Emergency Response During the 2025 Government Shutdown

Program Overview

In November 2025, a federal government shutdown triggered immediate and widespread food insecurity. Federal employees missed paychecks, SNAP benefits were delayed, and families who were previously stable found themselves in crisis.

Across the U.S., Gospel Missions stepped in to fill the gap. Masterworks supported these organizations with rapid-response digital and email campaigns to mobilize donors as the situation unfolded.

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The Challenge

• Sudden demand surge: Missions experienced dramatic increases in households seeking food assistance, driven by missed federal paychecks and paused SNAP benefits.
  
• Seasonal pressure: The crisis collided with Thanksgiving, already one of the year's highest-demand periods.
  
• Uncertainty: The shutdown was ongoing, with no clear resolution timeline, requiring messaging that could adapt in real time.

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Strategy & Approach

Masterworks deployed an emergency digital response plan built for speed, clarity, and emotional credibility while avoiding blame or politics.

Key elements included:

• Plain-text, outlook-style emails
  Emails were written as candid, first-person messages from leadership.  They were urgent and direct with a goal of being highly authentic.
  
• Real-time digital media activation
  Conversion-focused digital ads ran alongside the email campaign, extending reach beyond the active donor file to prospecting and lapsed audiences who were receptive to timely, issue-driven content.
  
• Crisis-specific messaging
  Creative centered on three converging realities:
  
  1. Increased need due to the shutdown
  2. Reduced food donations as a result
  3. The looming holiday surge‍
• Quick execution
  Fast deployment ensured campaigns launched while the emergency was still front-page news.
  
  

Results

The response delivered strong, immediate returns. Reviewing platform results across clients for the digital ads they delivered:

• $239,590 in revenue 
• 1,360 conversions
• 6.4 return on ad spend
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Returns by Audience Breakdown of Digital Ads 

The positive return was not limited to active audiences. This campaign succeeded in attracting new donors and reactivating lapsed:

• Prospecting: 3.3 ROAS
• Lapsed donors: 6.2 ROAS
• Active donors: 9.1 ROAS

Notably, only 40% of digital revenue came from active audiences. The majority was driven by prospecting and lapsed donors. By focusing on timely offers that were reinforced in the news, these clients were able to bring on new and reactivated donors at better than break-even.

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Key Takeaways

• Emergency messaging works when it’s real. 
• Digital prospecting performs in crisis moments. Timely, issue-driven appeals can unlock new and reactivated donors.
• Speed is a strategy. Fast deployment is often the difference between meeting a need and missing the moment.
• Email + digital is a force multiplier. Together, they allow organizations to reach both loyal supporters and those newly motivated by the moment.
  
  

Bottom Line

When emergencies hit, organizations need to act. By pairing urgent, human messaging with agile digital execution, our missions met rising needs in real time and provided meaningful, immediate support to families facing food insecurity during the government shutdown.

Crisis fundraising isn’t about theatrics. It’s about showing up fast, telling the truth, and giving donors a clear way to help right away.