Redesigning Crohn’s & Colitis UK’s donor experience to create clearer partnerships, stronger engagement, and more impactful long-term support.
Building deeper relationships by improving the donor experience meant rethinking how partners engage with the charity at every stage of their journey. By focusing on clarity, consistency, and meaningful communication, the goal was to create a more joined-up experience that felt supportive, transparent, and aligned with the values of both donors and internal teams. This approach helped strengthen trust, reduce friction, and lay the foundations for longer-term, more impactful partnerships
Following a team overhaul and a shift to remote working, the corporate fundraising team at this national charity needed greater clarity around their offering, as well as a clear strategy for how to engage and win new partners. While the ambition was there, the lack of alignment across systems, content, and communication was creating friction both internally and externally.
To address this, we carried out detailed audits of their existing systems and fundraising content, alongside structured audience research. This included focus groups with Crohn’s & Colitis UK staff and conversations with donors and partners both past and present. These insights revealed a fundamental issue: inconsistent messaging and fragmented processes were leading to different teams saying and sending conflicting communications, leaving prospective partners frustrated by a disjointed and confusing experience.
Our initial discovery phase also uncovered a powerful insight — partners consistently described the impact of their work with Crohn’s & Colitis UK as life-changing. This became the central idea for the project. We developed a simplified core proposition that clearly articulated both the commercial value of partnership and its life-changing impact. This was supported by a story-led approach to partnerships and the creation of a new sub-brand: a fluid visual identity designed to complement the core Crohn’s & Colitis UK brand while elevating corporate fundraising communications. Underpinning this was a revised channel mix, created to better connect internal teams and drive deeper, more meaningful engagement with partners.
