Download - Whose Life Will You Change?
Communicating the Matched Funding Scheme
Contents
• Research findings
• Creative development
• Plans for the campaign
• How you can get involved
Focus groups – general public
Attitudes to higher education
Overall
• Education should be a right rather than a privilege– A valuable experience that encourages independence
• Increased university fees, seen as a recent and dramatic change– Direct impact on the student and parents, exacerbated by the current financial
climate
• Greater intake coupled with more vocational courses has led to a degree
carrying less weight as a qualification – feels ‘watered down’ for many
“The cost is astronomical”
“I think it’s genuinely wicked, what’s happened to funding”
“There’s a lot of dumbing down – people don’t even need to be literate”
“Degrees in ‘Golf Course Management’ drag the rest down”
Differences by age group
Younger
Current
Fees and debt
Individual benefits:Employability
But not guaranteed
Older
Idealised
Social benefits: Aspirations
Life skills
Confidence and sociability
Intellectual curiosity
Overall
A right not a privilege
Increased fees
Can feel ‘watered down’
A valuable experience
Positive experiences and attitudes tainted by tuition fees and a very inclusive system: frustration for Younger and disappointment for
Older
Donating to HE: First impressions
Immediate responses to the idea of donating to HE are consistent
• A source of passionate opinion and debate– Linked to political policy or personal political stance for many
• All are familiar with the concept of donating to HE– Though for many it is relatively low level in terms of awareness
• Several already donate to their own previous universities or colleges– Feel grateful and want to give something back– A way of staying in touch with formative memories
“I give to my old college – it’s a personal thing”
“The university I went to did a lot for me – I benefitted and so I want to give something back”
Donating to HE: Drivers
• Drivers are articulated by the majority, particularly those already
donating
– Perpetuating their own universities and departments
– Helping gifted, underprivileged young people
– Contributing to society
– Assisting with research funding
“Funding a scholarship or something like that”
“I guess I like to think I’m helping our tomorrow’s real leaders and thinkers”
Drivers tend to focus on individual points of connection or personal experience
Donating to HE: Barriers
• Confusion as to how, when, where the money will be used: no obvious emotional ‘win’
- Exacerbated by university administration’s reputation for being disorganised -
donations could disappear into a ‘bottomless pit’
• Misconception that university donations need to be significant sums of money
- No clear visualisation of what smaller sums could pay for
• Widespread belief that universities should be paid for by the Government, without need for
supplement
- Particularly for those still putting children through university
• Low awareness of need for donations
- Added to a sense that charities have a greater need for their help
“I suppose there are people who pay for a new
library or something”
“Donations on top of fees? Parents can’t
cope with that”
“I’ve never really thought about it – it didn’t occur to me”
Learning from charities
• Charities are seen as a ‘better’ use for their donations
• We know that donors are always going to feel a strong pull towards
these more emotive causes
– Well managed, reputable industries– And / or a very personal connection– Perceived to have no other funding, so a greater reliance on donations– Feelgood factor – a strong emotional hook
“There are causes that I would always donate to first, I perceive them as having a greater need”
“It’s a real need. You feel as though you’re really achieving
something, no matter how small”
This is a different playing field, but there are interesting lessons to learn from donor’s responses to charity
Making a connection to HE
• That crucial ‘feelgood’ factor can be generated in a number of ways– An education piece on HE – what is needed, where and why
– Clarity around how funds will be distributed, and by whom
– Clear examples of spend, spelt out with tangible, affordable examples (borrowing
from the Oxfam model: £x = x benefit)
– A sense that donors have some say as to what their money is spent on
– Reassurance that donations are for added benefits on top of what the Government
‘should be’ funding, not supplementing that commitment
“I don’t want to pay for teachers but I’d happily contribute to a bursary for a less well-off student
Respondents were articulate as to what was needed with very little prompting or stimulus
Summary recommendations
• The target audience is warm to the idea of donating to HE but have a
real gap in understanding
• The most compelling areas echo tried and tested strategies that
charities currently implement– Clarity; personal connection; choice; placing value on even the smallest
offer
• Tone of communication is a fine balance– Warm but not twee or cuddly
– Detailed but not corporate
– Informative but not patronising
Focus group - sector
Campaign aims and objectives
• The collective view was that the campaign should focus on
promoting university philanthropy in general, not just the
Matched Funding Scheme (MFS)
• The campaign needs to support lower level gifts as well as
larger donations
Consensus was to make campaign wider in focus, with potential to extend beyond MFS
Use of ‘Matched Funding’
• The collective view was that this term is widely
misunderstood and hard to explain
– “Don’t like reference at MFS as it will be gone soon”
– “Most won’t know what MFS is about”
– “I like the reference to MFS but it needs explaining”
– “The masses this is aimed at won’t understand MFS”
Consensus was that Matched Funding is better used in a copy based argument in
media such as direct mail
Use of gift vs. donation
• The collective view was that ‘gift’ is a more appropriate
term but that ‘donation’ is better suited to use as a
call-to-action
Consensus was to consider using both terms in most appropriate contexts
Use of Higher Education vs. University
• The collective view was that ‘Higher Education’ is poorly
understood amongst donors and often leads to confusion
Consensus was to use ‘University’ in future communications
Tone of voice
• The campaign tone of voice needs to be inspiring and
dynamic, yet simple and easy to engage with
– “Universities change people’s lives”
– “We need to get those surprising facts out there”
We need to answer the question of why people should give, and challenge their
misperceptions
‘Big push’ vs ‘low level’ campaigns
• Both a focused ‘Week’ and a constant level of activity were
seen as having advantages
– “ We’d probably use a ‘Week’ to link in to one of our
mini-appeals”
– “National presence is important”
– “We need to get examples of the difference we’ve
made out there”
Consensus was to develop a campaign with ongoing presence, but one main focus
Campaign materials
• There were mixed views on what campaign materials
would be of use, and how universities would use them
– “ We might use the slogan on emails”
– “We wouldn’t use any pre-produced marketing
materials”
– “Organisations with less developed marketing teams
might use them”
Consensus was to widen involvement in Steering Group and look at different support
options
Additional audiences
• Aside from the public, internal audiences were also
identified as important
– “ We have an internal education job to do with our staff”
– “If we could turn our students into ambassadors, it
could have a really big impact”
Campaign activity going forwards should also consider these audiences
Quantitative research (YouGov)
To what extent, if at all, have you personally experienced HE or university?
