“…collaboration and cross-functional team work is essential to being able to produce something of value, and that’s really been optimised with this Paws for Purpose campaign.” – Bernadette Murphy
In this episode we speak to Gwen Green and Bernadette Murphy of Blind Low Vision NZ and their Paws for Purpose campaign – a very successful fundraising and engagement activity which has garnered worldwide coverage.
We talk about how the campaign was conceived, planned and executed and tips on what other charities can do to run effective campaigns to engage a variety of stakeholders in coming together to raise significant funds for your charity.
1. Upcycling and environmentalism
A growing motivator for organisations to get involved with charities is as a means of delivering against environmental as well as ethical objectives. We have spoken before on the podcast about how charities can be more environmentally friendly and indeed further the environmental agenda in all that they do, another incentive for this is giving your supporters the added value of supporting an eco-friendly cause.
Gwen, Bernadette and their colleagues spoke about how they upcycled the canine collection boxes in a creative and engaging way which ultimately led them to raise significant funds and bring greater recognition of their charity.
2. Short and focussed time
While many of us may plan campaigns months in advance, in some cases it literally pays to move fast and bring a sense of urgency to a campaign to galvanise support, interest, and excitement from your supporter base. The momentum of campaigns can usually be seen in emergency appeals, where there is a clear and urgent reason for the campaign, but this is often twinned with wider recognition through the media that helps to set the scene for the proposition asking someone to give.
Focussing the inner team and external stakeholders, maintaining energy and having the excitement of the sprint is a sure fire way of building a sense of purpose and driving a campaign forward. It sounds like the two rather than six degrees of separation in New Zealand helped to get the word spread fast and enthuse the artists and donors to get involved.
This episode of Charity Chat has been brought to you by our platinum sponsor Work for Good.
Work for Good is a fundraising platform helping businesses raise funds for charities through their sales. The platform makes the legal agreement needed for businesses to fundraise from sales quick and simple. Saving charities time and resource, and enabling them to raise more unrestricted income.
Pop to www.workforgood.co.uk to learn more and book a free demo.
We hope you enjoy this week’s episode.
Related episodes that you may be interested in:
E201 - Collaborating On The Climate Crisis With Liz Gadd - https://www.charitychat.org.uk/post/e201-collaborating-on-the-climate-crisis-with-liz-gadd
E156 - The Sustainable Office Guide With Lauren Wiseman -
E134 - Digital Transformations With Shaf Mansour -