The Girlstart Spring 2025 Campaign, titled 'Send a Girl to Camp', centered on raising awareness and funding to provide transformative STEM summer camp experiences to girls across the country. With a focus on cultivating future scientists, engineers, and innovators, the campaign utilized storytelling, digital outreach, and regional fundraising (including Amplify Austin) to engage new and existing supporters.
Campaign Objective
The primary goals of the campaign were to raise funds for Girlstart’s Summer Camp scholarships and increase visibility of the impact of Girlstart’s programming. Objectives included donor engagement, regional amplification, monthly donor conversion, and celebrating milestone moments through storytelling.
Campaign Timeline
Phase 1: Cultivation (February 15 – March 7) – Awareness, storytelling, and pre-Amplify Austin engagement.
Phase 2: Solicitation (March 8 – March 22) – Primary fundraising window including Amplify Austin and monthly giving drives.
Phase 3: Gratitude & Impact (March 23 – April 6) – Stewardship, impact updates, and donor thank-yous.
Campaign Story
Throughout the campaign, Girlstart centered storytelling around real participants like Jasmine, a shy 3rd grader who transformed into a confident STEM mentor through years of summer camp experiences. Her four-year journey—building circuits, coding robots, and presenting architectural ideas—inspired donors and was reinforced across emails, social media, and wrap-up impact messages.
Email Campaign Performance
Summary:
Total Emails Sent: ~27,000
Average Open Rate: ~26%
Top Performing Email: 'CTX Updates 4/17/25' — 29.4% open rate
Average Click Rate: ~0.9%
Social Media Campaign Results
Facebook:
Top Performing Post: Live kickoff of Amplify Austin
Total Link Clicks: 255
Visuals Performed Best: Testimonials and images featuring girls had the highest engagement.
Instagram:
Notable Post: 'Girls in STEM made me feel joy…' (March 27) with 36 likes and 5 shares
| Email Title | Send Date | Open Rate | Click Rate | Total Clicks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTX Updates 4/17/25 | 4/17/2025 | 29.4% | 0.73% | 70 |
| CTX Updates 4/23/25 | 4/23/2025 | 25.4% | 1.2% | 328 |
| NTX Updates 4/23/25 | 4/23/2025 | 24.6% | 1.5% | 21 |
Fundraising Results
Total Raised: $39,836.13
Note: This total includes a $25,000 gift from the Stahl Family Foundation.Average Gift Size: $260
Note: This calculation does not include the Stahl Family Foundation GiftNumber of Gifts: 55
New Donors: 258
Key takeaways
Email engagement exceeded industry benchmarks in open rates, with average click rates in a healthy range.
Visual storytelling and testimonials, especially via social media, performed strongly.
Most resonant messaging: before/after stories and named quotes from campers.
Room for improvement: stronger CTA placement in emails and better email list segmentation.
Recommendations
Expand story-based reels and donor feature videos.
Optimize email CTAs with buttons and placement above the fold.
Continue improving list segmentation and list hygiene to enhance personalization and performance.
