Case Study: University of Leeds achieves 40% over target scholarship appeal success with DMS Agency

University of Leeds beats fundraising target by 40% with DMS Agency

The University of Leeds faced the challenge of running its largest annual fundraising campaign, the May Appeal, with an ambitious target of £120,000. The success of this campaign was critical as it solely funds scholarships for students in need. DMS Agency was tasked with developing a powerful and inspiring creative strategy to meet this goal.

DMS Agency developed a campaign centered on the powerful story of a scholarship recipient, which included a direct mail piece with a copy of his acceptance letter. The solution implemented by DMS Agency significantly exceeded expectations, beating the income target by 40% and achieving a 6.4% response rate with an ROI of 8.9. The campaign's success allowed the university to fund 208 additional scholarships and spurred an enhanced focus on digital giving.

University of Leeds