“…what was inspiring about the Ukraine appeal is the employee giving was staggering and amazing and inspiring, and it also led to this influx of corporate clients also wanting to give...”
- Hannah Johnson
In this episode we speak with Hannah Johnson, Executive Director for Global Marketing and partnerships at Blue State. We spoke with Hannah about how she and her colleagues have supported charities and what those charities have helped to do both in raising awareness of certain issues and satisfying the desire that individuals have within the company to contribute to positive social change.
1. Focus on the one to support the many
Many of us who spend our time explaining the need of the causes that we serve will recognise the wisdom in what Hannah had to say about focussing on storytelling and the individual over the volume of our work.
We know that people give to people and that resonates as much with focussing our impact stories on individuals as it does working on how we present ourselves as sellers of these stories.
While the quantitative measures of what we do are useful to report on the impact the our supporters are having. Telling the story of one person and connecting this story to the people that we are speaking to, is a sure fire way of building support for our work.
2. Changing attitudes
While many of us are focussed on our short term goals of meeting targets and giving immediate support to those who need our charities most, the long-term goal of changing the status quo and the views that feed it, should not be overlooked.
As Hannah said, there are growing negative attitudes towards refugees. Charities have a place to change that, by giving a face and a voice to the nameless and faceless term of ‘refugee’.
3. Could a renaissance be happening in voluntary support
Hannah talked about a change in her industry and a possible increase in skilled professionals looking to support and work in the Charity Sector. Perhaps the desire to support a good cause in a world which seems increasingly rife with inequality, sleaze and injustice, could provoke an increase in the support that the Charity Sector needs to confront these societal challenges.
It certainly sounds like there are opportunities for charities to offer this benefit to companies who may be thinking more socially, environmentally, and progressively about making their mark on the world as well as retaining staff and reaching ethically minded consumers.
This episode of Charity Chat has been brought to you by our platinum sponsor Work for Good. Work for Good believes everyone should be able to turn the work they do into good. Through their fundraising platform, they offer charities a way to engage and work with small businesses, including founders, owners and sole traders who want to make an impact for charities through their sales. To find out more, please visit workforgood.co.uk.
We hope you enjoy this week’s episode.
Related episodes that you may be interested in:
E57: Strategic Partnerships with Jo Taylor -
E179 - Refugee Crisis and Galvanising a Group Effort with Amber Bauer -
E141 - Work For Good With Veronica Bamford - Deane - https://www.charitychat.org.uk/post/e141-work-for-good-with-veronica-bamford-deane