Background
Let’s face the facts: more than 5 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer’s. An estimated 5.8 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s dementia in 2020. Eighty percent are age 75 or older. One-in-10 people age 65 and older (10%) has Alzheimer’s dementia. As humankind continues striving towards a cure, many of us face the constant challenges Alzheimer’s presents to our friends or loved ones. There are no days off. The good news is that there are organizations, like the Alzheimer’s Association, rooted not only in actively working towards a cure through the advancement of research, but also in raising awareness and advocating support to larger audiences.
Hustle’s peer-to-peer messaging platform helps customers like the Alzheimer’s Association change the world by amplifying their voice and extending their reach to the supporters, donors, and volunteers holding significant roles in fueling the organization.
Who is the Alzheimer’s Association?
Founded in 1980 by Jerome H. Stone, the Alzheimer’s Association is an organization leading a mega-force of care, support, and research initiatives for Alzheimer’s by way of its many chapters and communities spread across the US. Together, they work as one to eliminate the disease, support all affected, and reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health.
The Problem
Before implementing Hustle’s peer-to-peer messaging solutions, the main obstacle facing the organization revolved around a need to empower staff across the country to build relationships with constituents in new ways, as email open rates continue to fall sector-wide and smartphone users are less likely to answer phone calls from unknown numbers. Similar to many nonprofits, the Association raises significant funds through their signature peer-to-peer constituent event programs, Walk to End Alzheimer’s and The Longest Day. These events are vital opportunities to raise awareness and funds in the fight to end Alzheimer’s and all other dementia, and to introduce new supporters to the organization.
The Solution
Using Hustle enabled the Alzheimer’s Association to reach growing numbers of supporters, new and returning, in a personal and authentic way. For large organizations, Hustle creates the opportunity to launch unique messages by humans, for humans, as opposed to the impersonal approach of bot-powered messages that most audiences are eager to ignore. To better demonstrate Hustle’s flexibility and coverage, let’s examine two different ways the Alzheimer’s Association used person-to-person messaging to support those who need it the most.
1. Walk to End Alzheimer’s: Team Captain Retention
Perhaps the “lifeblood” of all P2P fundraising events, Team Captains play a vital role in both fundraising and growing participation for Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Prior to Hustle, the Alzheimer’s Association engaged Team Captains mainly through mass-email and time-consuming phone calls that often resulted in leaving voicemails. Once they implemented Hustle to re-engage their past Team Captains, staff members raved about the result: real conversations with people they had never before been able to engage.
2. The Longest Day
Every June, The Longest Day unites people from across the world to fight the darkness of Alzheimer’s through the fundraising activity of their choice. The majority of participants in The Longest Day tended to register and raise funds in May and June, and the Alzheimer’s Association was looking for ways to get participants to register and begin fundraising earlier in the spring. In 2019, the Association used Hustle to coach current and past participants to register and raise $200 before May 1.
Peer-to-Peer Messaging with Hustle
"We are loving Hustle so far! We used it to promote our Walk Launch Party (a combination of a volunteer kickoff and past team registration event), and it worked really well! I’m very excited to continue using Hustle as a constituent engagement tool."
Alex Schoeneck
Hustle is the ultimate person-to-person messaging solution for educational institutions, nonprofits, and for-profit enterprise businesses. As seen through The Alzheimer’s Association, generating customizable conversations with target audiences through real location-specific phone numbers improves deliverability and drives authentic engagement at scale, so you remain as an advocate and thought leader in your professional space. The core elements of Hustle include security, analytics, support, and compliance. Together we enable our customers to turn text into action, and that action into impactful results!
