Houston Food Bank experienced a devastating ammonia leak in their coolers, resulting in the loss of 1.8 million pounds of food the week before Thanksgiving, their busiest time of year. We had to act quickly. The news was beginning to cover the story, so we knew an emergency appeal asking for funds would help replenish the supply.
RKD immediately canceled our Thanksgiving appeals, instead sending out an authentic, plain-text email. Not as polished as our traditional marketing emails, we decided on plain text because it felt more organic and created a sense of urgency, making it feel like the email was sent from someone’s personal computer. We also utilized Google Grant ads and boosted Facebook posts.
Houston Food Bank experienced an outpouring of support from the community – acquiring 2,282 new donors in the process. By being flexible, we were able to turn around a personal emergency appeal email raising $130,448.
The Houston Food Bank is a solution to both hunger and food waste. America’s largest food bank and nationally recognized as Feeding America’s Food Bank of the Year in 2015, Houston Food Bank distributes 104 million nutritious meals through its network of 1,500 community partners in southeast Texas, feeding 800,000 individuals each year.