the challenge: giving plays an important part in the lives of many loyal WV donors – in fact, they're likely to be involved in several causes, so to encourage incremental donations it was vital to stand out in a mailbox that's likely crowded with asks

the creative strategy: to focus on an issue that's critical to millions of children around the world – water – by putting the actual solution into the potential donor's hands, instead of the usual "trinkets and trash"

the execution: on the outside of the thick, dimensional package we began the story of Ajah, a child affected by lack of safe drinking water. Once inside, the potential donor discovered a LifeStraw, an actual working personal water filter that would provide a short-term water solution for a child in need. By sending back the LifeStraw, along with a donation to support long-term solutions like drilling new boreholes, the donor would provide real and tangible help for a child affected by the world water crisis.

the result: the package produced an average gift that was 228% over target, and drove responses from over a third of the audience – significantly higher than the control package

the team: Kathleen Honey (CW), Ian Martin (AD), Scott McKay (CD) at MacLaren MRM