Festival of Kindness, Social Bite
A pioneering integrated appeal to help Social Bite transform income and grow its movement to end homelessness.
The challenge
Social Bite is a Scottish-based charity taking a pioneering approach to ending homelessness. By providing jobs, food, support and homes they empower people to transform their lives. When Social Bite started working with Catalyst, we quickly realised this exciting charity shakes things up with radical ideas. This creative mindset has led to some astonishing results in ending homelessness, so we wanted to build on this ambition.
The work
Before 2020, their fundraising focused on infrequent celebrity-studded events, which raised millions, but didn’t translate into year-round giving. So, we introduced a direct marketing strategy to raise awareness, boost income and recruit long-term supporters. For Christmas, we developed gorgeous creative with a strong, highly tangible ask. Critically, we showed how a donation could help someone leave homelessness behind for good, thanks to year-round support. By combining data-driven targeting, integrated media and compelling storytelling, we ensured the campaign stood out in a crowded space.
The impact
The multi-channel campaign rocket-boosted donations and recruited invaluable supporters with high propensity to give all year. Today, donations are increasing steadily thanks to a robust year-round retention programme, including cash appeals, a supporter magazine, regular giving conversion and gifts in Wills campaigns.