Raising the Roof

Homeless Donation Boxes

Every year, Raising the Roof sells toques in exchangefor $10 donations. The non-profit, which aims to raise awareness and funds for people on the street, looks to other cash donations through collection boxes and bags. Though, Raising the Roof struggles to collect cash donations during its donation drive.

Collection boxes are small and invisible (hanging around a volunteer's neck, or sitting on a side table with pamphlets). And while they're in many places, they're usually far removed from the problem they're trying to address. They're not near the problem; they're on a retail counter.

So the agencycreated life size donation boxes that featured emotional images of actual homeless people. They were donation boxes in every respect except one: scale. They were then placed where a homeless person might be seen, on the streets.

The boxes generated significantly higher cash donations per box: 10x the normal amount.However, the most significant outcome was the awareness that the donation boxes generated. They drove interest online and as a result, the organization saw a 554% increase in website donations from the same time period the year before.