Save the Children takes donors one step closer

Fundraising | Becky Slack | 1 Mar 2008

Save the Children is taking its donors one step closer to the action following the launch of a new interactive website that provides 360-degree images of a slum in Sierra Leone and allows visitors to ‘meet’ its residents.

The slum, Kroo Bay, is built on a rubbish dump and children born there have a one in four chance of dying before their fifth birthday. Save the Children aims to show the public how their donations are making a difference by regularly updating news and images on the website, enabling them to experience what life is like for the 4,000 children that live in the slum and how the charity is improving their chances of survival.

The website was developed following feedback from supporters that they sometimes felt their donations just disappeared into a “black hole” and would like more evidence that their money was being spent on the projects it was intended for. It went live on 11 February and on its first day received more than 10,000 hits. “We’re really proud of the idea,” said a spokesperson for the charity.

“We’ve had an incredible response from people who really seem to like the fact they can see first hand the work we are doing.”

The website forms part of the charity’s largest ever global fundraising campaign, which has been kickstarted in the UK but will soon be launched in the USA and other countries around the world. The campaign uses television advertising, doordrop and press insert media, plus a number of national press supplements to promote seven solutions to save a life that cost between £1 and £5. A text campaign is also underway that is being promoted via press, cinema, outdoor media and signage in Save the Children shops.

Jasmine Whitbread, chief executive of the charity, said: “Technology allows families to engage with Save the Children in a completely new way and make a difference easily, directly, as part of their everyday lives.”

Directory: Save the Children
Who's Who: Becky Slack

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