Surfers Against Sewage had just one week to raise £200,000 through The Big Give Green Match Fund. It was their biggest fundraising target yet. The money would help them take on the big businesses polluting UK waters.
With a general election on the horizon, and a noisy fundraising landscape to cut through, they needed a campaign and email series that made the urgency impossible to ignore.
Together we created the ‘Now or Never Appeal’ — a bold, target-smashing proposition that rallied thousands of supporters to stand up for cleaner waters, louder and stronger than ever before.
See how we did it
Step 1. We crafted our proposition
Every successful appeal needs a clear, compelling concept driving it. We developed the powerful ‘Now or Never’ narrative and bold, coherent visuals to make the campaign impossible to ignore.
Step 2. One week to tell the story
With just one week in each Big Give appeal to hit their targets, we had to make a big splash. From localised content and eye-opening quizzes to a personalised message from SAS’ founder, a range of emails and social posts kept the SAS community engaged each day.
Step 3. Testing tactics
Despite the tight timeline, we made time to test – everything from prompt amounts to graphics, callout boxes to email length. We used what resonated most to refine and enhance the rest of the appeal in real time.
Step 4. Leaving room to react
Finally, we built in space to send extra reactive messages once the campaign was live, responding to breaking news and adding personal touches to give people an extra nudge towards the target.
The results
£204,236
raised in one week
2,000
supporters chipped in
This appeal proved the power of a strong proposition, clear asks, and smart tactics. Seeing the totaliser climb higher than ever before gave Surfers Against Sewage the momentum to keep pushing for fairer, cleaner waters.
