Creator / originator

BuildGood Strategic

Summary / objectives

We set out to make an annual report (or rather gratitude report) for Siloam Mission that their donors would actually want to read and share with family and friends — maybe leave it out on their coffee table for visitors to see. Our goal was to send a love letter to the donor, written by a person they helped. Above all, we wanted to create something that felt like it was made just for the donor, crafted with care and love.

Background

Our client, Siloam Mission, does amazing work helping people who face homelessness to rebuild their lives. They are truly community-powered, relying mostly on the kind generosity of the average donor-next-door.

Because of privacy concerns, it can sometimes be hard to connect the donors directly with the people they are helping. But when John, a former client of Siloam Mission, courageously offered to share his story, we created a gratitude report. It was written in the style of a journal, directly addressing the people who helped him overcome homelessness.

The gratitude report featured hand-drawn elements that moved the story along, emulating the doodling someone might do in their journal. We hoped this would remind the donor that the story was coming from a real person.

We don’t usually recommend including a donor list in a gratitude report, but the organisation had already informed donors they would be recognised in the document. This already made up part of their stewardship strategy.  

Special characteristics

Hand-drawn elements and a design that emulated a real journal. 

Influence / impact

The gratitude report was a big success with both donors and the organisation's internal audience of staff and volunteers. While not intended to be a fundraising piece, Siloam Mission included a reply envelope when sending it out. It raised 30 per cent more than the previous year.