Transparency has become a buzzword in the non-profit sector, with donors and stakeholders demanding more openness and accountability from organizations. But what does transparency really mean, and how can charities effectively communicate their impact and financials to their supporters?

In this episode of On The Same Landing Page, we speak with Katie Cartwright, the head of regional fundraising at Action For Children about the importance of transparency, storytelling and targeting your audience on the right platforms when it comes to raising funds for charitable causes.

Jason
Hello and welcome to episode 16 of On the same landing page this year to coincide with Google Ads grants that we’re helping charities apply for, we’ve focussed the podcast on issues affecting non-profit organisations across the UK. Now more than ever, it’s becoming increasingly tough to raise funds. Get your message across the 24 hour news cycle and recruit volunteers, staff and donors.

So as always, I’m joined by my co-host, Astra Newton, head of advertising Astra. Can you say hello in a non European language?

Astra
Oh, hello. And well, it’s technically Latin, isn’t it? So it’s all Latin. But just to fullfill the brief Ni hao. Yes, that’s Mandarin.

Jason
Okay, brilliant, I put you on the spot there. And we’re very lucky to be joined by Katie Cartwright, the head of regional fundraising at Action for Children. Before that, Katy has held senior roles at Teenage Cancer Trust, Alzheimer’s Society, Cancer Research and many more. Katy, Hello and thank you for joining us.

Katie
Well, thank you for having me.

Astra
Katie, can you say hello in a non-European language? You knew that was coming

Katie
Well, I want to say sawasdee kha which is Thai and I think it means hello. I remember I learned in Thailand. We’ll go sawasdee kha.

Jason
Love it. Nice one. I can’t believe you both did that. I thought you were going to stumble. And so can we start by, can you talk to me a little bit about the mission of Action For Children? For those who don’t know.

Katie
Yeah, I can. Indeed. So Action For Children exists to ensure that all young people basically have a happy childhood. And we actually have a number of ways that we ensure that we deliver that. So we work closely with children and families and the focus is really on spotting problems early so that we can offer help when and where it’s needed.

So we do this. As I say, in many ways, we have lots of different kind of forms of services that we offer for young people, from childcare to mental health support to parenting. You may have seen the John Lewis advert this Christmas which talked about the support that we offer for care leavers. We also work with families who have disabled children.

We work on services that help families to prevent and reverse child neglect. And we also have services that offer parents themselves support so that we can, as I say, so that we can kind of tackle those problems right from the start. So there’s lots of different forms in which you may see the services, the Action For Children funds, but it is all around supporting children to have the happiest of childhoods.

Jason
Yeah, one of the things I noticed your website is huge, but you’ve managed to like encapsulate how many different things there, so many different services on there. It’s a great website, by the way, as well. Good user journey and everything. And I know that and trying to cover all of those services concisely and in a way that kind of gets across the message must be difficult.

Yeah. How do you find that balance in terms of fundraising between activity that brings in like the most funds versus activities that are rewarding in other ways?

Katie
Yeah, and it is I think it’s probably it is. So as a as a charity, we have specific areas of focus at any one time. And so depending on the campaign or the activity that we will run, it will depend on where we kind of focus on what kind of activity we do within regional fundraising. I think it can depend on the region.

We, in regional fundraising, have a number of different ways that money comes in into our into our pot from working with regional corporates to working with individuals to work with the Methodist Church to working with volunteers. And I think is, I think the real skill for a regional fundraisers is knowing what story to tell to what audience.

And that’s that’s where our regional team have a real skill. They, you know, they know their areas, they know their regions, they know their supporters and they’re expert storytellers. So it is about finding the the link to that person with your charity. And I think that probably forms the basis of all fundraising, whether it be major fundraising, corporate fundraising or regional fundraising.

It’s it’s finding the story that that supporter Empathises with and the stories that that person cares about. So it’s hard to answer that because I don’t think there’s there’s one answer. I think it’s as a fundraiser, the one thing you have to be is adaptable. And that can be you can pre-think that or you can literally have to do it on the spot when you’re talking to perhaps a regional corporate who suddenly tells you that what you thought they wanted was something completely different. So yeah, we’re definitely adaptable creatures.

Astra
In terms of regional fundraising Katie, how does that work structurally and operationally within the charity? Obviously there’s different regions, where they get different funds. Are they then restricted to be spent in those regions or are they unrestricted funds?

Katie
So ideally we will always try and generate unrestricted funds because as a charity, that’s, that’s where we need it. And whether you kind of work in in a local hospice or you work in a national charity, those core unrestricted funds are what really allow you to make the biggest impact because at the end of the day, the service providers in the charity or the the the people that are managing the hospices, they know where the money needs to go.

And it’s not always, for want of a better word, the sexiest place it’s going to go. It’s those core funds. It’s where you need it to meet the fundamental elements of your charity work. So as a team, we always, always try to identify unrestricted opportunities because we know that’s what the charity run the best and that’s where we can make the biggest impact for our beneficiaries.

However, as a regional team that are times that regional supporters, whether they be corporates, whether they be individuals, whether they be groups that where they do want this, want it to stay in their specific region. And I think we’re seeing this more now than ever before, post-pandemic where there’s been this real focus on supporting community and looking after your direct area and your region.

