Finding the fundraising story - Hope & Homes for Children
It’s a familiar challenge: your charity has a new brand, but how does it translate into a fundraising story?
I led a creative sprint for Hope and Homes for Children to co-create a new fundraising story (sometimes called a ‘case for support’) that worked with their brand.
I identified the audience insight that most overseas donors believe orphanages protect children. Yet the brand talked about the charity’s end mission to shut down the world’s orphanages. We needed a story that didn’t make prospective supporters feel any lesser for not knowing that orphanages harm children because they never get what they really need: a loving protector.
Working in partnership with the Brand and Individual Giving teams, I led series of creative workshops to find the story that could effortlessly connect supporters to the cause. Using a selection of my creative tools, we unearthed it. The story leads on the idea of ‘where do children belong?’, and you can read it below.
I then developed a toolkit to help the teams consistently apply the story across Brand, and because the story was so well received, the whole of the Fundraising Department.
A new mid-value regular giving proposition we developed is also soon to be launched, inspired by the new story.
The charity is now rolling out this new story across all their fundraising and communications activity.
The fundraising story
Where do children belong?
When Nada’s upset, does she belong alone in a numbered bed without even a teddy for company? Or in the loving arms of someone who knows just how to soothe her?
When Daniel needs words of encouragement, does he belong in a cramped room with only passing strangers? Or by the side of someone cheering for his every little victory?
When Miremba says her very first word, does she belong in the eerie silence of an orphanage? Or cheek to cheek with someone who will listen, smile, and dotingly repeat back every word she says?
8 out of 10 children in orphanages have living relatives that could be the loving protector they need right now. We want to reunite them all in our lifetime – and create new families for those children who are truly orphans.
Will you join us in making sure every child is where they belong?
Always with family, and never in an orphanage.
“Chloë is one of the brightest minds and most rewarding individuals to work in partnership with. Her genuine mix of strategic focus and creative flair sets her apart as a fundraising planner, able to set projects within a strategic frame whilst also winning hearts and minds with beautiful, brilliant ideas.”
— Angharad McKenzie, Global Director of Marketing, Communications and Fundraising at Hope & Homes for Children