Mencap has best charity Christmas card, says Intelligent Giving
Howard Lake | 2 December 2008 | News
Charity-advisory website Intelligent Giving has named the 10 ‘best’ charity Christmas cards. Top of the list is Mencap’s “Tree of Hope”.
Intelligent Giving surveyed over 200 charity websites and judged the Christmas cards on design, the percentage of money going to charity, and the general rating that Intelligent Giving gives them on its charity profiles.
James Asfa, Intelligent Giving researcher, in his review of the Tree of Hope card, said: “Our favourite card states that at least 80 pence in every pound raised through its sale goes to Mencap. That’s as profitable (and transparent) as it gets. Appropriately for the charity, the design was the result of a competition to encourage artists with a learning disability to display their creative flair.”
The Tree of Hope card was chosen from Mencap’s annual Christmas card competition, which is open to people with a learning disability of any age.
The rest of the top 10 were:
2. Cards for Sreepur Village, from the Sreepur Village shop.
3. ‘Spoilt for Choice’, for Gift of Sight, from Card Aid.
4. ‘Christmas Eve’, for the Alzheimer’s Society, from Cards for Good Causes.
5. ‘Stag in the Snow’, for the National Trust, from the National Trust Shop.
6. ‘Dazzling Tree’, for Diabetes UK, from the Diabetes UK Shop.
7. ‘Snowman with scarf’, for the British Red Cross, from the Red Cross Shop.
8. ‘Santa’s Party’, for Cancer Research UK, from the Cancer Research UK Shop.
9. ‘Bear Cub’, for Mind, from the Mind Shop.
10. ‘Mini Knitted Bears’, for Oxfam, from the Oxfam Shop.
Intelligent Giving does acknowledge that “the world of charity Christmas cards is complex”. It is not always possible to put a financial value on claims such as “All profits from the sale of our cards go towards our work.” Also, charities that manufacture their own cards can take on more risk than if they were to use retailers’ own brand cards, but then stand to make a bigger return.
www.intelligentgiving.com/articles/features/the_best_charity_christmas_cards
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.