Case Studies

Animal Planet

The Challenge

Increase support for Animal Planet's R.O.A.R. partners

Through its Discovery Impact programs, Discovery Communications leverages the power of its brands, businesses and employees to give back to the world. Animal Planet's R.O.A.R. (Reach Out. Act. Respond.) campaign is a key component of Discovery's overall Impact initiative. Established in 2006, the initiative is dedicated to improving the lives of animals in Discovery's communities and in the wild. All of the organizations associated with R.O.A.R. are working to help animals, by protecting tigers being hunted for their fur, giving medical treatments to shelter pets, protecting acres of land for wildlife near Yellowstone, rehabilitating horses for therapeutic riding programs, and much more.

In 2011, Animal Planet partnered with GlobalGiving to:

  • Increase fundraising leverage for participants in the R.O.A.R. campaign;
  • Create incentives for partner nonprofits to engage their communities;
  • Facilitate campaign incentives, such as matching and bonus prizes; and
  • Capture sharable campaign impact and traffic metrics.


The Solution

A campaign that leverages product-based funding

Together, Animal Planet and GlobalGiving created a custom digital campaign that facilitates giving to R.O.A.R. partners and makes it simple and easy for Animal Planet to track campaign success.

  • Animal Planet and GlobalGiving created a digital giving/matching campaign for R.O.A.R. partners.

    GlobalGiving created a custom-branded campaign, including a matching campaign leaderboard that aggregates R.O.A.R. partner activity. Animal Planet and R.O.A.R. partners promote the campaign and drive individuals to GlobalGiving.org where users can donate to the project(s) of their choice. During the campaign, the R.O.A.R. leaderboard is updated with real-time rankings for applicable prizes and matching, incentivizing individuals to give and partners to mobilize their bases.

  • GlobalGiving vets and onboards organizations referred by Animal Planet.

    GlobalGiving vets organizations referred by Animal Planet to ensure they meet both U.S. and international giving standards. Once eligibility is determined, GlobalGiving works closely with the nonprofits, onboarding them and helping them post compelling projects that will appeal to donors.

  • GlobalGiving hosts matching challenges and bonuses.

    A portion of the sales of R.O.A.R. and Animal Planet consumer products goes towards matching funds for the campaign. Participating nonprofits are eligible for matching funds and prizes for driving the most traffic to the campaign, raising the highest dollar amount, attracting the highest number of unique donors, and more. GlobalGiving handles the transaction processing, tax receipts, and disbursement of funds once the campaign has concluded.

  • GlobalGiving provides traffic and impact reports.

    GlobalGiving provides Animal Planet with reports on donations and traffic while the campaign is live. In the months after the campaign has concluded, R.O.A.R. partners report back to GlobalGiving on the impact it has had on their work and post quarterly updates online.


The Results

A tremendous outpouring of support that benefits animal causes around the world

Since the R.O.A.R. campaign began in 2011:

  • R.O.A.R. partners have raised more than $1.7M on the leaderboard.

    By hosting the campaign with GlobalGiving, Animal Planet provides a platform on which R.O.A.R. partners can tell their stories and fundraise successfully. In 2015 alone, the campaign mobilized 610 donors to give $149,000.

  • Animal Planet has provided more than $700,000 in matching and bonuses.

    Every year, Animal Planet provides generous matching and bonus funds to support R.O.A.R. partners, encouraging them to engage with the campaign and their support bases.

  • R.O.A.R. partners have been able to achieve more than ever before.

    Due to the generous donations generated by the campaign last year, R.O.A.R. partners have been able to carry out some amazing work.

    The Petfinder Foundation was able to introduce Medical Emergency Grants for pets suffering from severe illness or injury. Thanks to this new type of grant, a three month old puppy, Fergus, who had previously gone five days with an untreated broken femur, received treatment and has since been adopted.

    The Jane Goodall Institute continues to support chimpanzees like Motambo who spent his first 12 months in the sanctuary recovering from some of the worst injuries their staff had ever witnessed. Fortunately, Motambo has now fully recovered and can participate in activities like excursions to the forest with his friend Mbebo.

To learn more about the campaign's on-the-ground impact, visit the R.O.A.R. Fund.


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