Case Study: Christian Aid Week

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Building Support among Affinity Groups
Nationally Organised, Locally Focussed Community
Fundraising

• Case Study Christian Aid Week

Daleep Mukarji Director of Christian Aid
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Christian Aid Today (1)

• Started in 1945 as Churches response to refugee
  crisis in Europe Christian Reconstruction for
  Europe.
• 1950 Responding to need, emergencies and
  development in the South Interchurch Aid and
  Refugees Service ? Interchurch Aid
• 1957 First Christian Aid Week event to raise
  money
• 1964 Changed name to Christian Aid
• Basic Principles
• Churches working together at local, regional and
  national level
• Responding to need overseas irrespective of
  faith/ethnicity
• Working overseas with and through partners only
• Still today Christian Aid Week is our main public
  event to involve our churches and supporters
  and to raise our issues, profile and funds for
  our work. lt15m today!

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Christian Aid Today (2)

• Our Purpose
• To expose the scandal of poverty.
• To contribute to the eradication of poverty.
• To challenge and change structures and systems
  that keep people and countries poor, excluded and
  marginalised.
• Our Income

General Donations 30.3m 35
Christian Aid Week 14.6m 17
Emergency Appeals 11.5m 13
Legacies 9.8m 11
Governments 17.6m 21
Other Income 2.7m 3
Total in 2007-08 86.5m (08-09 approx 90m)
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Christian Aid Week Today

• 300,000 people care enough to volunteer for door
  to door collecting in their community. They
  raise over 2/3 of Christian Aid Weeks amazing
  total.
• This makes Christian Aid Week the largest house
  to house collection in the UK and Ireland raising
  the most amount of money this way.
• 22,000 local churches work together to organise
  the collection etc resulting in our 1m people in
  their churches hearing about Christian Aid, its
  work and its achievements every May. Many
  organise special Christian Aid Week services.
• Many churches, local committees and volunteers do
  this every year their commitment to putting
  their faith into action for justice, development
  and poverty eradication.

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Christian Aid Week Today

• Christian Aid has 1.9 million supporters names
  and details on our database people who pray,
  act and give providing a loyal supporter base who
  also give in other ways. Many of them feel this
  is their charity and they love it for what it
  does. Today many of these people, from Christian
  Aid Week, have become regular givers throughout
  the year.
• The fundraising involves other events and actions
  too beyond house to house collections. There
  are sponsored walks, book sales, plant sales,
  concerts, Quizaid events and new and innovative
  methods for collection too.
• Over 10m households (about 41 of the total in
  the UK) receive our well known red envelopes
  bringing the Christian Aid message and need to
  the house. About 1m respond.

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How Christian Aid Week is organised

• Whole week supported by
• Church leaders
• Local Ministers, vicars etc
• Few Celebrities involved
• Christian Aid staff
• Visit of a few overseas Partners
• Sponsored events
• Special Material
• Advertising Press work in all sorts of media
  reach wide audience

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Iconic Envelope
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Christian Aid Challenges

• Christian Aid needed to diversity its income
  sources could not depend only on Christian Aid
  Week. Regular Givers, Legacies, New Markets, New
  media etc.
• Help supporters think of Christian Aid and
  poverty eradication throughout the year not
  just 1 week! Developed Harvest, Lent/Easter and
  Christmas etc. Christmas now second major event.
• Help 1.9m supporters and all our churches to
  consider Christian Aid as their international
  development agency of choice. Any disaster
  Think Christian Aid.
• Difficulties in getting new collectors or
  collecting in difficult areas. Look to new
  audiences and new methods of collecting.
• Control overhead costs less print, more on
  line control advertising etc.
• Regular reviews, focus group meetings
  evaluations. What can we learn for the future?

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Why is Christian Aid Week still important to us?

• Keeps Christian Aid rooted in its supporters
  and its constituency
• Gives legitimacy to speak out and campaign
• Major flagship event beyond fundraising to
  raise our issues, profile, voice and to have
  influence and impact
• Affirms the nature of Christian Aid A Faith
  Based Agency yet run professionally, focused on
  poverty eradication and a major player in the UK
  and internationally. Presents the totality of
  Christian Aid relief, development, advocacy,
  education and campaigning.
• Christian Aid Week helps us affirm the
  supporters, the volunteers, the committees, the
  representatives and the ministers all who make it
  possible.
• Christian Aid is strongest when it is supporter
  based and part of a worldwide global movement for
  social justice and poverty eradication.

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What makes Christian Aid Week work?

• Years of experience and efforts to improve it.
• Loyal and committed community based network.
• Strong and professional central team.
• Support of the churches, leaders, vicars etc.
• A well known brand with a reputation to speak
  out.
• Luck the weather, what else is in the news?
• All this and more!