How strategic communications underpinned campaigns for two charitable organisations

For charitable organisations operating in a crowded landscape, visibility alone is no longer enough. Success comes from connecting the right story with the right audience, whether that's inspiring public support for a fundraising appeal or building understanding among policymakers, business leaders and professional advisers.  At Yasper, we've recently been supporting organisations at both ends of that communications spectrum. 

One example came through our work with Leeds Hospitals Charity, where we helped shine a spotlight on the charity's Play Appeal during Play in Healthcare Week. Through carefully crafted media outreach and powerful family stories, the campaign highlighted the vital role healthcare play specialists perform in supporting children through treatment and hospital stays. The result was widespread coverage across broadcast, print and online media, helping raise awareness of the appeal and the impact it delivers.  

But communications isn't always about generating immediate headlines. 

Alongside campaign delivery work, we've also been supporting a coalition of Yorkshire's Community Foundations to develop a long-term communications strategy designed to strengthen engagement with high-net-worth individuals and the independent financial adviser community.  

Community Foundations occupy a unique position within the charitable ecosystem. As trusted, locally rooted organisations, they connect donors with community need, convene partners across sectors and ensure funding reaches the organisations closest to the challenges communities face. Our research found that nationally, Community Foundations are consistently recognised as trusted, collaborative and place-based organisations that help translate local knowledge into meaningful impact.  

While the outputs differ, both projects share the same fundamental principle. We recognise the importance of people engaging with stories that create a much deeper understanding. 

For Leeds Hospitals Charity, that meant bringing individual experiences to life and demonstrating the difference charitable support can make for children and families at difficult moments. Our brief was clear: help people understand why play is a vital part of treatment at Leeds Children's Hospital and support fundraising efforts for the charity's Play Appeal.  

We worked closely with Leeds Hospital Charity team members to bring to life the real impact of the hospital play team. By putting lived experiences at the heart of the campaign via both patients and staff team members, we demonstrated why specialist play support is an essential part of children's healthcare, not an optional extra.  

The campaign secured 27 pieces of coverage across print, online and broadcast media, reaching a combined audience of more than 503 million and generating an estimated 5.44 million views. Coverage included prominent features on BBC online, BBC Look North, BBC Radio Leeds, The Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post (YEP).  

Central to the week was the front-page spreads we secured with the YEP team and regular bulletins on BBC Radio Leeds throughout a full broadcast day, getting clear and compelling stories and interviews lined up in advance to maximise this opportunity. Further to this, the YEP agreed to support the campaign for a full 12-month period and have their own fundraising target. National syndication through platforms including Yahoo, AOL and MSN helped extend the campaign beyond Yorkshire. 

And the work continues much beyond the initial campaign kick-start, as donations can still be made to this really important cause via  www.leedshospitalscharity.org.uk/donate/play  

For Yorkshire's Community Foundations, our work was to articulate a collective narrative that explains why place-based philanthropy matters, building stronger relationships with financial advisers, wealth managers and other key stakeholders. The strategy identified opportunities for thought leadership, media engagement and collaborative storytelling to communicate value to audiences who may not yet fully understand the Community Foundation model.  

What links these projects is a belief that strategic communications should help organisations to build trust, dispel myths, demonstrate value and create meaningful connections with the people who matter most. We enjoyed playing our part in ensuring important causes are understood, remembered and supported.