With 30% of annual giving taking place in December, the festive season is a crucial (and high-pressure) part of the fundraising calendar. But with traditional incentive-led fundraising seeing declining returns, charities are having to innovate. Join our panel of experts from Crisis, British Red Cross, and Kite Factory as they share proven strategies for tackling donor fatigue, utilising TikTok, and building agility into your winter planning.
Key chapter timings
- 00:00 – Welcome & The Evolution of Christmas Appeals
- 15:00 – The Innovation Dilemma & Pre-testing Digital Tools
- 28:00 – The Unpolished Truth About TikTok
- 33:00 – Building Agility into Winter Planning & Future Predictions
- 45:00 – Audience Q&A
Panel speakers
Tom Travell, Formerly Head of New Supporter Development at British Red Cross
While at British Red Cross Tom led on innovating fundraising appeals, driving the shift away from traditional incentive-led campaigns towards strategies focused on building genuine emotional connection and long-term loyalty. During this masterclass, he shares his expertise on cross-channel integration across digital, TV, and print, as well as explaining who the British Red Cross built agility into their direct mail by shortening print deadlines to react to real-world events.
Charlotte Moyles, Digital Fundraising Manager at Crisis
Charlotte specializes in digital product innovation, audience diversification, and testing new ways to give at Crisis. In this webinar, she shares how Crisis successfully evolved their traditional “reserve a place” ask into a wider “Life Beyond Homelessness” proposition. She also shares highly actionable insights on attracting squeezed donors through lower entry price points, such as their £5 “Christmas Stocking”, and successfully leveraging native, unpolished content on TikTok.
Megan Ashdown, Senior Digital Account Director at The Kite Factory
Megan is a digital media expert who helps charities maximise their returns and navigate a rapidly evolving landscape. Her insights during this webinar cover the vital role of econometric modelling to prove the real value of different media channels. She also provides critical advice on how to safely pre-test AI and machine learning tools, like Meta’s Advantage+ and Google Performance Max.
Ian Boardman, Co-founder and Partner, Consider
Ian’s strategic thinking continues to transform how charities communicate. Understanding that innovating at Christmas is “something of a double-edged sword”, he knows better than most the pressure fundraising teams face to hit targets and that this sometimes leaves little room for innovation. This is why he invited Tom, Charlotte, and Megan to join this masterclass and share their insights into Xmas Appeal fundraising.
Further reading
