How Greenpeace Switzerland increased direct mail revenue by 8.2% with Dataro

A side-by-side test of Dataro and Greenpeace Switzerland's established segmentation strategy uncovered overlooked donors, generating an additional CHF 31,907 in net revenue without increasing mailing volume.

Finding opportunity in an established fundraising program

Greenpeace Switzerland has a sophisticated direct mail fundraising operation. Its annual November appeal reaches approximately 100,000 addresses, selected by fundraising and technical teams via a mature list-building process.

Fundraisers determine their target audiences using recency, frequency and donation amounts, alongside engagement with Greenpeace campaign topics (oceans, forests, food equity, etc.). The database team then applies consent restrictions, major donor exclusions and other campaign-specific criteria to produce the final mailing list.

While well-established, this complexity can overlook valuable donors. "Our selection is so sophisticated that there are also failures in it," said Claudia Forcellini, who leads public fundraising at Greenpeace Switzerland. "Sometimes we don't get everything because of our complex exclusions." Claudia set out to test whether predictive targeting could provide another perspective on the organization's donor file.

Adding predictive intelligence to the selection process

After evaluating several vendors, Greenpeace Switzerland chose Dataro for two reasons.

First was its established predictive model. "The pro was that it is an already established model where we know what we get," Claudia explained. This offered a more accessible starting point than building a customized model.

Second was the relatively low implementation effort after the initial evaluation. "We invested more time in the evaluation phase to find the right fit," Claudia said. “Once we chose and set up Dataro, however, it was not so much work for us."

Greenpeace selected the November appeal—its largest annual effort— to test predictive targeting alongside its established segmentation process.

A side-by-side test reveals overlooked donors

The team compared Dataro's donor propensity rankings with its traditional selection for the approximately 100,000-address November mailing. The two approaches agreed on 77% of the audience, while each identified a different remaining 23%. These differences allowed Greenpeace to evaluate donors included by one method but overlooked by the other. "I think the beauty of the Dataro selection is really this, the simplicity that you get a rank," Claudia said.

The team used its existing ask amount strategy: three suggested amounts per recipient, with the middle amount set slightly higher than the donor's previous gift. This kept the test focused on audience selection rather than changes to donation asks.

CHF 31,907 in additional net revenue

The results demonstrated the value of adding a predictive selection to an established fundraising program. Compared with its traditional selection, Dataro's audience generated CHF 31,907 more in net revenue, an 8.2% uplift in net income.

The team initially hoped to reduce mailing volume while preserving revenue. However, the test revealed the opportunity to generate more income from the same number of mailings. It also uncovered traditionally selected audience members with a negative ROI, where mailing costs deducted from campaign returns.

A more informed approach to donor selection

Greenpeace continues to value its established segmentation process, particularly its ability to account for campaign topic affinity, consent and longer-term donor histories. Dataro provides an additional screen to help the team identify promising donors and scrutinize existing selection decisions. Running both approaches has deepened the team's understanding of its donor file. "We learned a lot about our data," emphasized Claudia.

Looking ahead, Greenpeace plans to expand predictive targeting to donor reactivation and is working with Dataro toward a customized regular giving upgrade model designed around its annual payment structure.