So it’s and it’s really, really is one of the big challenges for regional fundraising, I think, is getting that balance right between really demonstrating the regional impact that we’re making as a national charity, because we are we are services, are local services. What we deliver in Sheffield will be very different to what we deliver in Norwich. And so it’s getting that regional impact across while still, you know, emphasising where the biggest impact can be made.

And that isn’t always by restricting funds. However, sometimes we do, and I imagine every regional team is the same. And as I say, we’ve seen it more so than ever now post-pandemic. When people do want to see the impact of their funds on their doorstep.

Jason
you talked about post-pandemic changes to fundraising. Are there any big, big shifts in the challenge of fundraising since you’ve been doing that? And how is that manifested?

Katie
Yes, I think so. In particular. So as as you mentioned, I’ve actually only been actually the children for about six weeks. I was at Teenage Cancer Trust throughout the pandemic and post-pandemic with a real focus on on the regional corporate work and definitely in regional corporates, I have never in sort of 20 years of work in that area,

I have never known it as challenging as it was post-pandemic. And I think there’s lots of reasons for that. Obviously, the the corporates themselves were coming out of an incredibly challenging time as they were coming back when in a time where their workforce looked different and the way that they were they were operating was very different. They still had people in all corners of the country, in their in their front rooms or their studies.

And so the way in which we fundraise has had to change fundamentally post-pandemic. And that’s the same for communities as well. And I think we’re still we still are. And I don’t think we ever will get back to how it looked pre-pandemic in the sort of the way in which we fundraise has had to change people. People have taken a long time to start going to events again.

People have taken a long time start coming together in the way that they did and in many in many demographics. So we do a lot of work with older supporters. They’re still not back to that complete comfort zone of of going to big places being together with lots of other people. There’s still a lot of hesitancy for a lot of demographics who would support us as a charity.

So I think there’s that real lifestyle shift and I think people seem to have different priorities. Now, obviously, we’re going into the back. You know, we’re in a cost of living crisis now, which is partly as a result of of the kind of costs of the pandemic and lots of other reasons we won’t get too political right now.

And so people’s pull on that income, people don’t have as much money to support. And a lot of the people that potentially supported previously are probably having their own cost of living crisis, as you know, people who were very comfortable. So I think we all are feeling the pinch. We were joking earlier about the fact that I’m freezing.

Because my heatings not on. And I think there’s a lot of people yeah, with a lot of strain. So it’s it is a very, very different world. I think we now find ourselves in as the third sector. And I don’t think you’ll ever go back to the way it was before. And so there’s a real balancing act between finding a new normal, between managing the expectations of trustees and senior leadership who need us to start generating that income again, because most charities saw a real dip in income over the pandemic.

So there’s now that real, real pressure and a need to to start generating that income again. But we’re now trying to generate that income in a world where people have got less money. So it does feel like the odds are against us at the moment, that’s for sure. But ironically, never have our beneficiaries needed it more. So it’s kind of it’s. It’s a bit of a crazy parallel with sitting and yeah, it feels like it should be part in the Marvel Universe perhaps. But yeah, that’s reality.

Jason
I mean, I remember that the online digital digital transformation was like the way we were using an ad agency world about getting people who previously could rely on events into like getting their websites sorted and everything like that. And I’m assuming that that is, that has been a part of what you guys have been doing as well. Has there been any like and not just where you are now, but in previous charities?

Has there been any like really successful campaigns that work really well, that have got digital at the heart of it?

Katie
Yeah, definitely. And I think that was probably the conversation that every charity was having during the pandemic was what? What can we do? You know, how can we maximise the online world. Yeah, what’s working now? And yeah, when I was at Teenage Cancer Trust, we did a push up challenge, a Facebook challenge that was incredibly successful. It created a community of fundraisers and the income that it generated for young people with cancer was phenomenal and way beyond the expectations of what the team had that they thought that that would deliver. And so that was fantastic. But then of course, the conversation turned to, well, how can we replicate it? And I think digital and online is is a is a funny thing. And, you know, it’s a bit like when you you try to capture that viral moment of the ice bucket challenge. Sometimes there’s no rhyme or reason as to why it specifically works.

I think it’s a little bit right place at the right time. I think Teenage Cancer Trust perhaps maximised on the fact that, you know, they are a young charity, the beneficiaries are young, they live their world online, always have done, always will do. But even at Teenage Cancer Trust.

Were unable to capture that success again online after the push-Up Challenge. Action For Children within the regional team, have an amazing product development team that are always looking at ways that we can maximise income. And the big focus last year was online fundraising. You know, how can we how can we generate that online community that will maximise income and who we I mean, we haven’t, we haven’t found that magic bullet.

And I think part of it is fundamentally because at the end of the day, when you look at successful fundraisers, the majority of the time it’s because we’ve developed a community, we’ve developed a relationship, fundraising relationship. So at the end of the day, and as much as we try and as much as we’re doing this in different ways post pandemic online, we have been doing this now obviously online.

