RSP­CA: ​‘home for life’ scheme

Exhibited by
Alex McDowell
Added
January 22, 2015
Medium of Communication
Target Audience
Individuals
Type of Charity
Animal
Country of Origin
UK
Date of first appearance
2008

SOFII’s view

Legacies are so important to all charities, yet it can be a difficult message to get across. By answering  genuine concerns, understanding their donors and offering them a superb service that takes aways their worries RSPCA has created a very successful legacy campaign.

RSPCA Home For Life TV AD

Summary / objectives

To identify legacy prospects, generate leads and provide information about the importance of legacies. 

Background

Too many pets are left homeless after their owners pass away. The RSPCA‘s ‘home for life’ free service gives pet owners peace of mind that their animals will be looked after should they die. Once they are informed of the death of someone who has registered with the service the RSPCA arranges for the animal/s to come into their care. They then try to find homes for the animal and an RSPCA official will visit any proposed new owner to ensure she, or he, is a suitable new owner. 

Special characteristics

The RSPCA’s website gives detailed information about the service and how it can help potential users. There are lots of heart-warming stories told by pet owners who have joined the service, by pleased new owners and photos of  with good use of happy pets There is plenty of information on making a will and how invaluable legacies are to the RSPCA.

Influence/impact

This innovative approach to delivering messages about the importance of legacies and generating legacy enquiries shows how knowing and understanding your donors, then delivering fundraising products creatively can play a broader role in brand positioning while also offering appropriate benefits to the donor.

Results

  • More than 15,000 responses to the campaign.
  • More than 2000 people added the home for life clause to their will.
  • 1200 responders also included a gift to RSPCA.
  • Legacy income to date: £1.5 million.

Merits

It's an innovative and creative legacy fundraising idea that is:

  • Insight driven - it understands and responds to real concerns of potential legators.
  • Emotionally moving yet a rational proposition.
  • Provides great data and leads for legacy cross-sell: responders are likely to be animal loving, older people living on their own.
  • Makes it (the cause, offer) personal to the recipient of the message, even if not a current supporter of the RSPCA.
  • Makes conversations about legacies easier.