How charity PR took a £2m public appeal to 100% of target  

Martin House Children’s Hospice provides specialist palliative care to babies, children and young people with life-shortening conditions across West, North and East Yorkshire. To keep delivering that care, the hospice launched THE BUILD: a £21.9m redevelopment of its facilities, underpinned by a £2m Public Appeal to the people of Yorkshire.

Prohibition PR was appointed to raise awareness of the appeal and, crucially, to convert that awareness into donations.

THE CHALLENGE

A £2m public fundraising target is a hard commercial goal, not a soft awareness brief. The hospice needed sustained visibility over many months in a crowded charity giving market, an emotional connection strong enough to prompt people to give, and a clear, frictionless route from seeing the story to making a donation.

OUR APPROACH

We built the campaign on sustained storytelling rather than one-off publicity moments, so the appeal stayed in front of Yorkshire audiences throughout.

Sustained storytelling: a rolling programme of real family and staff stories that built awareness and emotional connection with the hospice’s work.

Tactical conversion PR: news hooks and appeal milestones timed to prompt immediate giving, rather than coverage for coverage’s sake.

National and regional media relations: coverage secured in national titles including the i and Bella, alongside Yorkshire press.

Broadcast PR: 20+ broadcast pieces across TV and radio, using the emotional strength of the story where it lands hardest.

Conversion-focused creative: a creative execution built specifically to turn viewers, listeners and readers into donors.

THE RESULTS

100% of the £2m public appeal target achieved.

162 million combined media reach across national, regional and broadcast coverage.

74.5% increase in donations year on year.

£30,000 donated in the window following TV coverage.

PR cited by the client as a driver of donations, not just awareness.

WHY IT WORKED

The campaign treated fundraising PR as a performance channel: every story had a job to do, and every piece of coverage pointed back to the appeal. Sustained presence built trust; tactical timing turned that trust into donations.

Need a charity PR campaign that delivers donations as well as coverage? Talk to Prohibition PR about your fundraising appeal.