I just don’t think you can capture that community online. So it’s it’s a tricky one and I think there will be successful online fundraisers. But I think a lot of it is perhaps a little bit of the right place at the right time moment. So I don’t I don’t I’m sure this digital fundraisers out there that have formulas and can say much better what will work and why it will work.

But I think from our perspective, we do rely on telling stories, developing those relationships, having that empathy with our supporters, where we can really connect with them on a much more less digital face.

Jason
Yeah, it’s definitely like we we noticed as well with a lot of the campaigns we were running, timing is so important. So there was a time where cost per click was low and you could get some really good reach with everyone being locked in the house. And so digital was kind of the only way to go.

And then cost per click, even though everyone’s now able to go out, it hasn’t gone back down again, cost per click, it keeps going up. So it limits the results you get and you can’t just rinse and repeat the same thing. No. Yeah, it’s frustrating because you think you’ve stumbled across a goldmine and then it’s like, Yeah, okay, we have to get we have to keep innovating and keep creating new ways to get this audience for something they haven’t heard.

Katie
Definitely. I think that’s such a good point as well, because in the digital world is that constant expectation of innovation and just because something works for a few months doesn’t mean it always will and it does consistently have to evolve. And that’s incredibly challenging. And it’s and it’s very challenging for the charities, I think, who don’t have that budget to persistently and consistently innovate. So it’s yeah, it’s a really it’s a tricky one. The link isn’t there. Yeah.

Jason
Yeah. You touched upon the cuts live in crisis they’re like during obviously the pressure that that then brings it upon you guys as a charity is huge and you’ve already covered how that affects the charities goals But how does that affect like you and your team and you know, the pressure is so high now and the team that are actually put in those work into those goals. How is it affecting you guys?

Katie
Yeah, I think I think it is hard and I think from a morale perspective in teams across charities, in the sector, you know, it people are finding it really, really hard. And I speak to lots of colleagues in lots of other charities who are really, really feeling the pressure at the moment. I think what’s wonderful is the reason people tend to work in the third sector is because they do want to make a difference.

And so the motivation to do it is still strong. And I know within my team, obviously we see more than maybe some charities the impact of the cost of living crisis and why our fundraising and the work that we do is more important than ever because so many of the families that we support are incredibly impacted by what’s happening at the moment.

So it is hard. But I think at the same time that we’re finding it hard, we’re hearing more and more stories as a charity of why would why it’s needed. So it’s it’s a bit of a catch 22, but in a good way, if that makes sense or in a motivating way, I would say. Because yeah, so I mean, it is hard and I think teams across the country, across different charities, are having lots of conversations about how to to maintain that motivation, how to keep morale high at a time when every team and every fundraising department is finding it more difficult than ever before, not just regional, corporate, major donors, individual.

Everyone’s got huge, huge challenges and I think a lots of charities are having a real focus on wellbeing of their employees and ensuring that everyone’s okay and really working on that. So that’s brilliant. And I would say from a cultural perspective, Action For Children and Teenage Cancer Trust, it’s been incredible and they’ve really they are really tapped into how to make sure that people are okay because burnout is high.

And I think it’s high in the third sector because you kind of you have like a lot of my team members do what they do because they’re incredibly passionate about our cause. And that makes it really hard to shut your laptop at the end of the day. Well, I’m not going to worry anymore. Or when you potentially don’t hit a target at the end of the month, it’s very difficult to just sit there and say, well, you know, we didn’t hit Target, but we tried next month because fundamentally that means that we can’t fund the service or we can’t support that family or and that’s what’s at the back of the minds, I think, a lot of the time. So burnout is high in the charity sector because I think the.

The need to do what we need to do comes from a different place. But it’s as hard as it is in any other sector, if not harder, because we don’t have a product to sell. We’re selling impact and stories and needs as opposed to a shiny new iPhone or a fantastic wrinkle cream or something like that. So yeah, it’s tricky.

It is tricky. And I’ve spoken to lots of friends recently in the sector who are finding it really, really tough, really tough at the moment. But yeah, we, we fortunately we most of us made a pretty good, pretty strong stuff.

Astra
But you said it does disproportionately, especially out of the frying pan into the fire after the pandemic. And now into a cost of living crisis and it does disproportionately affect young people. So the work that you get is so important, but in a way, it’s like kind of better now. I don’t know, I might be generalising, but obviously lots of people are using the cost of living in crisis, like in their own advertising, as you guys are as well to say, Look, we need this money more than ever.

Now, do you see a like a spike in obviously some people still wealthy enough to give them after things like this, like the cost of living? Does it actually increase fundraising for a little bit until it sort of slips down again? I imagine?

Katie
I think it can I think it can shine a light on the need for something. I mean, we have an incredibly saturated charity sector in the UK. And again, without sounding crass, I do think causes come in and out of fashion, depending on what the media are talking about at the time or depending on what celebrities are supporting, what charity at the time.

And so you do have your moments in the spotlight as a charity. And I think as a charity, what we need to do is, is maximise those moments without being without being crude and without taking advantage of the beneficiaries. Because at the end of the day, as a charity, yes, we here to fundraise, but what we’re actually here to deliver is, is is our is our case for support, and that’s ensuring that young people have a happy childhood.

