Five Years of The Digital Co-Op: How it Started, What We’ve Achieved, Where We’re Headed
We are beyond thrilled to be celebrating five years of The Digital Co-Op, and we hope you and every one of our 330 members will share this moment with us. The results The Digital Co-Op has delivered over the last five years – the more than $370 million raised, the 4.8 new donors activated, and the FIVE distinct product offerings launched – are thanks to our incredible partners sharing the belief that organizations are stronger and more successful when we grow together.
Keep reading to look back at the last five years with us and catch a sneak peek at what’s ahead.
How It Started
The year was 2020. In addition to seismic shifts in society, we were seeing huge changes in the fundraising industry, particularly in the traditional acquisition sources that our nonprofit partners had used to grow their communities. Namely, the erosion of performance from fixed-cost acquisition platforms and Apple OS changes that hampered advertisers’ ability to serve ads to supporters and would-be supporters over core digital platforms.
We met this moment with the ingenuity and innovation MissionWired is known for: We brought the ideas behind offline co-op online and launched The Digital Co-Op, a new tool that would allow organizations to keep up with their growth and revenue goals – without being beholden to the whims of Big Tech.
Powered by vast amounts of data and state-of-the-art predictive modeling, The Digital Co-Op was built to meet the KPIs that seasoned nonprofit fundraising leaders are looking for: reliable return on investment, leads that are active to protect deliverability, and proven long-term value and retention.
What We’ve Achieved
Since our launch five years ago, The Digital Co-Op has turned into a full suite of acquisition and data modeling solutions to answer the biggest list growth challenges. It has become a collaborative, data-driven tool made up of over 330 organizations sharing mission-aligned data points to grow smarter together.
Our industry has borne the effects of massive global events that have drastically altered the fundraising landscape in the last five years, including the COVID-19 pandemic, national and worldwide political shifts, a turbulent economy, natural disasters, and more. We’re incredibly humbled that The Digital Co-Op has helped organizations add meaningful revenue in critical moments in order to scale their response efforts over the last five years:
- Nearly $4M raised in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022
- $1.6M raised to support the aftermath of Turkey/Syria earthquake in 2022
- $1.2M raised to support gun violence prevention efforts after the devastating Uvalde shooting in 2022
- $2.3M raised to support victims of California wildfires in 2025
And for our political partners, we’ve been incredibly proud to scale The Digital Co-Op’s impact over the last three campaign cycles.
The Digital Co-Op’s ability to adapt, hone our modeling techniques, and develop new products that are designed for this changing landscape, such as MissionSMS and the Mid-Level Co-Op, has been a game-changer for our partners.
Where We’re Headed
What’s next for The Digital Co-Op? More growth, more analytics, more innovation – all to continue driving the best results for the world-changing nonprofit organizations and political campaigns we partner with.
The Digital Co-Op began because we saw a need for our partners and knew we could use our experience, ingenuity, and expertise to help. We hit the ground running in 2020, and we haven’t slowed down since, operating with our finger on the pulse of the industry so we can identify trends, capitalize on shifts in donor behavior as they’re occurring, and have solutions ready to meet new challenges the moment they arise.
Our promise to you, and to each and every one of our partners, is to keep pushing forward with our signature tenacity so we can drive the best possible results for you and your mission.
We know that this year has been acutely difficult for nonprofit organizations. But it also reaffirms the urgency and vitality of your mission – and we’re eager to support you in any way we can. The Digital Co-Op was built for this reason and this moment, which means no matter your list growth challenge, we have a solution for you – and in honor of this five-year milestone, we’re sharing a special offer on your next investment. Reach out today to learn more – and thank you for celebrating this special moment with us!