Communication Strategies (cont'd)

Continuing in my series of communication strategies for Christian Aid's "Christian Aid Week" I will now explore the element of letting the followers see where the money is going. This is powerful because it puts faith in the followers to know exactly where their money is going to and how it's effecting the world around them.


You can see by the graph that they break down every area where the money goes into Christian Aid. On top of that they also share stories about lives that have been affected by the money that has supported them. Testamonials can be a very powerful influencing tool, especially when followers read stories about how a portion of their money is making a difference. You can read the stories here.

Christian Aid also has a section for people to tell stories about what they are doing for their personal Christian Aid Week. This galvanizes followers and creates a hub to share ideas and spread innovation and creativity.

Christian Aid Continues to Network

Christian Aid is a very powerful organization that understand the power of networking. By working with many organizations, locally and globally, they are able to reach a larger audience.

During Christian Aid Week they are giving their followers many ways to get involved. According to their website you can get involved in a variety of ways:

• You can donate online
• You can host a fundraiser in your church
• You can host a fundraiser in your community
• You can host a fundraiser in your schools
  

By creating different opportunities Christian Aid has allowed their volunteers to lump together their volunteering with something that they are already a part of. So instead of asking them to throw something else onto their already busy plate, they are asking them metaphorically just add a topping to the plate they are already eating from.

They are not disturbing their "rhythm of life" by asking them to add something else, but continue in their daily rhythm and combine it with Christian Aid fundraising.

Another factor that they tap into by doing this is creating a grassroots feel to the movement. They are "putting it back into the hands of the people" in some senses. This is powerful because again it's a nonverbal sign that Christian Aid trusts its volunteers to come through for their organization. This empowers and puts a sense of urgency on its followers to want to serve and give back.

The Power of Rhetoric

Recently, I wrote about how Christian Aid Week was coming up and how it will be used as a fundraising campaign for Christian Aid. So in the next few posts I’m going to explore the different communication strategies employed by Christian Aid.

First, I want to talk about the rhetoric that Christian Aid uses. The implied we is lathered on heavily in their rhetoric. Take a look at this section from Christian Aid Weeks website, it states:

You are Christian Aid Week

It's the passion and dedication of hundreds of thousands of you who give, act and pray every year that makes it such an extraordinary stand against world poverty.

This is your chance to change the world.

How powerful is their wording? They begin by saying YOU are Christian Aid Week. That implies that Christian Aid is counting on you because this week is about you. Christian Aid is appealing to their followers seemingly saying that if we (Christian Aid) need you. They continue to stress that it’s their time, energy, effort and finances that go towards eliminating poverty in the world and how this is YOUR chance to change the world.

This is masterful wording on the part of Christian Aid because it makes their volunteers feel needed. The volunteer reads this and thinks to themselves, “Wow, they really need me individually to make this work. This is a combination of us working together to eleviate poverty in the world. I truly can make a difference.”

If organizations such as Christian Aid are able to create unity and create a need from their volunteers they are off to a good start. Christian Aid does this with their rhetoric.