So there is that fine line between, yeah, sort of taking a story that’s in the media and running with it and really kind of and I think it’s what, you know, as charities is what we used to do in, in the olden days. You know, you did see a lot of sob stories. I remember some of, you know, some charities with the TV appeals where they you know, they were hard to watch.

And I think it’s finding that balance. And and it is a huge challenge in fundraising because sometimes what you want, say, is a fundraiser because, you know, it will really strike someone hard and perhaps get them to put their hand in their pocket, actually flies in the face of what you’re trying to deliver for your beneficiaries. So it is a challenge.

But yeah, you are right. You are absolutely right. I think depending on what’s happening in the media or in society in general, it does give you the opportunity to to get people to empathise with your cause because they’re hearing about it more, because they’re more aware of it. It’s very easy to it’s very easy to turn a blind eye to something that doesn’t affect you, you know, and I’ve done many, many pitches in my time in charities.

The key to winning the pitch is to get the people that are sat round the table to empathise with your cause. So if it’s in the news, people are empathising with your cause because they are imagining themselves in that situation. So yeah, it’s it’s a balancing act, but definitely we, you know, we do see like for example, the impact that the John Lewis advert had for Action for Children was huge.

We definitely saw an uplift in support and interest in the charity, as you know, as a result of the amazing partnership that the corporate team won with John Lewis. So yeah, it definitely has a knock on effect and I think because as fundraisers it’s about maximising that opportunity but then ensuring that you have longevity of it as well.

So it’s not just a little rise because from a more practical budgeting perspective, how do you replace the impact of a John Lewis advert when you don’t have a John Lewis advert anymore?

It becomes really difficult. So it’s about maximising those opportunities but ensuring that yeah, they, they have that lasting impact and that legacy.

Jason
Because that’s a question about transparency and this from the outside, it looks like it’s something that you probably have to do more and more and more just because I know just from my conversations into pub you know, that where’s it going? Is it going to this place, this place? And you mentioned earlier why there’s places where people want to see that power.

Yeah, like an organisation is made up of boring bits. Yeah, it doesn’t work if every single pound just goes to whatever they want to. Well they perceive it as being value. So how has that evolved like in this across all of the roles you’ve had, Like has it changed a lot? Does that affect how you report on things?

Katie
Yeah, I think as I challenge someone to find any industry where you have to be as transparent as the charity sector and that’s right. Sure, that’s right. You absolutely have to show that the as a charity, the money you are raising goes where you are telling your supporters is go in. And I would actually argue that the majority of the charities on the UK in the UK are doing exactly that.

But what the media loves to do is find the odd bad apple or or paint the one sided picture of the fact that, you know, that perhaps that the CEO of a charity is perhaps getting paid more than society thinks they should be getting paid more because it’s a charity and it’s actually a real bugbear of mine. And if ever I did a TED talk, I think this is what I’d do it on and find it bizarre that, you know, sure, we shouldn’t have to have charities.

We shouldn’t have to charitably fund Cancer Research UK to find a cure for the many different types of cancers that there are. We shouldn’t have to be expecting a charity to do that. But hey, that’s the world that we live in. Until there is a way out of that, that’s the way it’s always going to be. And so I find it really bizarre that society finds it appalling that a charity CRUK will go out and hire a CEO who is incredibly qualified, like beyond anything that CEO of perhaps a commercial company is qualified for in medicine, in in fundraising and or economics in all types of different areas.

He’s coming out busier because he is leading an organisation that is trying to solve one of the biggest challenges that we, we face as a society. And yet people are appalled at the fact that he gets a salary that isn’t anywhere near what the CEO of a Games company who’s creating Call Of Duty or.

Fortnite and is making incredible amounts of income and feed in the pockets of fat cats. And you know, you could go down the moral reasons that you know that industry is great, actually I love gaming I don’t think it’s that that’s that explains the bad picture. So anyway you see the point I’m trying to make? Yes.

We as a society, as a society, we’re happy with them getting paid shed loads of money. But the guy that’s trying to solve that find a cure for cancer. Absolutely not. We should not absolutely be spending money. And like I challenge anyone with that opinion to walk in the in the footsteps of a fundraiser of a regional fundraiser and see how incredibly hard it is to generate income for any charity, no matter how great or how empathetic your cause is.

Because it is one of the most competitive industries in the world. And so, you know, if you want to raise income for a charity, you need to put the right people in there. And so the idea that, you know, we have to be so transparent and the minute anyone I’ve had so many conversations with good friends who’ve said what you get paid to, to raise income for a charity, isn’t that wrong?

And shouldn’t the money be going towards the cause? And most charities, you know, try to work towards that sort of for every you know, for every pound raised that they’re trying to work in that 20-25p spend. And that’s incredible. I mean, how many businesses out there can say that? That’s the kind of ROI that they’re working on.

And not only that, but with minimal budget as well. I mean, the budget that fundraising teams have to generate, the income that they do is is tiny. You’re expected to create something from nothing. And so, yeah, sorry, I’ve gone off on a bit of a tangent and Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely right. Like, of course we have to be transparent.

Of course we need to deliver the narrative and the reports that prove that the money that we are raising is going where it needs to be. But there is a cost for that. And I think the media are very keen to point out the fact that charities spend a little bit of money to generate a whole lot of good.

