PENNSYLVANIA HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY
The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) is a nonprofit membership organization, founded in 1827, that connects people to horticulture to create beautiful, healthy, sustainable communities. The organization’s work is centered on “gardening for the greater good” with a focus on healthy living environments, food access, economic opportunity, and social connection. In addition to year-round programming for gardeners, the organization also hosts the annual Philadelphia Flower Show, which is the nation’s largest and longest-running horticultural event.
Highlights
Mission-First Messaging
To help acquire members more qualified to renew and/or upgrade their support, we flipped the lead in acquisition messaging to focus on the year round benefits of membership with emphasis on belonging to a community of enthusiasts for “gardening for good” and the value of member support for PHS’s mission.
Strategic Segmentation & Outreach
With a wealth of house prospects, including Flower Show ticket buyers and lapsed members, we have created a targeted audience segmentation and outreach strategy to shift away from global solicitation blasts and begin refining a more tailored cultivation journey for high-potential prospects for both membership and mid-level giving.
Mid-Level Pipeline
To bridge the gap between membership and mid-level giving, we are revitalizing the 1827 Society, PHS’s upper-level philanthropic membership. Our approach focuses on identifying high-potential prospects, refining messaging to emphasize philanthropic impact, and building a targeted cultivation strategy that deepens member connection and moves supporters into higher levels of giving.
The Challenge
Like many membership organizations with changing exhibits or a signature event, PHS found its membership program trapped in a transactional cycle. Dependency on the Flower Show to drive membership had led to flat growth and a base that lacked a deeper connection to PHS’s broader community work. This imbalance left PHS’s membership vulnerable to low retention rates and few members interested in upgrading their support. PHS engaged S&W in spring 2025 to help address these challenges and build a more resilient and engaged pipeline rooted in affinity for PHS’s mission.
The Solution
PHS’s membership program is already seeing significant blooms:
- Both the fall and winter acquisition campaigns outperformed the previous year’s efforts with an average 28% increase in response, indicating that new messaging is not negatively impacting the membership offer and may be contributing to increased engagement of affinity members.
- Updated messaging and increased visibility for the 1827 Society—ahead of the renewal upgrade solicitation strategy planned for later this year—has already helped add 13 new members to the 1827 Society since January.
From the start of our partnership, S&W has been in close collaboration with PHS’s Marketing team to ensure that every membership and fundraising touchpoint feels like an authentic extension of PHS’s venerable brand.
Powering Missions That Matter, StaffSolutions, ElevateNP & ElevatePG are trademarks of Schultz & Williams.
Copyright © Schultz & Williams, All rights reserved.
|
|
|
|