Case Study: National Audubon Society achieves 9x sustainer growth and $4.5M in annual sustainer revenue with Bonterra EveryAction

Audubon Goes Sustainer-First with EveryAction

The National Audubon Society, which protects birds and their habitats across the Americas, had historically run a small sustainer program driven by telemarketing and canvassing. After migrating to Bonterra EveryAction in 2016, Audubon set out to make sustainer-first digital marketing a priority to increase lifetime donor value by acquiring new monthly and annual sustainers and converting one-time donors.

Using Bonterra EveryAction’s platform—optimized donation forms, monthly and annual donation buttons, the FastAction saved-payment network and an automatic credit-card updater—Audubon prioritized conversion and retention across email and web channels. The results were dramatic: sustainers grew from ~3,000 to 27,000, sustainer revenue rose from $300K to $4.5M per year, acquisition ran roughly 50/50 between new and converted donors, Audubon added over 2,000 sustainers during a GivingTuesday push and broke even within three months, and the first annual-renewal cohort showed about a 90% renewal rate versus an industry first-year average near 30%.

National Audubon Society

Steve Abrahamson

VP of Direct Response