And it’s just a really odd narrative for me that we don’t have that same appearance. The companies that are creating really commercial non needed things in our life.

Astra
And I mean the very the very press printing it, right?

Katie
Yeah, exactly. The people who are.

Astra
Funding things they shouldn’t be.

Katie
Exactly.

Astra
Yeah. Very, very morally bizarre.

Katie
But yeah I agree with you. Yeah. Sorry I totally went off on one then.

Astra
No. All good. Please.

Jason
The bar is so low for politicians, but so high for CEO’s of any charity, and it’s crazy. Yeah. You. You were Action For Children do some really, really great research. We will come on to it for section two go report we’re going to we’re going to take take some bits from how do you kind of use research reports how useful is that in the work that you do in terms of telling stories?

Katie
Yeah, I mean, it’s incredibly important. And I think, you know, we as fundraisers, we go out, we tell the story of of what we do. But the most important thing about the stories that we tell is why we do it. And will quite often, like I often talk to my team about sliding doors moments and like in order to paint that story, like what are the two options?

You know, this is life. So we used to do it alot at Teenage Cancer Trust. You know, if a young person is diagnosed with cancer as a teenager, of course, if Teenage Cancer Trust didn’t exist, they would still receive that treatment on the NHS. They would still probably see received similar success rates for that treatment. But what elements wouldn’t they receive?

And you know, you have a young person going through cancer treatment, that teenage cancer trust, and then you have the person, the young person going through it with teenage cancer trust who’s getting the mental mental health support, who’s getting the specialist cancer nurse who can deliver that information and that journey in a way that young person needs it, in a way that the NHS simply can’t do because of time constraints and budget constraints.

And I think so there’s that research and that impact of both. Why what we do is needed. So for example, that Teenage Cancer Trust, you know, what is the impact of mental health? What is the impact of chemotherapy on a young person’s mental health? It’s insane. It’s, you know, the impact is huge. It’s lifelong. It stays with them forever.

And so and it’s the same Action For Children. You know, what is what is the impact of of that young person, you know, that young person who’s live in care at that age, if they didn’t have those services and that support, that Action For Children have, how would that life look compared to how it would with that support and that those impact, that research is what really feeds that narrative and it gives us the ability and, you know, the expertise to be able to talk about that impact in the way that we do.

And that’s that’s what generates our support because we know we make a huge difference. We know without us, those young people would be living a very different life. And we know that they wouldn’t be getting the support that they have. So, yes, so important. I mean, it’s very easy to to paint a picture, but supporters, partners are you know, they’re much more sophisticated.

People have a much better grasp. You know, going back to what we were talking about before, you know, the work of the third sector is in the media constantly that impact. So they ask those questions. They want to know where their money is going. They want to know about the difference it makes. So we need that research and that impact and that evidence, because otherwise all we’re doing is painting a fluffy story and the impact of of of that pound that that person donates is huge.

And that’s so, yeah, it’s massive. And we worked really, really closely with our impact teams, with our policy teams, with our campaigning teams where you know, from where that research comes and that really drives that core fundamental change that we’re trying to do as a charity. So, yeah, really important, wasn’t it?

Astra
Well, Jason kind of mentioned before we, um, we have a package that we started running for charities and we kind of broke down the three pillars of things. The charities took a lot of the time online, their fundraising, their awareness and recruitment, and we’ve touched on them all. But you just touched on a little bit there about the impacts that you guys have, but how do you amplify the stories of the work that you do and get engagement from it? How is Action For Children achieving that? I mean, I can see that you guys do use ads as well. So part B to that question is how important are they in that?

Katie
Yeah, Yeah, very much so. And I think probably a really good example is the Secret Santa campaign that we’ve obviously just just run over Christmas where by bringing that impact to life through a story, I mean we use TV adverts. We also did a lot on social and online. They are that that’s where people are exposed to our work the majority of the time.

So, you know, the majority of people that walk down the street, well, not the majority, but a lot of the people that walk down the street won’t have had direct impact with our services, so they won’t understand the difference it makes. And and they fortunately won’t be in a world where they potentially need those services. So bringing those stories to life is what really gets people empathising with our cause.

And I think like with the Secret Santa campaign, for example, the thing that that really struck me was the story. So the story that we went out on TV with of the little boy whose grandma was looking after him and she simply didn’t she was worried that she simply didn’t have money to be able to put presents under the Christmas tree.

And I think instantly having that real life story, you know, I’m fortunate. I’ve got two children. I’m fortunate enough I’ve never had to use a service for Action For Children. But instantly that brought to life me What would it be like for my two kids if on Christmas morning they woke up and they, you know, and so it’s that ability to put someone in, instantly put in the shoes of the beneficiaries of our cause.

And I think and as that empathy and that that understanding of why that support is needed can only be demonstrated through stories I think So online, you know, that’s where the majority of people live their lives. Now, My my son, he’s 14. He’s obviously next generation of of a charity supporter. Oh, my God. Spends his entire life online.

