Children's Aid Foundation of Canada - Education Makes a Child Unstoppable

​The Challenge:

The primary business challenge was to inspire financial support for Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada (CAFC) during the critical year-end fundraising period. This campaign was focused on youth education initiatives aimed at improving post-secondary participation rates among youth from care, which currently stand at only 27%.

Strategic Considerations:
To achieve success, several factors were considered in the campaign design. The content needed to evoke emotional resonance, especially emphasizing the transformational impact of education on young lives. The campaign’s multi-channel integration ensured broad reach and effective engagement, leveraging videos distributed through social, digital, and email to maximize visibility and impact. Additionally, clear and compelling calls-to-action were essential to drive donations and donor conversion.

Understanding the Audience:
The target audience for the campaign comprised of both existing and potential donors. These included middle-aged and senior women in Ontario, a demographic traditionally responsive to messages around societal investment through supporting children, and younger parents in their 20s and 30s, who may also feel a strong connection to the cause. By focusing on these audiences, the campaign sought to align its messaging with the values and motivations of individuals most likely to contribute. Key success metrics included raising substantial funds, converting leads to donors, acquiring new supporters, and increasing the average gift size.

The Creative Approach:
The program worked by leveraging compelling personal narratives and strategic multi-channel deployment to engage the public and drive support. Success stories of individuals who advanced their education were featured, unified under the inspiring theme of being “Unstoppable”. These narratives were captured through interviews, which formed the backbone of the campaign’s storytelling approach.

Content in Action:
The videos were designed to evoke emotion and motivate action, closing with a direct appeal for public support. Over several months, these videos were strategically shared across multiple platforms, including email, digital display and social media, ensuring broad reach and visibility.

Key Deliverables:

• Profile and Narrative Development:
  • Reviewed young individuals’ stories to identify advocate profiles and key themes.
  • Created cohesive narratives for three advocates to feature in videos aimed at driving donations.
• Content Creation:
  • Developed a storytelling approach tailored to the advocates’ stories.
  • Produced videos in varying formats to suit diverse platforms and audience preferences.

Channels and Tactics:
The campaign delivered a total of 27 video versions, each optimized for different channels. This included 60 second, 30 second and 15 second cutdowns.

By diversifying video lengths and formats, the program maximized engagement across platforms while maintaining the core message.

Results That Matter:

• Exceeded Fundraising Goals:Surpassed its fundraising goal with an impressive30% growth compared to previous years.
  
• New Donor Acquisition:Achieved more than aneightfold increase in the number of new donors, showcasing its ability to expand the donor base effectively.
  
• Increase in Average Gift Size:The average donation amount increased substantially from$200 to nearly $300, reflecting enhanced engagement and generosity among donors.

These results clearly highlight the campaign’s effectiveness in meeting and exceeding its objectives, offering compelling proof of success.