Creator / originator

Shelter and Consider Creative

Summary / objectives

Shelter’s ambition is to end the UK’s housing emergency for good. But a problem of this magnitude, which affects thousands of people who are homeless and millions in unfit housing, will take years to solve. That’s why legacy giving is a crucial income stream for Shelter.

We needed to inspire existing and new supporters alike to give in this way – and invest in Shelter’s vision. To do so, we needed a legacy proposition – the compelling, authentic reason why leaving a gift to Shelter is the right decision.

Background

Shelter wanted to take their legacy programme to the next level – inspiring more of their long-term donors to remember them in their wills.

To make this possible, we needed to understand what motivates people to commit to this most powerful of gifts. 

So, we ran extensive interviews with Shelter’s current pledgers, uncovering some key shared attitudes – including a powerful belief that it is still possible to create a fairer society, as well as a marked lack of trust in the Government to solve the housing crisis themselves.

These insights, and more, formed the basis of Give People Change: a legacy proposition which won hands-down in audience testing.

Give People Change taps into the feeling of helplessness our audience feels when they see people sleeping rough, or when they contemplate the number of families in unsafe, precarious housing. It takes that feeling – and pivots towards determination.

Because change is possible. Millions are affected by this crisis – and helping one person at a time won’t solve it. But a legacy gift to Shelter could. 

That’s because it’s an investment in a new era – one where decisive action will be taken to end the housing emergency, building millions of social homes, and fulfilling everyone’s right to a safe place to live.

This isn’t small change. It’s huge.

Give People Change is already coming to life in a big way – online, in print and in Shelter’s shops across the UK. It’s also being rolled out as Shelter’s organisation-wide fundraising proposition. Because no matter how you give to Shelter, your donation isn’t about small change, or a short-term response to homelessness. 

It’s about the fight for home, for everyone. It’s a step towards the real change that will help millions to escape homelessness and unfit housing forever. 

Special characteristics

We ran with the proposition across channels, developing core creative principles that communicated the era-defining, radical change that a legacy gift could bring. From paid social adverts to collateral for Shelter shops, from press ads to our direct mail pack, we brought our proposition to life – inviting our audience to be part of the story.

Results

Give People Change has already made a splash. In September 2020, it went public for the first time with Shelter’s Will Week campaign, which encompassed press ads, social media targeting, a mailer and retail marketing.

Staggeringly, the ROI was 50:1 – with one million pounds raised in predicted future gifts. And, like all legacy marketing, the true impact will be even more apparent as people make or amend their wills in the future.