Earlier this month, Doctors of the World UK launched a campaign to help refugees in Greece. The humanitarian situation there has escalated significantly in recent weeks, with more than 12,000 refugees stuck there after being refused entry into Macedonia and more numbers arriving each day. Luckily, there are volunteer doctors and nurses on the ground providing much-needed medical care and supplies. In just one week, the campaign has raised over £22,000, an incredible amount considering that the charity is so small. Here are a few reasons, based off an article on the British charity blog JustGiving, that this fundraising campaign has been so successful:
They’re telling stories: Doctors of the World UK have dedicated their social media to talking about the campaign, but in a fresh and exciting way. Instead of posting the same “please donate” ad 10 times a day, they’ve been sharing real, human stories, posting about the people who have been affected by the crisis and the volunteers who are helping them. While each one of these stories is meant to get people to donate, the content accompanying that goal is rich and varied, meaning people will be more likely to give.
They’re backing these stories up: There’s been a major conversation about the refugee crisis in the media on both sides of the Atlantic. Doctors of the World UK have been highlighting this dialogue both by sharing relevant articles and making themselves a part of it. Their campaign was launched the same day as the BBC documentary “Frontline Doctors: Winter Migrants Crisis”. Doctors of the World UK volunteers are featured in the documentary, and the charity knew that it would be a huge talking point. As it aired, they used the #frontlinedoctors hashtag, which has had over 1.3 million impressions. And by sharing relevant news articles and media coverage, they’ve been able to emphasize the situation and underline the urgency.