Massachusetts Audubon Society

By- Prashant Priyadarshi Lovely professional university Mba marketing

Introduction

The Massachusetts Audubon Society, founded in 1896 by Harriet Hemenway and headquartered in Lincoln, Massachusetts, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "Protecting the nature of Massachusetts." Mass Audubon is independent of the National Audubon Society, and in fact was founded earlier.

About Mass Audubon

Mass Audubon works to protect the nature of Massachusetts for people and wildlife. Together with more than 100,000 members, we care for 34,000 acres of conservation land, provide educational programs for 225,000 children and adults annually, and advocate for sound environmental policies at local, state, and federal levels. Mass Audubon's mission and actions have expanded since our beginning in 1896 when our founders set out to stop the slaughter of birds for use on women's fashions. Today we are the largest conservation organization in New England. Our statewide network of wildlife sanctuaries, in 90 Massachusetts communities, welcomes visitors of all ages and serves as the base for our work.

About the work

The problem
To

develop a new communication strategy targeted at existing members and finding ways to engage more members in mass Audubon.

Strategic plan threats to biodiversity

Loss

of habitat to development Fragmentation of wildlife habitat Disruption of natural ecological cycle and process through human alterations The crowding out of native plants and animals by invasive species. Incompatible land use

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Membership

Insufficient information in the database to create profiles of the members Initial task was to find ways to validate which membership strategies worked and which did not. $4,00,000 were being invested in new membership software Between 1997-1999, MAS membership had surged from 54,400 to 67,400 which included a $400,000 advertising campaign

Membership, cont..
o o o o

Members declined to 65,000 Society faced a churn of 20% each year Membership cost was $47, initially it was $25 only 45% of the members were recruited at the sanctuaries and 42% through direct mail solicitation Admission charges to the sanctuaries for nonmembers from $3-$6 for adults and $2-$4 for children

Education plan
Existing

education programs lacked common focus and connection to Mass Audubon themes and Mission New Education Plan Leverage unique strengths

New plan emphasized on creating significant outdoor experiences To meet varied learning styles, the plan called for a mix of live programs, nature center exhibits, and self guided trails, plus opportunities for learning through publications, audiovisual media, interactive pages on the MAS website, and articles in local Newspapers.

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Cont..
Society

mailed 500000-700000 letters/year at an average cost of $0.39 each. Response rate was only 1% Society predicted that 55% of existing members would renew their membership but it was 35% only At renewal time, members were encouraged to migrate to higher levels of membership: Supporting ($60), Defender ($75), Donor ($100), Protector ($150), Sponsor ($250), Patron ($500) and leadership friend ($1250)

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

Sanctuary System Scientific expertise Advocacy Capability and Passionate Staff

Weakness

Very expansive Business Model

A number of birds do best where wetlands are interspersed with forests

Income and expenditure 2011