So, Comic Relief 2011 resulted in the most successful on the night total ever, in the midst of a recession…wait a minute, we’re in the middle of a recession, but people still felt obliged to donate to their hard-earned cash to help others?  It doesn’t seem to tie up that, at a time when many businesses are struggling, workers are being made redundant and people are cutting back on their non-essential outgoings, somehow as a nation, we’ve managed to dig deep and find over £70million between us.

This may be helped by what seems to be a change in approach from Comic Relief in recent years, making it the success that it is and raising money for some fantastic causes both in the UK and abroad. Undoubtedly, it gets a huge amount of exposure, but there’s things which smaller charities can learn and benefit from too.  Here’s a few observations…

1) Before the day fundraising
In recent years, this has increased dramatically – I think the first mention I heard of Comic Relief this year was The Inbetweeners Rude Road-Trip back in January.  This, followed more recently by celebrities trekking across a desert, Ant & Dec invading as many television or radio shows as possible and of course, Chris Moyles and Comedy Dave broadcasting on Radio 1 (and the Red Button) for over 50 hours, which alone raised about £2.4million.  Which leads me nicely onto my next point…

2) “What do I get out of it?”
In these times of hardship, people are being more careful with how they spend their money and making sure that they are not splashing out on things they don’t need.  By getting high-profile celebrities on-board, there’s a huge amount of publicity through various media, including television, radio and the internet.  Not only does this raise awareness, but it also provides the public with entertainment, making them feel like they’re getting something out of watching their favourite (or least favourite!) celebrities putting themselves through some serious pain.  Watching this whilst sitting in a warm home on a comfy sofa, makes just a small donation of £1 seem negligible, doesn’t it?  Not that I’m saying that people should only donate £1, but if that’s all you can actually donate, then 50 hours of entertainment for £1 is pretty good value for money.

Smaller charities/groups can use this as an example – by organising events or activities which others can get something out of, such as an evening out, learning new skills or trying something different, they can see a benefit, which will help them get over the psychological barrier of merely another donation to charity.

3) Appealing to a Wide Target Market
By having exposure across a variety of mass media is very easy flood the market and see what response you get, in the hope that someone will listen.  BBC Radio 1 has had a huge presence in Comic Relief fundraising in the last few years (Kilimanjaro trek, anyone?), to an extent I hadn’t noticed before, which points to a conscious strategy to draw some younger participants in.  By casting the net wide, you can also ensure that you’re not hitting the same market over and over again – particularly smaller charities.  It’s very easy to organise events for your core market, which you know well, but if you’re not careful, this market can saturate, having squeezed every little penny from it.  Why not organise a different type of evening – perhaps a family event, or if you’re a youth group, look to the parents and their friends, rather than the youngsters themselves.

4) Tone of Voice
Being aware of the circumstances is something which is key here, but phrasing things in a certain way can change things dramatically.

Instead of saying “Will you donate £1 to charity?”, how about something like “If 50p or £1 is all you can donate, then every penny will help towards our fundraising target”.

Or, instead of saying “Come on, give us your money”, how about something like “If you can’t afford to donate, then all we ask is to spread the word about our work, but if you’ve got anything out of [EVENT] then please consider donating just £1 to help us”.  Of course, you can then encourage those who can afford more than £1, to donate even more!

Some may call this a guilt-trip, but it’s about showing that all donations, however insignificant they may be, can go a long way.

5) Making it easy to donate
The advance of technology has made donating far easier, at a time when people’s leisure time is reducing and convenience is important.  Donating through the internet, sites like JustGiving, make it easy to collect money from those who live further away and can’t call round with a sponsorship form.  Whilst some of these sites do take a commission (not all, so do your research!), they do sort all your Gift Aid out too.  Again, do your research It’s also much less pressured for the sponsor and you .  Donations by text means people don’t need to even have a computer nearby – a mobile phone is almost always on you every hour of the day.  I see Comic Relief had the option to donate £10 straight away, by just texting a number, rather than stating the amount or the usual £1, such as the option Radio 1 were using.  Either way, it gives options to the viewers, who can choose a route that’s easiest to them, rather than only the old fashioned ways of phoning up or going to the Post Office!

So, Comic Releif have proved it – there’s money out there.  You’ve just got to be innovative in your approach and target the right people in the right ways.  Try something different, it may just work in your favour!   If you’ve got any suggestions, why not drop us a note?