As we unfortunately anticipate more redundancies and people in need of financial support as a result of the pandemic and the government's Job Retention Scheme winding down, we believe it vital we reach out to members of the public that could be struggling at this time to let them know there are charities here and ready to help.
We have therefore launched the Here to Help campaign to highlight the support benevolent funds can provide to those that have lost their jobs or are struggling as a result of the pandemic.
From September to November 2020 ACO will be reaching out to key referrers to build long-standing relationships and improve their awareness of benevolent funds and the help they could provide their clients. As a part of this, ACO has produced a poster about benevolent funds and how to find a client support from a benevolent charity, and a leaflet for individuals in need about help benevolent charities can provide that referrers can send clients looking for information.
ACO will also be carrying out some additional PR work to support this campaign, with the key elements highlighted below:
- On Monday 14 September ACO plans to send a press release to key media contacts to highlight some of the key findings from our July members' survey to demonstrate how much additional support ACO members have provided so far this year compared to last. We will follow up with any media leads to try and secure coverage.
- Social media activity to support the campaign across the duration - including sharing of graphics, stats and case studies about the work benevolent funds have been doing across the pandemic.
- Taking part in Twitter takeovers agreed with Turn2us and ACEVO to raise awareness of the work benevolent funds have been doing.
Get involved!
We will be sharing posts on social media to support the campaign from September onwards, so please keep an eye on our posts and help us spread the word about the campaign by sharing/retweeting our posts.
If you share your own posts about how your charity is helping support individuals affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, please use the hashtag #HeretoHelpAlways to help us build momentum around the campaign.
If you have contacts with other organisations that work closely with individuals in need, or get approached by an individual who your charity cannot assist, help us spread the word about other benevolent funds that could help by downloading and sharing the campaign materials that we will be distributing.
If there are other ways you think you could support the campaign or if you have any questions please contact Hannah Page (Marketing & Communications Manager) at hannah@aco.uk.net