

How a kindergarten insight drove record donations.
Second Harvest Heartland was facing unprecedented challenges in statewide food security. They needed an unprecedented creative campaign to drive urgent action. Our approach ended up reshaping Minnesota’s thinking about sharing vs giving and supercharging community support.

Increase in Fundraising
Raised in 8 weeks
Increase in New Website Visitors
The Challenge
Minnesota's food insecurity crisis reached critical levels, with:
- 40% surge in food insecurity
- 28% increase in food shelf visits
- A decade of stagnant holiday donations under $1 million
- Intense competition for charitable dollars in a post-George Floyd, post-pandemic landscape

The Enemy—Donor Fatigue
People are getting “tired of the ask.” Specifically they’re tired of being asked to give and give and give.

Shift the donor mindset from giving to sharing
We’ve been wired since kindergarten to “share.” Research revealed that while donor fatigue was real, the human instinct to share remained powerful and positive.

