How do you tell the world you’re out to change it?

We love a good deed. But writing for the third sector throws up some unique problems. Charities and NGOs want your attention – and donations – but struggle to stand out in a sea of sameness. And people are skeptical: they scrutinise a charity’s mission and how they work, because they aren’t sure where to place their trust.

The Human Safety Net wanted to get past these typical pitfalls and get people’s trust and admiration – by measuring and proving its success with the people it helps. Backed by Generali, The Human Safety Net was set up to unite NGOs from around the world to share resources and create a chain of people helping people. The foundation’s three programs target different challenges in society, but share a common purpose: to unlock human potential.

Getting it right – everywhere

When they approached us for help, The Human Safety Net already had a good starting point. They’d explained their mission well in some places, but needed a hand making their messaging more consistent. They also had a basic set of tone of voice guidelines, which we helped them apply more practically.

We helped THSN:

• Rewrite their brand narrative
• Talk about their programmes
• Tell the stories of people they’ve helped
• Explain their renovation project in their Venice HQ
• Apply these new ideas all across their website

THSN has a global mission, so wanted to make sure our work was fit for every country. We presented our work to Generali’s 19 country heads from the places The Human Safety Net works. We also ran a live critique and feedback session to fine-tune the brand narrative and stories before they went live.