Sydney Dogs & Cats Home

Our work | Appeals

The challenge

With SDCH close to moving into their new permanent shelter, the organisation needed to continue funding day-to-day care for pets while also running Capital and Housewarming campaigns. Christmas, while a peak giving period, is also a time of financial pressure for many supporters. The challenge was to unite supporters around a clear, emotionally resonant message that differentiated the Christmas appeal from other campaigns in market, while still delivering ambitious income growth.

The solution

Bigfoot Fundraising designed a multi-channel Christmas campaign built around SDCH’s ongoing commitment to love, care and support every animal until they find a forever home. Creative leaned heavily into authentic, UGC-style content from staff and pets, supported by strong case-study storytelling and a clear “Turn lonely into loved” Christmas proposition. The campaign was rolled out across Meta, Google, EDM, SMS and Digital Out Of Home, with two Matched Giving rounds planned and extended to maximise urgency and conversion. We also introduced new ideas such as an early-bird offer and an Advent-style soft ask to drive earlier engagement and reduce reliance on last-minute giving.

The impact

The appeal raised $342,882, becoming SDCH’s biggest Christmas Appeal ever and smashing the $300,000 target. Excluding the $100,000 bequest match, this was 84% higher than 2024’s previous record. The campaign brought in 381 new donors and 10 new regular givers, adding $11.7k in long-term value. Digitally, the landing page generated 1,522 donations and $199,764 in income, with Meta delivering a $23.35 CPR and 4.10 ROAS, and Google delivering a 2.29 ROAS. EDM and SMS added a further 702 donations worth $91,398, significantly outperforming the previous year. Together, the integrated strategy delivered SDCH’s strongest Christmas result to date and reinforced the power of Bigfoot’s multi-channel, matched-giving-led approach.

Next steps

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