Sponsoring hope - sounds pretty good, eh?

A major campaign that has been launched recently is The British Heart Foundation's Mending Broken Hearts campaign. What I like about this campaign is that is lets us in on a secret - that zebrafish can heal their own hearts - and speaks to us in open way. It made me feel that there could be real hope in regenerative medicine and that by supporting the campaign I would really become part of something quite monumental. I must admit at this stage that I am (or rather was) a lapsed regular giver to BHF and they have helped a member of my family in the past. This appeal made me revisit their work and I am now, once again, a regular donor having signed up to the "sponsor hope" aspect of the appeal. 

I do, however, have a couple of thoughts on the campaign. When I signed up I was told that there are several benefits to becoming a sponsor but I think it would be good to allow people to opt out of some of these to allow for a more personalised approach. Whilst I will proudly wear a campaign pin which has been designed by Sir Peter Blake, I have no interest whatsoever in watching a series of DVDs or having a certificate. I would also like all communication to be by email, and whilst I sent a message via the website to say so it would have been nice to be given the choice. I don't know about other age groups but as a Gen Y-er I like to have control over how I engage with things, I like to feel it's on my terms and I would have appreciated a little more choice.

BHF do have a very active twitter and facebook presence which is run well but they don't so far seem to be doing anything outside of their regular commentary and utilising social media in a different way. In fact the methods which have been chosen for the campaign feel quite traditional (TV, charity record etc). The aim of the campaign is to raise £50 million over 10 years so it will be certainly interesting to see how it grows and develops as it's audience grows and shifts. I hope they find ways to get other Gen Y-ers on board and take us with them because we might not be the biggest donors now but in 10 years time we might be the ones you really need...