3 Ways Your Celebrity Ambassador Can Help You Fundraise

Posted by Ben Crook on 12 December 2017

Using celebrity ambassadors as part of a PR strategy is a tried and tested way of raising more and increasing awareness for your cause. There are numerous ways you can use their reach, popularity and network to your advantage. However, there are many factors to consider before finalising the strategy.

If you’ve just acquired your first celebrity ambassador or are simply looking to enhance your current strategy, these three effective tips will help maximise your fundraising efforts!

Reach a new audience

Ask your celebrity ambassador to share your content (articles, white paper, up and coming events) via their social media channels and make it super easy for them to do so. Write out the copy you’d like them to attach to introduce the content, so you can ensure they are representing your brand correctly. Social media, especially Instagram stories and Snapchat help close the gap between the public and the lives of their favourite celebrities, making it a very powerful tool.

According to Statista, at least 10% of users say that a key reason they use social media is to follow celebrities. You can reach a new demographic who are more likely to donate and spread the word about the great work you do, if they know their favourite celebrity actively supports your cause.

Tip: Try to work with a celebrity who has a similar fan base to your target audience.

Create experiences you can sell

Creating small but memorable experiences to auction off or sell is a cost effective way to raise funds through your dedicated celebrity ambassador. Something as simple as auctioning off a selfie, or doing a meet and greet backstage, can prove to be extremely lucrative for your cause, as well as keeping the ambassadors involvement to a minimum.

Comic Relief recently ran an auction on our consumer facing platform Givergy.com, to win Ed Sheeran’s signed guitar for Red Nose Day. To amplify this prize (which raised a whopping 15,000) Ed offered to meet the winner at his gig to give them the guitar!

Experiences don’t necessarily need to be face-to-face, SA-Yes (a South African charity) ran a prize draw to win a 30-minute Skype call with actress Gillian Anderson; the prize draw was just 5 to enter and raised over 10,000. Not only was the draw hugely successful in terms of the amount raised, Gillian was able to take the call anywhere in the world, which made the experience easy to fulfil.

Generate PR

We spend a colossal amount of time talking, reading, and learning about celebrities without even knowing were doing it, because they trickle into almost every part of our lives. Which is why incorporating them into campaigns in an innovative and effective way is paramount!

Chris Hughes from ITVs Love Island recently caused a media storm with the supposed launch of bottles of his tears. National publications mocked the campaign and questioned its legitimacy. The next day (on World Mental Health Day), Chris revealed the campaign was actually a stunt to raise awareness of men’s mental health, alongside The CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) Zone charity. The campaign was a huge success as it garnered a huge amount of interest in both national and social media.

Tip: Create an experience that has some link to your cause for added value.

If you don’t have a celebrity ambassador, talk to your team and brainstorm who you think might be a good fit for your cause and then simply reach out to their PR team. Remember not only does it elevate your cause to be associated with a highly esteemed public figure, but they will also reap the benefits of being a part of your amazing cause too!

Here are a few campaign ideas to get inspiration from.

Ben Crook

Chief Operating Officer

Ben is at the forefront of every project in Givergy, listing and actioning constant improvements across the business. With over a decade of experience in the charity and events sector he brings a deep understanding of what the fundraising industry needs to operate effectively and efficiently.