Shaftesbury Homes & Arethusa
the opportunity the approach
Shaftesbury Homes & Arethusa,
run children’s homes in London
and the South East .They were
suffering from declining income
from their ageing supporter base
and needed a fresh approach that
would help them to appeal to a
younger audience. It was found
they only had 2,000 active
supporters (from a total database
of 8,000 individuals), who did not
have a typical charity profile, and
only gave on an occasional basis.
supporter acquisition programme
the results
Other recommended a reciprocal
mailing programme and created
a hard hitting DM piece around
the real-world dangers faced by
a typical, troubled child client,
showing how Shaftesbury Homes
were helping to turn their life
around.
The programme produced
remarkable results with responses
of up to 12% being achieved –
and a campaign average of over
4.5%. These figures are industry
highs. Over a 3 year period the
supporter base grew by 300%
and showed positive cash income.
The warm appeal programme
generated excellent ongoing
results as the newly recruited
supporters were found to be far
more responsive and generous.
Warm appeal fundraising is now
a vital part of Shaftesbury’s
unrestricted income.