Aberlour's work was recognised at the Third Sector Awards
A Scottish charity's work to support families at a time of crisis has been recognised at a national awards ceremony.
Aberlour Children’s Charity won Fundraising Campaign of the Year for its Urgent Assistance Fund at the Third Sector Awards last week.
The 2021 Awards took place on Friday 17 September at a lunchtime reception hosted by comedian Zoe Lyons and held in the brand new Londoner Hotel in Leicester Square.
The trophy was awarded to a fundraising campaign that used an original or inspiring approach to secure donations. Aberlour was up against stiff competition from six other charities across the UK who had all been shortlisted for the award including Chester Zoo and Kings College Hospital Charity.
Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund campaign set out to support families in Scotland plunged into financial crisis as a result of the pandemic. The charity knew that it would hit struggling families hard, affecting their ability to feed and clothe their children and to heat and light their homes. The campaign aimed to raise £100,000 to match the same amount set aside from the charity’s reserves. Aberlour also set out to promote the fund and raise awareness about the impact of poverty.
A number of departmental teams at Aberlour collaborated and focused on raising as much money as possible for the emergency appeal. Within six hours the fundraising and marketing team had created concepts, messaging, copy, design and imagery for an integrated direct mail, press and digital appeal. It created web pages, donation platforms and recording frameworks to allow the charity to better understand the challenges facing applicants to the grant scheme. Key stakeholders and partners were engaged to promote the fund more widely.
Within 10 days Aberlour had raised £85,000, after two weeks it had raised £112,000, and by the end of the financial year the charity had smashed its original target, raising a total of £1.3m. The money was used to provide essentials to 3,623 families affected by unemployment, reduced hours, school closures, energy poverty, domestic abuse and a range of other challenges. The success of the campaign enabled Aberlour to support every family that submitted an eligible application.
The judges praised Aberlour‘s agility, focus and the outstanding result. “This is an incredible achievement with a campaign that was relevant and timely,” said one.
Chief executive of Aberlour, Sally Ann Kelly, said “We are absolutely thrilled to be awarded Fundraising Campaign of the Year. It is testament to the hard work of our staff and volunteers who rose to the challenge to help so many families in dire need during these unprecedented times and it’s wonderful that their compassion and commitment has been recognised. On behalf of everyone at Aberlour thank you so much for this award and to all our supporters who have helped us make a difference to the lives of thousands of children and families."
