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


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).


26%

29%7%

38%

Helping the least fortunate studentsFunding research into good causesFunding resources to make facil-ities world classNone of these


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.


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%


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?