Communication Saves Lives

In the late 2010s, the UK charity sector was going through some tumultuous times. Many unscrupulous charities were cold-calling people in particularly predatory ways. Carpet bombing people with appeal after appeal – with no regard for privacy or permission to do so. The tragic story of Olive Cooke brought it all to the attention of the public.

RNLI decided to take the high ground and turn the industry around. They would lead by example by contacting every single one of their supporters on their database expressly asking them if they would like to continue being a supporter. And if within 12 months  RNLI didn’t expressly hear back from a supporter, that supporter would be removed from the database.

It was an unprecedented and incredibly brave move – especially given that their database had taken years to build and was a vital source of funding that literally kept the charity afloat. They really were putting their money where their mouth is. But it was the right thing to do.

Mercifully, The campaign worked beyond expectations. And they now have a supporter base of engaged and committed donors for the future. Gratifyingly, it won a swag of awards too.

Hard to imagine many other brands doing this proactively – though, of course, every brand in the UK would have to for GDPR.