Which charities made the most of the solar eclipse?
Howard Lake | 20 March 2015 | Blogs
The partial solar eclipse across the UK this morning gathered a great deal of publicity and attention. Did charities and fundraisers exploit the opportunity, especially online?
The #SolarEclipse hashtag was a pretty safe one to use since there were no corporate brand or intellectual copyright issues to be concerned about. The newsworthy story – it was being carried live on several TV networks – could also be used in many ways by charities. Issues such as darkness and blindness, diamond rings and conflict diamonds, solar power and energy, space/science education, eye health and sight restoration, and air pollution could all reasonably be linked to the event. “Dark days” and “the lights going out” are also common fundraising campaign metaphors.
And of course, there was the humorous element of Britons standing under cloudy skies, missing out on the full glory of the event.
Plus, we knew that the eclipse was going to produce a happy smile-like image. That would have been a lovely image for charities to share with their supporters. Even better, the eclipse fell on International Happiness Day!
Here are some of the tie-ins we spotted from charities and their supporters. If you’ve got one to add, post it in the comments below.
Some saw #eclipse2015, some saw clouds. Help us support people who always see things differently, text RNIB67 £3 to 70070 to donate £3.
— RNIB (@RNIB) March 20, 2015
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Waiting for the #eclipse ? Why not pledge to our Kickstarter while you wait http://t.co/2uUPtAOu3X
— Katie Day (@otherwayworks) March 20, 2015
https://twitter.com/devonairamb/status/578853161693290498
The ever optimistic @ifundraiser showing us how to get the most out of the #eclipse2015 experience. pic.twitter.com/wmaUQ5xgdF
— SolarAid (@SolarAid) March 20, 2015
We were fortunate to get some amazing footage of the team watching the #eclipse2015. Truly inspiring stuff https://t.co/xVq7t8Ovdm
— SolarAid (@SolarAid) March 20, 2015
From Woodlands Hospice Gardens #SolarEclipse2015 pic.twitter.com/AtbH1wDaHU
— Woodlands Hospice (@WeAreWoodlands) March 20, 2015
Been renting out these glasses in the office to look at the eclipse. Made £25 for @macmillancancer 👍👍 pic.twitter.com/Jrtrf1vRAh
— Claire (@claireabell79) March 20, 2015
If you missed this ‘newsjacking’ opportunity, don’t worry: you’ve got 11 years to prepare for the next partial solar eclipse in the UK!
Main photo: partial solar eclipse by PHB.cz (Richard Semik) on Shutterstock.com
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.