# Newspaper Christmas appeals and the Web

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/1999/11/29/newspaper-christmas-appeals-and-the-web/
- Published: 1999-11-29T12:00:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**National newspapers have traditionally run charity appeals at Christmas. Despite
having had award-winning Web sites for up to three or four years, very few of them
have featured their Christmas appeals on their Web sites. Are they integrating their
Web sites more effectively this year?**

On 25 November **The Times** launched its annual [Christmas appeal](http://www.the-times.co.uk/charity/page01.html)
and this year it is in aid of Save the Children Fund and Help the Aged. It is an
appeal with a difference though. First, the appeal, Times for Action, asks not just
for money but also time, in terms of volunteer time. Secondly, the appeal has a 
Web component. As a result The Times claims to have launched “a unique charity appeal.”

The appeal does first give supporters a chance to donate cash, but then suggests
working in a Help The Aged shop for a few hours a week, or organising fundraising
events for Save the Children. The newspaper does not actually handle the donations
to the charities, and indeed the donate cash link unfortunately does not take you
to a relevant page or part of the page. The correct link is [here](http://www.the-times.co.uk/charity/index.html#cash),
which gives details of where a cheque or postal order should be sent. There is no
sign of secure online donations, either from The Times or the charities, even though
Save the Children offers such a facility from its site.

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Nevertheless, The Times is clearly thinking of developing the site into a bigger
resource for charities: “this website will eventually be a bulletin board for volunteers
and charities to find each other in the most useful way possible.”

**The Guardian** launched its Christmas appeal on 1 December 1999. It is supporting
the Family Welfare Association, the Fairtrade Foundation, Friends for Young Deaf
People, and Ockenden International. Editor Alan Rusbridger introduced the appeal
with a consideration of what charity and philanthropy mean today. He explained that
The Guardian’s commitment will go beyond Christmas, with updates on projects run
by the supported charities appearing throughout December.

Although there is no Web address on the response form in the newspaper, The Guardian’s
appeal is [featured](http://www.newsunlimited.co.uk/xmasappeal/article/0,2763,113973,00.html)
on their Web site. Indeed, the appeal’s page includes links to the various articles
that the Guardian has run on the charities it is supporting. It recommends two ways
in which readers can give – via the telephone and via the post. Although the newspaper
encourages supporters to give via CAF charity account, it makes no mention of CAF’s
CharityCard Web site which can take secure CharityCard donations. Fortunately, CAF
is currently advertising its CharityCard on the NewsUnlimited sites and on other
newspapers’ Web sites, so maybe the message will get across thanks to CAF.

The Guardian Appeal finally raised £200,952.

**The Observer** launched its Christmas Appeal on 5 December in aid of the National
Eczema Society. Readers are encouraged to send donations by post direct to the charity.
There was no mention of the Appeal on the NewsUnlimited Guardian/Observer Web sites
on that day, and the appeal appears to get no other promotion on the online network.

**The Daily Telegraph** leads the field with its use of the Web to support its Christmas
appeal. It launched its appeal on 18th November on behalf of four charities – the
Cancer Research Campaign; The Passage; Send a Cow and Unicef’s work for Calcutta’s
Railway Children. From the beginning it has publicised the appeal on its Web site.

Donations can be sent by post or by phone, and the newspaper even ran a one-day 
telephone appeal hotline on 5 December. Most impressive of all though was the fact
that the Web site reported back on income generated to date, showing how much each
charity is due to receive. The appeal launch was backed up with four separate feature
stories on the Web site focusing on each of the charities and their work.

Even better, The Electronic Telegraph includes a direct link to a secure online 
credit card donation facility for its appeal, run by the Telegraph’s online shop
[The Best of British](http://www.thebestofbritish.com/charity/) and with the secure
payment facility donated by Datacash. Every online donation results in a thank-you
screen with, appropriately, “a unique ‘thank you’ from the Telegraph’s award-winning
cartoonist Matt.”

This combination of Web-based information, appeal updates, and use of both secure
online donations and telephone appeals ensures that, this year, the Daily Telegraph
puts the other national newspapers to shame in using the Web to support its Christmas
appeal.