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Emmaus

Cash to regular giving conversion

We work with a number of charities that recruit cash donors but who struggle to convert them to regular givers due to the lack of a clear regular giving proposition.

One of our clients is the homelessness charity Emmaus, who have been contending with this problem for several years. The fact that their Communities for homeless people are social enterprises that become self-sustaining makes a regular giving ask very challenging.

Whitewater’s qualitative research among their supporters revealed a vital insight – that those who choose to support this charity are proud of having made a discerning, intelligent choice. Support for Emmaus is a ‘club’ that people are proud (perhaps a little smug) to be a part of. This knoweldge gave us the answer – to simply position regular giving as a form of ‘membership’, by giving regular donors a title: “Become a Friend of Emmaus”. The concept of friendship also allowed the creative to focus on the long journey out of homelessness rather than a monthly need for funds: it’s a long road out of homelessness, but it’s easier to take with the support of a Friend.