Bring Someone's Future Back

‘Bring someone’s future back’ is Samaritans’ 2025 Winter fundraising appeal. It increased donor numbers, gift values and net income - achieving over 37% uplift in ROI - with some channels substantially beating their income target. Success was achieved through a groundbreaking integrated campaign created by Don’t Panic. Communicating the true value of a donation, the fundraising proposition moves away from the transactional to centre on the ultimate, deeply emotive outcome of support for Samaritans. It shows how the value of every donation is profound: the life saved, rather than the call answered. The role of Samaritans, and of the supporter who makes that impact possible, is pivotal.

The platform was applied across an integrated donor acquisition and supporter development appeal, which utilised TV, Social, Out of Home, Display, PR, Direct Mail and Email. The hero DRTV shows the truly life saving impact that a call to Samaritans can have, with its narrative arc and parallel timelines building empathy with the father and daughter at the centre of the story. A special-build billboard brought the thought-provoking highlights of a saved future into a public space. Lived experience and research insights imbued every aspect of the work with authenticity.

Every campaign element placed the donor at that crucial point of intervention and celebrated the future years of life, love, fulfilment and connection that are saved by that supporter’s involvement, consistently reminding the audience that someone is alive today because someone like you supported Samaritans.