How creative agencies can give back – and support the charity sector

In brief: Small and medium-sized charities have to create high quality marketing if they’re going to compete in the attention economy and increase their income from donations. But that’s a hard ask when a lot of the creative talent is drawn to the advertising sector. The solution: leveraging pro-bono relationships with creative agencies who are eager to give something back.

The ongoing fundraising problem in the third sector

We’ve spoken about this before, but it bears repeating — creating a sustainable source of fundraising is the most pressing challenge facing the charity sector. (See our recent piece on how charities can compete with purpose-led brands.)

Based on a recent Status of UK Fundraising report from software company Blackbaud, nearly a third of UK charities said their income had decreased in the last 12 months. Many charities – particularly smaller ones – rely heavily on private donations from the public. Indeed, just under half of voluntary organisations rely on the public for the majority of their funding, according to NCVO data.To put that in real terms, in 2020/21, total voluntary sector income was £56.9bn; £26.5bn of that came from the public. Creating a system that enables a regular, dependable incoming stream of cash every year is the aim for any charity, and it’s one serious challenge. On average, 13% of the money raised by charities goes on trying to raise more money. No matter which way you cut it, this is a pretty unsustainable situation for the Third Sector.

The reasons people donate

Attracting new people to donate to a charity is a notoriously difficult thing to do. When we choose to support one charity over another, we typically look for causes we identify with — perhaps something we’ve  had direct experience of. The Charities Aid Foundation study into this topic showed that 61% of people spoke of personal, life-changing experiences as a key reason for them giving to a charity.

Entering the attention economy

Charities need to constantly work to get people’s attention: to showcase the cause they’re working for, the work they’re doing, and the progress they’re making. That means competing in the attention economy, often in the digital space, where there’s an endless battle for eyeballs.

Here, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a not-for-profit, a private company, a publisher, an individual influencer or a government organisation. All are equal and after the same thing: achieving cut-through with content and creative marketing campaigns that resonate.

A perfect storm

What we’re looking at is a bit of a perfect storm for the Third Sector. You have an audience with shorter attention spans, a cost-of-living crisis affecting the amount people have to spend donating to charities, and then an incredibly competitive environment for getting attention (and money). It’s little wonder that not-for-profits, charities and social enterprises are struggling.

The vital importance of charity marketing

To have an impact, charities need to invest properly in the kind of dynamic marketing and brand awareness seen elsewhere. They need to create first-class brands: a distinct visual brand identity, a consistent tone of voice, perhaps a new website and impactful marketing campaigns that use best-in-class, original content. The sort of award-winning work that any top-notch creative agency would be proud of.

That’s vital for speaking to young people and the wider world, but it’s also important when it comes to elevating the status of the charity in the minds of government departments and institutional donors.

As shown in that NCVO data shared above, of the total income for voluntary organisations, £16.2bn came from government grants and £2.6bn came from the private sector. Increasing a charity’s public profile and strengthening the brand is a surefire way to get key stakeholders within those organisations to sit up and take notice. That can only help the fundraising process.

Finding the right creative talent

Making serious upgrades to charity marketing requires skilled people and relevant media. Charities need creative, talented people with original ideas. Here is yet another hurdle to overcome: most charities struggle to attract the top talent in this space.

Research from Personio of 1100 not-for-profit organisations showed that 52% said attracting skilled staff was a major problem. The reason for that? You might be able to guess: a lack of funding affecting their ability to hire and retain people. A staggering 90% of UK-based not-for-profits said they couldn’t offer a competitive salary compared to the private sector.

No matter the variety of work offered and the worthy cause, money still talks. And that’s particularly pertinent in the fields of digital marketing and creative campaigns. An agency is always likely to trump a small-sized charity in terms of the salary it can offer.

Despite talk of a talent drain in advertising, the most recent census from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising showed employment levels at an all-time high, up more than 19% on the previous year. That’s thanks to what they call “the excitement of a job in advertising.”

It’s pretty hard for charities to compete.

The solution: Agencies working pro-bono for charities

Working with a specialised charity branding agency is one option but it naturally comes at a cost. Instead, charities can benefit from availing themselves of pro-bono opportunities. Creative agencies offering pro-bono support to charities is nothing new, but it’s our view that the quantity of these relationships needs to grow exponentially while becoming a lot simpler for both sides of the equation to access and then activate.

Many agencies are seeking ways to improve their social impact by taking on briefs without payment, or lower rates. A cursory look at any reputable agency’s website will probably already show the pro-bono work they’ve been doing, or blog callouts for charity of the year pitches (like this one from London-based agency Nice and Serious).

Charity branding case studies

There have been some excellent examples to draw upon, at both a small and large scale:

adam&eveDDB X CALM

Communication agency adam&eveDDB worked with suicide prevention charity CALM on a major, incredibly impactful UK-wide campaign in 2022 called The Last Photo. The campaign focused on the last photos and audio clips of individuals who would later take their own life. It was brought to life across an installation at London’s Southbank, a TV commercial, and a broader campaign across print and social.

PrettyGreen X R;pple

Communication agency PrettyGreen first worked with R;pple, a suicide prevention in the workplace charity, to boost awareness around the charity’s launch in 2021. That pro-bono work has extended into a long-term partnership where the agency leads on the strategic and creative development, as well as the activation of new communications campaigns.

Romans X Macmillan Cancer Support

A good example of a charity of the year relationship, the staff at sports creative agency Romans overwhelmingly chose MacMillan Cancer Support as their charity to support in 2023. Their pro-bono work has resulted in a nationwide marketing campaign highlighting the experiences of people living with cancer waiting for treatment.

Bladonmore X Bowel Research UK

Comms agency Bladonmore worked pro-bono for Bowel Research UK to increase awareness of the charity using the #auguts tag to own the month of August – in a similar style to Movember or Veganuary. The project’s final assets included a holistic branding process: a creative website takeover, a hero film and social media activity. Website traffic increased by over 50%, with 3 million users reached on Facebook. The partnership has won numerous charity marketing awards, including gold awards in the Corporate Content Awards and Lens Awards for 2023.

Havas X New Horizon Youth Centre

A one-year pilot has turned into a multi-year collaboration between the huge global agency Havas and New Horizon Youth Centre – a small charity that helps homeless people in London realise their potential. Work has included a rebrand and access to Havas’ expertise and skillset to transform the charity’s digital design skills, visual identity design, and marketing strategy. It’s a pro-bono partnership valued at some £500,000.

Finding the right partners

There are ways for charities to find agencies that are willing to offer pro-bono support, but they’re largely time-demanding and broad. These might include scouring media sites like PR Week, The Drum and Third Sector, or following specific agencies and reaching out cold.

We want to join the dots in a much more centralised, cohesive way.

Our plan: A pro bono agency directory

Our vision is to create a pro bono agency directory that acts as a two-sided hub, helping Third Sector organisations connect with agencies. We’ll publish the details of agencies specialising in marketing, digital development, visual identity, branding and social media expertise who are actively looking to offer their support to the third sector.

We know that many agencies are keen on engaging in value-driven projects and are willing to contribute their creative talent. We will work as the facilitator: connecting them with small and medium-sized charities in need of marketing support but lacking the resources to pay for it. It’ll be an incredibly useful service for both sides of the equation. 

This is just the start of our work here. We’re creating tools and capabilities that enable charities to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with purpose-driven brands, amplifying their fundraising potential and impact on society.

If you’re an agency or marketing company and this sounds interesting at all, we would love to talk. Get in touch here.