SSAFA’s cashless twist on a fundraising charity box

Welcoming James to the SSAFA team in 2021 for digital fundraising

This is James, the commemorative bear of SSAFA the Armed Forces Charity. He’s heading out on a new adventure to collect donations in a new, touch-free and digital way.

James – named for the founder of the charity, Sir James Gildea – is holding a QR code sticker and NFC tag. This means people can donate via the digital bucket by either tapping the NFC tag or scanning the QR code with their smartphone camera. The process is quick, and easy and provides an alternative payment method suitable for those who no longer carry cash. 

The concept of a charity box inspired new fundraising ideas

The concept uses SSAFA’s mascot and expands on the traditional collection bucket or charity box. It was designed by Harry Pearce, our Creative Marketing Executive, as part of a collaboration between interns at Good Thyngs and Foolproof.

Harry took on the challenge of designing a memorable object that would encourage people to donate using their smartphone. Despite the end goal being only a concept, he took the project to heart. After designing the bear, he made physical mock-ups at home to test the practicality of the design in the real world.

“The teddy bear and the collection bucket are timeless and recognisable. I wanted to make cashless donations seem less intimidating to people who aren’t used to them by using an approachable character to represent the charity.

I designed the bear itself with paper dolls in mind. SSAFA supports people of many varied military backgrounds, so by making a ‘mascot’ that could be reproduced in different uniforms, it will be easy to add a personal touch.” – Harry, Creating Marketing Executive at Good Thyngs

How James will get ready for multiple fundraising events

Now Harry will see the reusable teddy standees at future events for the armed forces charity, including at Parkdean resorts and the Battle Proms concerts. The Sourcing Team officially brought Harry’s eye-catching donation alternative to life.

Each sticker on the teddy’s bucket is unique. They link to the Good Thyngs platform, so donations can be counted in real-time and the progress of each individual teddy can be tracked.

They also have the cashless advantage of not needing to be safeguarded against theft. SSAFA can collect cashless donations around the clock, without having to be there in person.

Giving a new perspective to something as simple as a charity box or bucket can renew your supporter’s interest and create additional revenue streams for a charity. SSAFA exploring new methods of engagement will give them extra opportunities to connect with donors.

A big thank you to Jonathan Sandall from SSAFA, and Gill Thorpe and Zsuzsanna Varro from TST for their assistance in this project.

We can’t wait to see James in action…

Any fundraising idea can come to life with Good Thyngs

And a pilot campaign can be a great way to test them out. Military charity RNRMC also advises you to “just go for it” with digital fundraising. Find out more about what they’re up to, here.

To find out more about what you could do to engage supporters, get in touch or sign up for the Good Thyngs newsletter.