This year the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that the income of the average UK household had fallen 1.6% since 2008. Coupled with a slow and fraught global economic recovery, this has led to public disquiet about poverty overseas and a fall in long-term charitable giving. So, we thought it would be interesting to have a look at different charities approached Christmas to appeal to the public.
A recent poll conducted by ComRes, a leading market research agency, found that 69% of the British public say most of the stories they hear regarding Africa are largely negative. However, 63% of them would feel more likely to donate to a charity if they are provided with positive news on the effects of aid in the region.
Over the years, many charity campaigns have featured some notoriously dismal images depicting weary eyed, severely undernourished children who are often close to death. This represents a very real reality for some communities across famine stricken parts of Africa. But, as we’ve blogged about before, long-term exposure to these images runs leaving people desensitised and disillusioned.
Someone who has been giving regularly over many years may begin to ask, ‘What has my money achieved if I am met by these same recurring images year after year?’ Appeals which aim to induce guilt, and draw one-off pity donations do little for creating a culture of long-term donors who are confident their money can secure and sustain development and change.
Save the Children’s Born to Shine campaign made its appearance early this year. It has proved a welcoming and refreshing contrast to some past visual campaigns used charities. The campaign’s televised advert is an endearing tribute to the vast, unlocked potential sitting dormant within every child living in extreme poverty. Save the Children prove there is more to highlight than just their living standards. This approach makes for a far more palatable appeal, while the concluding caption, ‘8 million children under five die needlessly every year’ still highlights the reality of challenges ahead.
Save The Children’s Christmas Wishlist webpage has been well crafted for simple and easy gift giving. On offer for purchase are anything from midwife birthing kits, to chickens and water buffalo. Similarly, ActionAid’s wide ranging Christmas gifts section also proves simple and effective. Gifts that change lives immediately greets you with warm, bright faces - which works well during the festive season. From toys for Rwanda, to funding a programme planting 400 trees in Vietnam, a range of gifts from the sentimental to practical are available for giving. Short clips showing Your Money in Action accompany many of the alternative gifts featured, allowing the donor to engage with personal stories from communities eager to show how their funds are being used.
This was a common feature used by charities in their alternative giving sections. More than half of respondents for the 2010 DFID ‘public attitudes towards development’ survey, felt corruption in developing countries defeated the purpose of donating. These charities are recognizing a new type of donor, who requires a greater level of information on how and where their donations are being spent.
Oxfam’s 50% off sale on all second hand clothing and ethical fashion gifts shows the charity adapting at a time when post-Christmas prices are slashed all along the high-street, and consumers are on the hunt for the right bargain. Christian Aid’s Christmas appeal is another that has caught our attention. 2011’s Christmas campaign centred on awareness building using an inspiring story of 129 children who, in 2008, were successfully reunited with their families after they were separated when rebels attacked their villages in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Resources available for download ranged from church sermon notes, to children’s activity sheets based on the story for Sunday school session.
The Big Christmas sing – one voice against poverty is a unique annual event in which communities across the country can hold their very own singing event to raise money for their projects. Christian Aid have often recruited X factor finalists to launch the events. This serves to keep charitable fundraising current, contemporary and enjoyable. It also has the effect of widening appeal and increasing youth involvement.
Emphasising progress and positivity can have long-term benefits of changing attitudes and donating habits of the public. Continued use of the kind of campaigns led by a purely negative tone, may be damaging by feeding into public perceptions of developing countries – where foreign aid is achieving little. This is particularly unjust when we know of the success vaccination programmes have had in reducing child mortality rates over the past decade. Polio, a disease once rife and endemic in large parts of Asia and Africa, is now close to being eradicated. While we don’t wish to whitewash over the many challenges still facing the developing world, we hope charity appeals can do more to report on the progress that has already been made. |
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