Background

Catholic Charities USA (CC) is a national non-profit that includes 168 member agencies across the country dedicated to helping people who are struggling with poverty, housing insecurity, hunger, and other complex issues, regardless of their faith. For nearly a decade, CC has partnered with Campos to conduct research to explore Americans’ attitudes and behaviors around charitable giving and volunteerism, as well as awareness and perceptions of the CC brand. As an agency that relies on the donations, volunteering, and advocacy of grassroots supporters around the country, CC knows the value of thoroughly understanding the perceptions and opinions of the various constituents it serves. Conducting regular research is crucial to reaching the right people with the right messages to drive engagement.

Execution

In our most recent engagement, Campos designed and fielded a national survey representative of the US population on key demographics, including religious affiliation, age, gender, household income, and race/ethnicity. The survey measured brand KPIs such as awareness, favorability, and consideration of donating, allowing us to compare CC’s performance against similar national nonprofits and identify changes in the brand’s health. The survey also assessed Americans’ opinions and attitudes on various social issues related to CC’s work and explored motivators and barriers to getting Americans to volunteer with a charitable organization. Additionally, Campos fielded customized versions of this tracking survey for several of CCs’ regional agencies. These surveys allowed individual agencies to get a read on their local geographies and identify messages and ideas that would resonate most in their footprint.

Results

Campos’s most recent report provided an overview of the state of charitable giving and volunteering among Americans in general and Catholics in particular, and we identified the causes most likely to inspire various groups of Americans to volunteer with or donate to charity. We profiled who was more likely to be charitably engaged and surfaced specific issues and messaging themes most likely to motivate potential donors and volunteers. In addition, through a longitudinal analysis of the brand tracking results, we highlighted shifts in awareness and perceptions of CC compared to previous years. CC is using this research to inform its marketing strategy as well as the development of an experiential campaign designed to inspire volunteerism across the country. Campos continues to partner with CC on research to inform its important work. How can your team use research to drive engagement? Let’s talk.