St Dunstan's is a national charity that helps blind ex-servicemen and women. Founded during the First World War, and perhaps most famous for helping men blinded in the trenches, this charity appeared to be something of an anachronism in the twenty-first century. Its public profile and its database had declined and supporter acquisition results were poor. There was a debate within the charity as to whether it was really a military charity or a blindness charity. TDA were tasked to resolve this and make individual fundraising work harder.
St Dunstan's clients, and many of the charity's senior management have a military background. Military people tend to be very modest about bravery and heroism. We helped to show them that the public don't feel the same way. To the public, anyone who is willing to put their life on the line for their country is a hero - and those who lose their sight serving their country are undoubtedly 'blind heroes'.
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St Dunstan's does not need to choose between being a blindness charity or a military charity – it is both; the charity for blind heroes. Cold direct mail and doordrop acquisition, have used the image of a young, contemporary soldier wearing a blindfold that says 'shrapnel', indicating the cause of blindness. To bring St Dunstan's well and truly into the twenty-first century we have also taken fundraising online, creating a microsite that features harrowing footage of soldier who was blinded in Afghanistan, who has been supported by St Dunstan's. The site also included an engaging 'reaction test' game and online story book.
St Dunstan's has seen its database grow and its profile increase. The 'blindfold' acquisition approach became a long-lasting control that has beaten many challengers. Warm appeals have achieved excellent ROIs. The microsite achieved thousands of visits and a conversation rate to donations of over 7%.