact that this runs in the background with so few touches from us is probably the best part of it.”

‍

Currently there are more than 2,130 Do Gooders that have signed up for the program. 

‍That’s impressive, but it’s not all about numbers. When asked about measuring success, Attles replied, “People are always like, ‘Is there a number?’ There's really not. This has never been about having the most people participate. What’s most important is seeing how we can build the best community. We're really looking for the best people –  the people who really are engaged. It's been a perfect tool for that.”

Muller-Girard said she’s also impressed with the level of reporting data that is available for the program. ”Being able to present some of this information has been great. We have a product, we have a result, and we have data and statistics behind it, which is just helpful when trying to explain why it's a valuable resource for us.”

‍

Goodwill Columbus’ Tips for Success for Creating a Rewards Program 

‍

Just Do It

Attles stresses that the important thing is to just take the first step and get started. “There’s a little bit of build in the beginning and then you just need your locations,” she explained. ”I don't think that the lift is anything in comparison to the payoff.” 

‍

Be Different and Try New Things

“This has allowed us to test and try things that we would never have been able to do. It makes us feel more like a startup or like a nimble company than a nonprofit. Just keep trying to innovate and push the envelope, because I think that it makes a difference for folks and breaks through the noise,” said Attles. If your goal is non-traditional, that’s fine. “I think that's what I love about Do Good, we're trying to build a community of like-minded people.” 

‍

Communicate Your Needs to the Bandwango Team

“We're an interesting use case, so we've had a couple of questions and desired applications that are not typical,” said Muller-Girard. “And the team at Bandwango has been really great about trying to accommodate that.” She explained that she went to the Bandwango team with one idea that had never been done by another organization. She said, “I had a meeting with the team at Bandwango, we came up with some solutions, and then we were able to implement them. And it's this really cool, two-way relationship, which has been a blessing for us. I think it's been fun to sort of test, and play, and work with the team at Bandwango to make it the best possible interaction for our customers.”

‍

Pick Good Rewards

“The core of what we aimed for when it came to these prizes was something that tied in similarly to the sustainability aspect of what we do,” explained Muller-Girard.  “So you can get a tote bag that has lovely sayings about doing good on the front, but it's also something that's completely reusable. We've also done the Swedish dishcloths, which are kind of like a cross between a sponge and paper towels, but again, it’s something you can wash and reuse in your home.” They also have a cute sweatshirt that Do Gooders can save up points for.  

‍

Conclusion

The Goodwill Columbus team has found a compelling and interactive way to reward donors and develop ongoing relationships with them. Through creative thinking, they’ve been able to build something meaningful that’s making a difference in Columbus, Ohio. They are now thinking of other ways to use Bandwango’s Experience Builder. 

“I think there's so much more we can do,” said Muller-Girard. “I think we've really just scratched the surface and the capabilities. We've talked about this as a way we can engage employees for volunteer opportunities, but still really focus on this connection with the people who are at the core of what we're trying to do – people doing good for the sake of doing good.”

‍

For nonprofits looking to strengthen donor relationships and build engaged communities, Goodwill Columbus offers a compelling example of what's possible. Does your nonprofit organization have a unique challenge you’re trying to solve? We love to Do Good, too, and would love to chat. Book a free demo with our team to learn more about how you can create your own rewards program. 

‍