Designing giving brands to deepen donor connection
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) lacked a structured framework to retain, upgrade, and convert donors. Their giving program structure didn’t connect to their brand, nor did it resonate with donors, causing confusion and challenges with engagement.
Big Duck redesigned IRC’s giving levels by creating a cohesive branded system that invites donors and action-takers to participate in a meaningful community passionate about supporting people across the globe.
Crafting sub-brands to inspire donors
Big Duck first began by conducting research to understand donor motivations and uncover what drives donors to partner with IRC. After sharing our insights with the IRC team, we developed a unified system for monthly, midlevel, and legacy giving, starting with an overarching program name, Rescue Collective. The new name reinforces IRC’s brand and elevates the idea of belonging to something bigger—a community ready to deliver greater impact. Underneath the Rescue Collective banner, the new names for IRC’s giving programs center on themes of collaboration, advocacy, ambassadorship, and investment: Partners (monthly), Leaders (midlevel), and Changemakers (legacy).
Forging a stronger community
Big Duck also created messaging and mission-centric giving benefits to support each branded donor level. The language helped donors understand their role in IRC’s work and provided the IRC team with another tool to retain, upgrade, and attract donors. And, to ensure a successful launch, Big Duck built a rollout plan to guide the IRC team as they introduced the sub-brands internally and externally. The plan equipped IRC staff members to serve as ambassadors, and donors welcomed the new giving brands through an official announcement on World Refugee Day. The rollout plan also included direction for donor emails, newsletters, and a landing page for each sub-brand.
Boosting donor retention
Since the giving brands launched, IRC has reported an increase in donor retention for both their monthly donors and midlevel donor groups. The new giving brands successfully created an engaged and trusted community ready to help IRC support refugees and displaced families affected by humanitarian crises.
