Two Small Words

The Story: Manchester Metropolitan University’s first fundraising campaign was launched in October 2016 to fund the First Generation Scholarship Programme and the Programme launched to schools and colleges in 2017. The first cohort of 38 Scholars on the Programme completed their studies in June 2021 and graduation ceremonies took place in January 2022.

The Brief: To raise unrestricted funds in support of the First Generation campaign by acquiring new donors and increasing alumni participation, as well as improving data quality and creating awareness of the programme. 

Our Response: Our creative concept – ‘THANK YOU’ – is a pre-emptive thank you for the donor’s support. It is focused around appreciation and impact, by packaging up the thank you messages from students who received First Generation scholarships and graduated in January.

We wanted to show how scholarships can transform lives. Family circumstances can impact on a student’s dream of entering university. They may be from a single-parent family or low-income household; they might have spent time in care or had their schooling interrupted.

These are the very people who stand to gain the most from higher education – and we wanted to show how donations will give talented and determined students the chance to overcome whatever barriers stand between them and achieving their ambition.

Why it works: Combined with the ‘thank you’ approach, we also used a small to big format, to showcase how a scholarship can help change someone's life through the power of education.

We showed real First Generation students and, in their words, shared the impact which their University experience has had on their lives, giving them the chance to overcome barriers standing between them and their dreams. 

Results: Their historically rather unresponsive alumni base really engaged with this integrated campaign, not only helping to raise vital funds but also returning many bookplates with words of encouragement for First Generation students.