Appeal to supporters reaps dividends
Lifeboat charity RNLI has bucked the trend and has turned fundraising to its advantage, despite lockdown.
Figures from the organisation show its spring appeal raised double its target after focusing on its supporters.
Instead of launching an appeal, its fundraising team issued a message of support to its donors.
A spokesperson for the charity said: “Both our spring and summer appeals did better than we hoped they would, with the address carrier, that we would not normally attribute any income to, bringing in more than £300,000.
“Those fundraising efforts at such trying times are testament to our fantastic supporters and the affection the public hold for our volunteer lifesavers, which we never take for granted, especially in a year which has been such a struggle for so many.”
As reported in Civil Society, Rory Stamp, strategic content manager for RNLI, said: “Our spring appeal was well underway. At the time the plan was to have an address carrier, an ask, going out with our supporter magazine that was due out in April. And we were due to send out an email to supporters asking them to support our spring appeal.
“Now what we could have done is carried on with that, or we could have gone out with an instant emergency health crisis appeal. But actually, what we decided to do was be true to donor centricity, and to check in on our supporters, and send them a message to make sure that they were okay.
“We took out that ask from the magazine and scrapped the email. Instead, the messages that we sent out on and offline were along these lines: you're part of the crew, and crew members account for each other. Let's stay in touch in these difficult times.”
Messages sent out to supporters in March included a video of a volunteer, who says: “When we answer the call for help, it’s an uncertain time. We don’t know what we’ll face and we don’t know when we’ll see our loved ones again. But the thing that keeps us going is your support.
“And now, wherever you are, you’re probably feeling uncertain about the future too. That’s why I wanted to get in touch and say, today we’re sending our support to you.”
RNLI had to close its shops and suspend its community fundraising activities during lockdown. In April, it announced almost a third of its staff would be furloughed, while chief executive Mark Dowie took a 50% pay cut.
