Heroes From Home
How I proposed, designed and developed a low-budget, high-impact charity fundraising campaign to raise more than €150,000 over 4 years.
Project Overview
In the heart of the gaming community, in the depths of Covid-19, a powerful idea emerged to help take the strain nonprofits were suffering while marathons and other in-person fundraisers had been cancelled—a charity streaming campaign fueled not by competition, but by compassion.
Understanding
Covid-19 forced nearly all planned charity fundraising events to either cancel or postpone. Organisations like Spartan Race closed entirely. This meant an opportunity. During my time as in-house designer at Irish Cancer Society, the whole workplace was open to new ideas with the time and manpower to put towards them.
I was lead the first half of International Rugby Player Andrew Porter's charity facemask project in memory of his mother. He was kind enough to create some custom artwork, from which I presented several layouts he could choose from. The run sold all 5,000 masks, generating €75,000 in funds for Irish Cancer Patients.
I also proposed a partnership with Dave Moore of Today FM and his "World Cup Of X" series, where, in the lead up to Daffodil Day, the public voted on their favourite name for the Irish Cancer Society Teddy, Eventually voting "Téidi" as the winner, and generating 120k free, organic views, and boosting sales of the stuffed toy by several hundred percent.
I was lead the first half of International Rugby Player Andrew Porter's charity facemask project in memory of his mother. He was kind enough to create some custom artwork, from which I presented several layouts he could choose from. The run sold all 5,000 masks, generating €75,000 in funds for Irish Cancer Patients.
I also proposed a partnership with Dave Moore of Today FM and his "World Cup Of X" series, where, in the lead up to Daffodil Day, the public voted on their favourite name for the Irish Cancer Society Teddy, Eventually voting "Téidi" as the winner, and generating 120k free, organic views, and boosting sales of the stuffed toy by several hundred percent.
Andrew Porter's charity facemask
Dave Moore's World Cup of Everything
Research
Charity lifestreams are nothing new, so there were plenty of inspirational examples to choose from. Awesome Games Done Quick and Desert Bus For Hope were two prime examples of successful, community-driven, sustainable fundraisers. They also reliably raise more than $1m each year, so I also had to look to smaller fundraisers closer to home for comparison.
The Tiltify platform luckily runs a very active, close-knit community of charity gaming representatives from all the major UK and Ireland charities, so they were able to provide some excellent advice on how to run a first event.
I also had a chance to talk to an event manager in Electronic Sports League (ESL) of their experience working with streamers, and of platforms and best practices when working with the streaming community.
The Tiltify platform luckily runs a very active, close-knit community of charity gaming representatives from all the major UK and Ireland charities, so they were able to provide some excellent advice on how to run a first event.
I also had a chance to talk to an event manager in Electronic Sports League (ESL) of their experience working with streamers, and of platforms and best practices when working with the streaming community.
Design
The initial proof of concept was over the Halloween weekend, to be expanded for Daffodil Day if successful. Irish streamers would broadcast themselves playing video games and competing in challenges for the amusement of viewers, to raise funds for the Irish Cancer Society to support Irish cancer research and support services.
My process for developing the campaign:
My process for developing the campaign:
- Generate a fundraising page with assets to show our investment in the new campaign
- Contact minor streamers, refining messaging before contacting major streamers with a value-add offer with promotion budget
- Create and cultivate a communiy. Use the platforms the fundraisers are familiar with (Tiltify & Discord). Ensure consistent, enthusiastic communication.
- Maintain passive communication during the year, and push to turn the most enthusiastic participants into advocates for next year's campaign.
Result
The first weekend raised €17k of it’s €10k goal. The subsequent Daffodil Day weekend campaign raised over €30k, rising to €86k the following year (thanks to the "Covid bump" many nonprofits and digital-based businesses experienced) blowing all expectations out of the water, and cementing it as a regular part of the Daffodil Day brochure.
As I grew a niche but passionate community, I was proud to propose, lead and design all aspects of the campaign, raising more than €150k to date. Together, they proved a boundless, dedicated capacity for kindness and generosity - a testament to the transformative power of gaming for good.
As I grew a niche but passionate community, I was proud to propose, lead and design all aspects of the campaign, raising more than €150k to date. Together, they proved a boundless, dedicated capacity for kindness and generosity - a testament to the transformative power of gaming for good.
Next Steps
As a niche interest, the unfortunate fact was that very few people in the organisation could speak to the fundraisers in a way that would resonate once I left. Also, as cancer tends to be a concern for older individuals, the young streamers only tended to be invested in the cause and become advocates if they themselves had a personal experience.
These led to a higher rate of turnover (around 55%) than I hoped, but colleagues in UK charities assured me this was an excellent result! The relatively low level of investment also meant the campaign would be able to stand on its own for a few years before it becomes superseded by a more novel fundraising idea.
To help mitigate this, I kept trying to grow and augment the campaign in such a way to ensure a novelty aspect was always present with a consistent message, rather than simply raising the target each year. This was a luxury only afforded its identity a side-campaign, who's primary benefit was international visibility and a lack of cross-competitiveness with the other Daffodil Day CTAs.
These led to a higher rate of turnover (around 55%) than I hoped, but colleagues in UK charities assured me this was an excellent result! The relatively low level of investment also meant the campaign would be able to stand on its own for a few years before it becomes superseded by a more novel fundraising idea.
To help mitigate this, I kept trying to grow and augment the campaign in such a way to ensure a novelty aspect was always present with a consistent message, rather than simply raising the target each year. This was a luxury only afforded its identity a side-campaign, who's primary benefit was international visibility and a lack of cross-competitiveness with the other Daffodil Day CTAs.
