“Historically, our street fundraising activity yielded a younger donor profile – late teens to late twenties. So we were keen to test Home’s assertions – and industry assumptions – that door-to-door activity would produce a slightly older demographic.

As VSO’s unique approach to development can take time to explain to prospects, we also felt that the average time a Home fundraiser spends with a prospective donor – around quarter of an hour – would enable our cause to be communicated clearly and effectively.

Indeed, the flexible two-stage model enabled fundraisers to talk about our work in depth and communicate how the sharing of skills and knowledge remains in the developing country when the volunteer returns home. This proposition was focused on during the campaign training day and in training materials.

The approach was particularly effective with young professional couples and people with young families – generally situated in middle-income areas – targeted by Home using data from previous development charity campaigns. This method of identifying appropriate areas that had not been over-harvested by previous door-to-door activity ensured VSO had the maximum opportunity to access the target audience.

The campaign review document produced by Home has been widely circulated (and well received) throughout VSO and is expected to inform other marketing and campaigning activity within the organisation showing the true value of integrated activity when it works!

The campaign represented a massive success for VSO. Working in partnership with Home, we managed to communicate our cause professionally and profitably through a new recruitment medium – beating all targets and securing donors with an average age of 42.”
Paul Matthews
Head of Individual Giving, VSO

WINNER – BEST USE OF FACE-TO-FACE,
IOF AWARDS 2008