Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, over 1/3 of UK students said that their mental wellbeing had worsened since starting higher education. For Royal Academy of Music students who already face an unstable career; leaving their 4-year course with substantial debt and needing to constantly perform and refine their craft, the situation worsened when rehearsing and performing with others was shut-down during the pandemic.
The Story: Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, over 1/3 of UK students said that their mental wellbeing had worsened since starting higher education. For Royal Academy of Music students who already face an unstable career; leaving their 4-year course with substantial debt and needing to constantly perform and refine their craft, the situation worsened when rehearsing and performing with others was shut-down during the pandemic.
The Academy expanded their counselling services to try and meet students’ increased need for mental health support, but there was still a funding shortfall, resulting in 15-30 students being on the waiting list for support in any given week.
The Brief: To create a mailing focused on mental health that would activate mid-value prospects; start a conversation with potential major donors and raise £40,000 to fund additional counselling support.
Our Response: We had to work within the new Academy brand, which included beautiful photography of students, but we couldn’t show their faces due to the sensitivity of the subject and the need to maintain the public personae of the performers.
So, we had to find other ways to create an emotional connection with the recipient, which we did by using premium production techniques such as embossing the line ‘Find the light within’ on the outer to denote how difficult it can be to recognise mental health issues. We also included a heart-felt letter from the Dean of Students talking about her concerns for her students’ mental health.
Why it Works: A large format, beautifully-produced pack ensured it was noticed and valued by potential donors. The introduction of the Director of Philanthropy as someone with whom the donor could have a conversation about their giving meant that donors felt they were getting the ‘inside track’ – something we knew they valued from previous work with the Academy.
Results: The appeal raised funds for an additional 1,191 hours of counselling, as well as inspiring gifts or positive contact from 20 high net worth individuals and led to the Academy approaching two major donors to launch an endowment fund.
Supporting Student Mental Health