No small change here
Many times we've been asked ‘How do I find the very best of SOFII’s exhibits?’. So look no further, the best of the best are right here. Click on any link below. Or, if you want to see all 21 best of the best in sequence, click on the best of the best logo, on each page.
Clicking on the little blue and white rectangles will wake up the next world-changer. Then, when you’ve studied them all, you can return here to see if you agree with why we think these really are the best of the best.
SOFII’s top 22, in no particular order
This section honours fundraisers who have really made a difference by creating campaigns that have changed the way we do what we do.
DMI 73 Greenpeace’s optimistic tick box
An extraordinarily cheeky ask that raised a lot of money. But also a testbook example of building donors’ trust and respect by being honest.
FP212 THE PLAN: how child sponsorship came to the aid of children at risk in Spain’s civil war.
This is the remarkable, moving story of how the best fundraising proposition in the world was launched, more than 70 years ago.
FF171 Greenpeace – the reinvention of face-to-face fundraising
This is history, the full story of how Greenpeace broke the mould to transform its fundraising fortunes and present the world with a new way of recruiting monthly electronic donors in huge numbers.
C126 UNICEF’s first ever Christmas card, 1946
This is the product that launched fundraising in UNICEF more than six decades ago. Times have changed and international fundraising organisations such as UNICEF have learned much as they've grown and developed and have raised $millions to help people in need. Most fundraisers sell cards of one kind or another. UNICEF was one of the first to do it on a global scale.
PP65 Feed the Children’s baby box for Bosnia
Even in the midst of a tragic civil war it is possible to find the right circumstances to develop an imaginative and involving monthly giving product. Many organisations have copied this or been inspired by it to try monthly giving.
IB58 The ActionAid insert with built-in reply envelope and coupon
This truly is a ground-breaking innovation, and not just because it was SOFII’s first video exhibit. Before this promotion appeared in the early 1980s, loose inserts were the poor relation of the fundraiser’s repertoire. The arrival of new technology led to a new format that not only gave donors much more information than most press ads, it also carried a ready-made reply envelope. So a new fundraising format was born.
PO120 Help the Aged’s ‘make a blind man see’ press advertisement
Is this the best fundraising proposition of all time? The simple but classic HTA press ad looks deceptively ‘professionally amateur’ but is in reality the work of one of the true ‘greats’ of direct response fundraising. Has your cause got such a clear and compelling proposition? If not, why not?
TW64 Station WDCN, Nashville – a sparkling thank you to a donor
This is a fundraiser really listening to her donor, thinking on her feet and responding in an entirely appropriate and personal manner with a communication that any donor would be delighted to receive. An inspirational example of ‘putting on ‘the donor’s shoes’ and finding them quite comfortable.
LM87 WWF integrated legacy marketing campaign
WWF has potential legators asking ‘Are more men guilty of intestacy than adultery?’ The question may be light-hearted, but it showed that the subject of will-making can be raised and that the language used can be simple and everyday. WWF then responded with a detailed, clearly-explained free guide, to help potential donors to navigate the process.
PO32 The Amnesty International press ads, 1980s
This series of seven whole page press advertisements changed the political landscape of Britain. Find out how, now. And while doing that, perhaps ask yourself how the urgency and rightness of your cause could stir the conscience of a nation.
FA16 Dr Barnardo’s four historic exhibits from the
1880s and 1930s
Pre- Second World War segment testing plus data collection, member-get member initiatives and brilliant direct mail from when Jack the Ripper was around. Sadly few modern direct mail appeals are this personal or anywhere near so passionate and sincere. Enthusiasts for good fundraising are advised to study some of these early fundraising initiatives, for they show how you might improve your own.
LM6 RNLI legacy letter
When trouble looms, where do you turn but to your supporters? When Britain’s third-largest charity did this a few years back, the results were surprising... Many charities have since done similar things, in many different ways.
LM71 Greenpeace legacy beer mat
Smile at the audacity behind this amusing approach but then ask yourself, did it work? Would we not all be a bit more successful at raising money via legacies if we took a leaf or two out of Greenpeace’s book? This exhibit has encouraged dozens of organisations to believe that they can find an appropriate way to talk to their supporters about the difficult subject of legacies, or bequests.
BC169 Multiple Sclerosis Society, Holland
This powerful and moving 30-second television commercial is guaranteed to bring a lump to your throat. We hope it will also send you scurrying off to copy it at the first opportunity. Would-be users of direct response television do well to study this commercial. No words are spoken, yet it never fails to move its viewers.
RB118 Botton Village giving donors choices
This simple experiment, which became progressively more sophisticated, is one of the most important initiatives in donor relationship development in all of the history of fundraising.
DMI121 Help The Aged ‘you have this gift’ mailing
Another cracker from Help the Aged. This one is included in our ‘Best of the best’ listing because it’s the involvement device that almost every other good UK mailing with an effective involvement device is based upon. It was also, for many years, one of the best of all control packs.
PP19 Dog’s Trust sponsor a dog scheme
It’s not hard to see the appeal of this great fundraising
proposition. Show these ads, mail packs and TV spots to, even, a roomful of fundraisers and invariably it'll be greeted by cries of ‘Awwww!’ – sure sign of a winner. Itself a copy from the child sponsorship agencies, this campaign shows that if you have the right proposition it can be presented as an irresistable monthy giving campaign.
BD162 RSPB ‘brand stretch’ project
A series of brilliant images designed to inspire and introduce new audiences to the work of one of Britain’s premier conservation organisations. This campaign may not yet have had enough impact to influence fundraisers the world over, but it surely will because it is innovative, engaging and it feels so, so good.
CR128 UNICEF’s Change for Good campaign
See how UNICEF raises $millions each year from a simple idea, with many of the world's leading airlines as its partners. Copied the world over, most international airlines now have a similar scheme.
DMI 17 Ryton
Gardens recyclable mailing
This pack raised more than 10 times its target but more importantly, people loved it, wrote in to praise it and even reused it in their own gardens. The recyclable mailing had become a reality.
DMI24 CPAR 'Plant a tree in Ethiopia' mailing
Ethiopia has to be one of the most difficult fundraising markets in the world. Yet this pack produced results that most more sophisticated fundraisers can only dream of. If CPAR can do it, anyone can.
DMI62 Amnesty International’s pen pack
This is the mailing that launched more than 1,000 copycat packs. But it's worth studying for other reasons too. Without doubt, this pack embodies the standard all direct mail copywriters should aspire to.
But of course, this list is far from finished...
Do you agree with SOFII's selection? What would you take out, and what would you add? Email carolina@sofii.org with your top 20 ‘best of the best’ selection. Or even your top ten. We know, the list is too dominated by exhibits from the UK. There's not enough from some important areas of fundraising, such as electronic, or the education sector. You can help us to change this, by submitting your examples of great fundraising to SOFII.
SOFII’s ‘Best of the Best’