He’s on TikTok, he’s on Insta, he’s on BeReal. I’m trying not to show my age now by not saying Facebook, but, you know, they live their whole life online. But they’re my generation, you know, of 40 ish. You know, I I’m still on Facebook. That’s still where I so yeah, I think that online presence is really, really important and it’s how you can it is how you can communicate with your supporters.

That’s where they live in their lives. So it is really important as a charity, we create assets and tools that talk through those, through those through those methods. So for example, teenage cancer trust, we did a big campaign which was, you know, it’s about best check for young people checking for signs of cancer early. And we delivered all of that through tick tock, through tick tock influencers.

So we created ads. We create support information for that online and and that’s how that campaign was delivered, because that’s where young people live at the moment and that’s everyone trying to reach. So, yeah, it’s really important. I think it’s easy to yeah, it’s easy to try to. Yeah, it’s about being targeted, I think being really targeted online.

Yeah. Yeah.

Astra
You just kind of touched on it in a way. This is just my last question and then we’ll move on to segment two. But how do you drive people to find you online as well? How do people come across to you? Because you’re in a lucky position where you’re a national charity. Lots of people already know who you are.

So how do you tap into those new demographics and like your son and stuff as well? Obviously, the Internet is really important to that. But what about I don’t know, maybe the older generations of people who don’t really use the computers and stuff. How do you do that then?

Katie
Yeah, So it’s interesting one, and I don’t know if I specifically have the answer, but it’s it’s a conversation that we constantly have around the table. So, you know, looking at our Secret Santa campaign 2023, we’re looking at ways that we can, you know, how can we drive people to our website to be able to to engage with our work and see what we do Because as Jason already said, like it’s a brilliant website with a whole load of information there, but potentially you could say that unless you’re going to look for that information, you’re not going to necessarily go and visit.

So we use lots, you know, a lot of our engagement points are done through the website. So if somebody, for example, wants to sign up, so we will send information out to our regional supporters about action squads, for example, which is a way in which you can support action for children. You can pull together a fundraising group in whatever form it might be.

You might be a bunch of mums that want to do a quick fundraiser. You might be a corporate, you might be a church group, whatever form. If you want to do a fundraiser for us and to drive people to the website, The recruitment for that and the sign up for that is all done through our website. So there is definite with every campaign that is a definite conversation that we have is kind of how, how can we utilise the website to get people to do that?

And then obviously it’s all monitored to see whether people are using it in that way. But yeah, the action squads is probably a good example in that to do that, to sign up for that, you need to visit a page that exists in action, the website to do that. And then from that you go on your support journey as an action squad.

Jason
And I think you guys have a really good example of digital done well. I’ve been the landing page as well from one of the adverts that you have on Google and it’s very clear call to action straightaway. There’s not loads of different options for things to do. It’s very clear what you are asking for there and it gives you an amount options to do that.

Different ways to do that, then a bit more information is there? Not really quite bought in yet. It’s text. So if anyone’s listening and wants an example of how to do it, we have a good landing page Action For Children’s the ones to do it, although that will put your cost per click up because people will be all right.

Katie
I’m going to say.

Jason
Let’s go, let’s move on to segment two, While I’m getting it ready with the phrase I always get asked as a marketer is can you get us to go viral? And it’s like it’s the one that kind of gets our back up from this. So so I get to go viral and I don’t know. I can’t Yeah, right.

Go viral. Otherwise I’d be viral We would be viral maybe we will. What’s the phrase you get asked that kind of makes you go and then you get asked a lot.

Katie
Oh gosh that’s a good question. Does it have to be it. Yeah. Just in general?

Jason
Yeah.

Katie
I think the one I don’t know if it’s so much a question, but the phrase that I hear a lot within regional as a regional fundraiser is we often get asked, Are you so you go out and do the collecting tins. Yeah, Yeah. And I think. It’s real.

And it’s, it’s you know what, It’s not just external, it’s internal as well. Within the third sector, there’s this real kind of culture that people believe that, you know, the regional corporates with a warm, fluffy hug at regional corp sorry the regional teams with warm, fluffy hugs that we go out and we see Doris who’s done a coffee morning for us.

And sure, that is an element of what we do in regional fundraising and that’s one of the reasons why the regional fundraisers are so awesome, because they do have that ability to build relationships with whoever. But I always say to the team, like, we are this, you know, we are the sum of our parts. Like if you often look at the income within a charity, one of the biggest benefactors of that income line for the entire charity will be regional and the majority of that is from those little small incomes that you go out and get.

And, you know, if you look at if you break down the figures of of a huge charity CRUK, for example, if you look at the majority of that overall income that comes from donations of £20 or less, it’s huge. It’s ginormous. And not only that, but we don’t just collect little donations. You know, we’re dealing with partnerships that are worth up to £100,000 a year, which is huge, just from one one group for one supporter. But also we’re dealing with numerous supporters. So it’s huge. So this kind of idea that the regional team are the little cute sister who goes down, we do a little. We do a coffee morning with Doris and we go collect a cheque for £80. It’s so, so wrong. And I think it really does a disservice to regional teams across the country because yes, that is an element of what we do.

And yes, I’m pretty sure that my father in law thinks that what I do for a living is go and pack bags at Tesco where the donation.

Couldn’t be, it couldn’t be further.

