Creatively stopping people in their tracks
OPINION: I like to think of myself as a reasonably charitable person, but I think I might be kidding myself.
Last week I found myself sidling into doorways to avoid a group of ‘‘chuggers’’ – charity muggers – as I rushed down Lambton Quay in Wellington.
Then, because I had no cash, I dashed past a woman in a pink wig raising money for breast cancer awareness.
In my weak defence, I did go to a Kaibosh charity fundraiser on Saturday and stumped up some cash for a donation and some raffle tickets, and sponsored someone to sleep out for the 14 Hours Homeless challenge.
Fundraising, let’s be honest, is no easy feat for the 27,000 or so charities and 115,000 non-profit organisations operating in New Zealand, which are dependent on the generosity of others.
It seems that most people I know are constantly trying to scrape together money for everything from school fundraisers to helping foreign countries recover from natural disasters.
The competition to get us to put our hands in our wallets and purses is intense.
Philanthropy New Zealand’s most recent report, as published at the end of 2015, stated that total giving for the 2014-15 period was almost $2.8 billion.
Of this, over half came from personal donations at 55 per cent, while 42 per cent was trust and foundation-based giving, and 3 per cent was business giving.
Yes, you read that right. Only 3 per cent came from businesses. Pretty sure those corporates out there should be collectively ashamed of themselves.
But, as they say, if necessity is the mother of invention, then the charity sector is busting a few boundaries and coming up with some really creative campaigns that should be the envy of corporate marketers looking for innovation.
Onesie days; plunging into icecold water baths; pink, blue, or white ribbon days; sponsored hair shaving; fashion shows; bake sales; 24-hour marathons; fun runs. There’s no shortage of innovative ideas pouring out of a very under-funded sector.
Hat’s off to the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation, which has just launched its annual fundraising push with some stunning, and challenging, seminude photographs of three cancer survivors.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen the images everywhere. This is partly because I’m in the demographic it’s targeting.
It’s also because it’s a big campaign; it’s slightly controversial; it’s got some real money behind it, which is manifesting in the shape of television and newspaper advertisements and a social media campaign; and there’s a solid nonpaid public relations push wrapped around it.
It’s the size of a campaign that most charities can only dream of as they struggle for cash to do the basics.
Photographed by Steven Boniface, the campaign recreates three Renaissance masterpieces by Rubens and Rembrandt, in poses similar to the masterpieces that experts now say featured models with signs of breast cancer.
The message: knowledge – personal and scientific – means women today can survive the disease.
A bare boob, it seems, still manages to cause controversy and grab attention, which always guarantees air time and media coverage.
There’s also a risque´ element the charity here and abroad has tapped into. Think strategicallyplaced cherry buns or melons in supermarkets with pink stickers placed like nipples encouraging women to check their melons – a campaign run by the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
As most charities won’t have the resources or manpower to deliver a cut-through campaign like the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation has, I’ve made some decisions in the process of writing this column.
I’m going to follow the advice of Philanthropy NZ and decide what causes I feel strongly about, and do a bit of research to make sure the money is being well spent.
Then I’m going to set up some direct payments to support them.
I’m going to try to have some cash on me to support those good sorts out rattling buckets in a southerly. I’m still going to avoid chuggers, though.
A bare boob, it seems, still manages to cause controversy and grab attention, which always guarantees air time and media coverage.