Salvation Army

Legacies are vital to The Salvation Army, as is true for many charities. But while their short-term legacy income is assured thanks to an ageing donor base, the future was less certain. They urgently needed our help to reach the next generation of pledgers and secure their legacy income in decades to come. 

Thankfully, we were able to help them find an innovative – and highly successful – way to scale up their acquisition efforts. And, crucially, we also created a long-term strategy to keep the influx of new prospects engaged with the cause.

The starting point was a free legacy guide, which took a novel approach. Instead of explaining how to leave a gift specifically to The Salvation Army, it explained how people could do a “lasting good deed” by leaving a gift to any charity in their Will.

This guide was then actively promoted to a wider audience of potential pledgers via a broad mix of channels, including DRTV, digital and direct mail. Alongside this, we built a supporter journey and stewardship programme to keep enquirers engaged with the cause and encourage them to become pledgers.

The acquisition campaign began in September 2024 – and hit target within the first month. The DRTV commercial alone brought in 307 guide requests, exactly the number forecasted. 

Social also did astoundingly well, as did inserts, with a 2.5x conversion rate (based on Will guide requests). Inserts beat target too, despite previously underperforming as a channel.

These results are resounding proof that our strategy was the right one – we’re looking forward to helping The Salvation Army build on this success in the year to come.