From the truth. So yeah, that’s probably that’s probably the think the phrase that grinds the most.

Jason
Yeah. My favourite thing to do is to ask my nan what I do as a job. She gives it a good go. It’s something to do with computers, you do something with computers. It’s true, I spend a lot of time on them.

Katie
Literally having lunch today. I went downstairs and my husband said to me. So what is it that you do exactly do? Yeah, So yeah.

So it’s not just, you know, it’s not just them.

Jason
So, segment 2 called Fake Facts before what We do and a basically we get three statements and one of them is an untruth that we might be exaggerate in some way. This time we thought we take them from your reports, one of you a few of your reports, at Action For Children. So I’m aware of the political issue of calling it fake facts when it’s your information.

So we named it for this round and it’s now called Identify the Wrong statement that we would change slightly from a true statement for a balanced, educational and entertaining podcast segment.

Katie
Okay. Like it rolls off the tongue.

Jason
I’m in marketing, as you can tell clearly. And this is let’s go to the round for me share. I’m possibly giving you the answers at the moment.

Katie
Good, because I haven’t read our annual statement.

Jason
I’m very aware that we are putting Yeah. Putting this in front of you after only six weeks or so at the business expert needs to be any better. That’s he’s even saying.

Good, right? So is the first. I can’t leave my the same things anyway so I’ve got like a word I can’t see I’m going to guess in this and because there’s something on my screen, it’s in the way that you can. So for the, for the listeners and it’s going to be our three statements and Katie and Astra need to tell us which one is incorrect.

So the most common barrier to access mental, as I say, support her and use that was not available.

Oh is it parental.

Katie
Parental.

Jason
Vox in that space 42% Percent of parents have struggled to access at least one parenting support service in the last five years? Or is the fake fact that of over 70% of parents are too anxious to ask for parental support?

Katie
Oh. Oh.

Astra
I think it might be 42% just because of all of the cuts from government over the last five years. I think it might. I think.

Katie
I’m I think I’m going to go with the third one I think.

Jason
Jason is having a mare, I was trying to remove the box and it clicked next.

Katie
Yeah. Number three, we’re going to be that easy.

Jason
Over 70% of parents are too anxious. That’s the fact that they haven’t seen that we have to educate our.

Astra
Okay. Oh, yeah. We were identifying the true ones that we’ve got. We’re not, but none of us are very good at the segment so far.

Jason
So on this one, can you, can you read Astra? Because I cant see

Astra
Yes, I will read that. And so families on Universal Credit are more likely to face food insecurity. 10% of children ages 10 to 18 are worried about their mental health and 49% of families who need financial support, experienced adult or child mental health concern alone.

Katie
It’s the third one because I think the second one is much higher than that percentage wise. So I’m going to go.

Astra
Children ages 10 to 18 are worried. Yes, this fake more than 10% of children think.

Katie
I should fake one. Yeah, I think I think it’s yeah, 10% is higher than. Sorry, I’m with you now. Yeah. I think 10% of children ages 10 to 18 because I think it’s higher.

Astra
Yeah, I agree with that. I’m going to vote the same.

Jason
Well.

Katie
Yeah.

Jason
That’s actually 42%.

Katie
Yeah, it’s incredible. Wow.

Jason
Yeah. I mean is there’s a lot more awareness but a lot more damage being done by all of the digital devices and networks.

Katie
Yeah.

Jason
And I think I believe it.

Katie
You know, and I think it’s gone up massively post pandemic and cost of living crisis like we’ve we’ve released you know, going back to the research and the statistics recently about how many children are aware of the pressures on the impact on their parents. And so that’s then obviously having a knock on effect. And yeah, it’s yeah, it’s really worrying.

Jason
Okay.

Astra
So children’s main worries are from school and mental health. One in three children think that childhoods today are better than they were for their parents generation. Child poverty is rising everywhere except Wales.

Katie
Now that’s a tricky one because child poverty is rising everywhere. But I don’t know if Wales is the exception.

Astra
Yeah, one in three children think their childhoods today are better. I’m tempted to say that’s the fake one and.

Katie
I think that’s.

Astra
The fair enough. And they’re all good. They’ve got it.

Katie
Exactly. I was going to say my kids definitely wouldn’t agree with that. Yeah, they think they have it all.
I go, Yeah, I think I’m with you. I think the second one.

Astra
Yeah I think the second one Jason.

Katie
And oh.

Katie
It’s Northern Ireland. Yeah I.

Astra
Really it’s because they’re still in the EU but anywhere else they do most.

Katie
Yeah.

Astra
Now know this.

Katie
Is the time that’s the future podcast. Yeah. Yeah.

Jason
So when I started this, this testing for you guys with the research and I only got one wrong so I didn’t give you a thank you because I gave you the.

Katie
The.

Jason
Okay, next one.

Astra
Parental mental health service is the most in-demand parental support service. 67% of parents are unable to access an essential early service, the highest proportion of parents using early services is in London.

Katie
And I’m sorry, this is a total guess.

Astra
Yeah, this is a tough one.

Katie
I think I’m going to go with a third one.

Astra
Parental mental health service is the most in-demand. Yeah, I think the third one also on it.

Katie
I didn’t read my annual report and I.