Almost 50% have been through it, but 25% have no experience whatsoever
Going through it
Been through it
Work(ed) in it Plan to go Relatives are/were in it
No experience0
10
20
30
40
50
60
(%)
Source: YouGovBase: All GB Adults (2178)
Have you been approached by your former HEI to encourage you to donate as an alumni?
Less than a third of alumni have already been approached for donations
No63%
Yes32%
Can't recall5%
Source: YouGovBase: All GB adults that have been through HE (1064)
Which one of the following best describes your attitude towards giving or donating to HE?
Only 25% are favourable towards the idea of giving to HE
Source: YouGovBase: All GB adults (2178)
It's a good idea and I've already donated
It's a good idea but I've not yet donated
I've never thought about it but would consider in future
I've never thought about it but would not
consider in future
It's a bad idea and I won't donate
None of these0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
(%)
Crosstab with Q2: relationship between HE experience & attitudes towards giving to HE
Source: YouGovBase: All GB adults (2178)
It's a
goo
d id
ea a
nd I'v
e al
read
y don
ated
It's a
goo
d id
ea b
ut I'v
e no
t yet
don
ated
I've
neve
r tho
ught
abo
ut it
but w
ould
cons
ider
in fu
ture
I've
neve
r tho
ught
abo
ut it
but w
ould
n't co
nsid
er in
futu
re
It's a
bad
idea
and
I won
't don
ate
None
of th
ese
0
10
20
30
40
Going through it
Been through it
Work(ed) in it
Plan to go
Relatives are/were in it
No experience
Unsurprisingly, those who are the most positive when it comes to giving to HE are those who are still experiencing it or will soon – (future) students & staff. Those with no experience of HE whatsoever will be the most negative about the idea of giving to HE.
(%)
Which one of the following options would make you most likely to consider giving to HE?
38% are unlikely to give to HE, showing that respondents have a much more positive attitude towards giving to HE when prompted than when not (38% at Q5 vs. 75% at Q4).
Source: YouGovBase: All GB adults (2178)
26%
29%7%
38%
Helping the least fortunate studentsFunding research into good causesFunding resources to make facil-ities world classNone of these
Source: YouGovBase: All GB adults (2178)
Crosstab with Q2: relationship between HE experience & reasons for giving to HE
Helping the least fortunate students
Funding research into good cause
Funding resources to make facilities world class
None of these0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Going through it
Been through it
Work(ed) in it
Plan to go
Relatives are/were in it
No experience
Those who plan to study in HE are much more likely to be attracted by the idea of ‘helping the least fortunate students’ than the rest of our respondents. Those who are currently going through HE are more likely to be attracted by the idea of ‘funding research’. Those with no experience of HE whatsoever will be the most likely to reject all the options.
(%)
Have you heard of the Government’s ‘Matched Funding Scheme’ to support donations to HE?
An overwhelming majority has never heard of the ‘Matched Funding Scheme’ before.
Source: YouGovBase: All GB adults (2178)
No96%
Yes4%
Have you ever seen or heard anything in the media or in advertising encouraging the general public to give to HE?
Our base level for campaign recognition is 2%
Source: YouGovBase: All GB adults (2178)
No88%
Yes2%
Can't recall10%
Creative development
www.giftofknowledge.org.uk
Campaign plans
Ross-CASE Survey – Launch activity
Launch
National statistics
Regional statistics/
radio
Website
Case studies
Stakeholder engagement
Ongoing media activity
June - alumni
July – saying thank you
September/ October - Week
Day Theme Tactic
Monday Celebrating a history of philanthropy
News and feature story on history of giving
Tuesday Building the future Competition to showcase impact of new buildings
Wednesday Changing lives across the world
Research – what’s coming in the future from HE?
Thursday Changing individual lives Profiling student bursary recipients
Friday Philanthropy and the arts Showcase of arts funded by philanthropy
2011 plans
Online activity
Evaluation
How can I get involved?
How you can support the campaign
• Spread the word in your organisation
• Support the campaign through existing communications
channels
• Provide campaign collateral e.g. Spokespeople and case
studies
• Carry the campaign branding on your materials
• Get involved in the big activities!
Any questions?