Are you taking advantage of promotional fundraising?

Charities have been using promotional items to raise awareness and funds for their causes for years.

Take the Royal British Legion, for example. The charity has been selling its iconic red poppies to support the Armed Forces community since 1921. Over the years, its annual Poppy Appeal has grown into a multi-million-pound fundraising operation.

Last year alone, it raised a whopping £124.5 million. That’s quite a return on investment for an item that costs 2.8p to produce.

However, a healthy ROI isn’t the only reason to invest in promotional merchandise. It can supercharge brand awareness.

According to Fit Small Business, ‘people have to be exposed to a brand five to seven times to start recognising it.’ Sure, you can achieve this with glossy print ads or TV commercials, but you’ll blow your budget in the process.

Stamping your logo, slogan, and web address on a practical item like a tote bag or t-shirt is a much simpler and cost-effective way to do it.

Why? Research by FluidBranding found that 87% of people hang onto promotional items for 12 months or more. That’s one year of exposure for your brand.

How charities are winning with promotional fundraising

Those are the benefits. Now let’s look at promotional fundraising in action.

RSPB

Charity badges are among the most popular and effective items of fundraising merchandise, as they’re cheap to produce and are one of the few fundraising wearables that are exempt from VAT.

One charity that’s successfully tapped into the fundraising power of charity badges is The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

The conservation charity launched its first set of four enamelled pin badges - the Bittern, Bullfinch, Puffin, and Red Kite - in 1997 to celebrate securing one million members.

The badges were a hit with supporters and quickly became a collector’s item.

Spotting an opportunity, the charity commissioned four new badges in 1998 and has continued to add to the collection each year since.  

The badges, which feature everything from flora and fauna to birds to fungi, are sold at RSPB nature reserves and in 8,000 independent shops, garden centres, and retail locations across the country.

The long-standing campaign not only raises awareness of the precious species the RSPB works to protect; it raises around £1 million each year to help the charity carry out its conservation work.

Northern Pride

Charity wristbands exploded in popularity following the success of Livestrong’s yellow silicone bands in the early noughties.

Designed by the cancer charity, in collaboration with sportswear brand, Nike, the bands were insanely popular.

87 million were sold between 2004 and 2013. They adorned the wrists of cancer survivors, supporters, and celebrities around the world, uniting people in the fight against the disease, and raising £66m for charity.

Still popular

The allure of wristbands continues. And charities are being increasingly innovative with their campaigns.

Take Northern Pride. The LGBTQ+ charity has teamed up with Eldon Square, one of the North East's leading shopping centres, to entice people to buy UK Pride wristbands.

In return for a £2 donation, the wristbands can be used to unlock discounts at a range of restaurants and stores within the shopping centre, including Bella Italia, Accessorize, Lakeland, Molton Brown, Chiquito, and Frankie and Benny’s.

In an attempt to appeal to socially conscious consumers, the wristbands are made from 100% recycled materials using PET–shredded pellets from plastic bottles which are spun into thread.

War Child

If your aim is to raise awareness and spread a message, you can’t beat a promotional t-shirt. Especially if it’s designed by Vivienne Westwood.

In 2017, War Child, (a specialist charity for children affected by conflict), partnered with the renowned English designer to launch its #StopArmingSaudi campaign. The aim of the campaign was to urge the UK government to suspend arm sales to Saudi Arabia amid the conflict in Yemen.

As a part of the campaign, Vivienne Westwood designed a limited-edition t-shirt which featured influences of her iconic design language and a skull motif, overlaid with phrases highlighting the atrocities of war. 

The t-shirt, which was modelled by a host of celebrity supporters including Simon Pegg, Dara Ó Briain, Melanie C, and Jack Savoretti, raised over £70,000 for War Child whilst opening minds and kick-starting difficult conversations.  

Final Word

These are just a few of the ways charities have tapped into promotional fundraising to raise funds and visibility for their causes.

Low-cost, high-value, practical merchandise can go a long way to maximising your fundraising return on investment while spreading your message far and wide.

On the hunt for a fundraiser? We can help. Give us a call on 020 3750 3111 or email us at info@bamboofundraising.co.uk to get the conversation started.