Astra
Actually education and development is the most in demand service. Fair enough. There we go.

Jason
It’s the.

Katie
And then well.

Katie
I did terribly I need to do my research on my annual report.

Astra
We did some good speculating there.

Katie
So we did I think we saw it when we were speculating.

Jason
The final segment then take it away Astra

Astra
Okay. So segment three is strategy analogy. So we’ll pull up a random word generator and don’t sound too excited!

Katie
Gosh, I know, I though this sounds hard
I’ll talk about doing strategies at the moment.

Astra
It’s well, you don’t actually have to do a strategy. It’s more of an analogy. So I’ll put up a word and then just an analogy to do with the things we’ve been talking about today around the word. They’ll do nouns to make it a little bit easier. Okay, the random word is cooperation. There’s an analogy surrounding cooperation.

Katie
So do you want a true life story or just like a things that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So cooperation. So I think so we’re working hard on this at the moment, at Action For Children within the regional team. And I think a lot of charities are starting to talk about, you know, and in the cheesiest way they, I think they call it like one team, one dream. There’s a lot of that going on.

But actually it’s something that I feel really strongly about. And I think that collaboration and that joint approach is what’s really going to unlock the potential for charity support, particularly post-pandemic. So we did a lot of work at Teenage Cancer Trust and I’m try and replicate in the work Action For Children in that as opposed to, I think historically within regional teams, the kind of so the corporate income line for example, that sits with regional is the regional corpora.

And then you’ve got the national corporate somewhere over here and never the twain will meet. But actually I think what we’re seeing now is some really collaborative examples of where actually by working much closer together on the national and the regional income for corporate cooperate, you can really unlock some huge successes and I think examples of that. So for example, with Action For Children with the John Lewis partnership, obviously that was a partnership that was won and achieved through the national corporate team and they worked incredibly hard to secure that.

However, key to the success of that was the support from the regional team who were able to go out and about and go into those branches, talk to those employees on the ground as well as really deliver at the regional impact that that partnership was going to have across those stores and across that national chain. So, yeah, I think cooperating more as cross teams across charities, what will really unlock that potential income for charities across the sector, particularly post pandemic?

Astra
Yeah, my analogy is going to be similar and that I think for charities to thrive, you have to have the cooperation of fundraising team, the CEO, the recruitment team, your donors everything all just rely on it. So sure, it does need you and balance it. And yeah, I think across that knowledge from sector. Yeah, I can only definitely strengthen the call And then on the more negative side of that, if there’s a bit more cooperation in the government with various sectors within, perhaps we wouldn’t need as many charities.

Katie
I watched Question Time last night and that definitely shone through.

Right? Uh huh, yeah. Yeah.

Astra
What about you. Jason. Anything to add a listening.

Jason
So I’ve been thinking about my and yes, I honestly think it’s I was going to say something about cooperation when it comes to that. There was a lot of different types of funding you guys get. I thought that was interesting because I didn’t realise there were quite so many different types from corporates. The company pays £2 a month, you know, there’s a range of people and that surprised me as to how different you obviously than the speaks those people.

Yeah, that must be a whole task in itself who do you how do you know how to do that. Like that comes with experience, I’m assuming. And you hire people on that basis.

Katie
Yeah, definitely. Yeah. And I think within our team. So for example, just in the regional team, I have a team of amazing senior managers who are all, who all have real target specialisms. And so yeah, they, and we work really hard on things like supporter journeys and how we segment and, and who are supporters are and how they like to be spoken to and yeah, it’s really, yeah, it’s really kind of quite cut down because you know, at the end of the day we need to make their supporters feel valued.

We need to surprise and delight them. Is is a term that we use a lot in the, in the sector at the moment and we need to make sure we’re talking to them in the way that they want to be spoken to. So, yeah, quite a lot of analysis goes on.

Jason
Awesome, that that kind of concludes the episodes. We obviously always give our guests a chance to kind of beat the drum for anything that they are really passionate about at the moment or talk about anything that might want to bring some awareness to. So here’s here’s your chance to do that.

Katie
Wow.
On the spot. Yeah. I think well, the one thing that we’re working really hard on at the moment, I think at Action For Children is and I cannot believe I’m going to say this at this point of the year, what are we in March? Is our Secret Santa campaign. So I would urge anybody that’s listening to to check it out, to give it a share, to have a think how they can how they can support and spread that message, because it really is an incredible campaign.
We’re really, really proud of it. We want it to be one of the best in the sector. So if anybody has has any way they can support us with that, please do get in touch.

Astra
And we’ll link to it. We’ll link to that in our thank you notes as well for anyone who wants to check it out.

Katie
Fabulous.

Jason
Brilliant. Any any final thoughts from you Astra?

Astra
No, nothing for me. Just thank you very much. Katie, it’s really good to have you on.

Jason
Maybe we could try and goodbye in a non-European language.

Astra
Oh, no. I only know how to open conversations. Not close them.

Katie
Me too, right? Because I never stop talking.

Astra
I’ve still got conversations going on in China from ten years ago.

Jason
Okay. Thank you so much for coming.

Katie
A pleasure. Thank you.

Jason
Thank you. Bye.

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