In 2021, Applause Charity reached out to the Community Comms Collective seeking support to deliver their fundraising activities. As a growing non-profit focused on connecting local businesses with frontline community workers (kaimahi) through acts of kindness, Applause aimed to create an impactful campaign to engage potential donors and establish a foundation for future fundraising efforts.

As part of the Collective’s volunteer network, Mint and Honey recognised the importance of this initiative and Victoria volunteered her expertise pro-bono, providing strategic guidance to develop Applause’s donation infrastructure and communications strategy for their inaugural campaign, “The Big Auckland Morning Tea Shout”.

During the COVID lockdowns, the housing sector faced immense pressure, with frontline staff working tirelessly to meet the growing demands of their communities. “The Big Auckland Morning Tea Shout” was designed to raise funds to celebrate frontline kaimahi working in this sector by hosting shared morning teas at nominated community organisations across the Auckland region. This campaign not only provided an opportunity to give back to these essential workers but also supported Auckland’s hospitality industry, which also faced significant challenges during the lockdowns.

Mint and Honey played a key role in delivering the campaign, developing user-friendly systems for donations and engagement, and assisting in growing Applause Charity’s brand awareness within the non-profit sector.

As a newly established charity, Applause needed to increase their brand visibility to make their first campaign a success. Mint and Honey provided comprehensive strategic guidance for “The Big Auckland Morning Tea Shout,” offering insights into audience targeting, campaign timing, donation goals, and risk management. Collectively, alongside the Applause team, we ensured all key campaign elements—including messaging and accountability—were clearly defined, effectively addressing challenges such as limited social media presence and a small donor database.

Additionally, Mint and Honey assisted in refining Applause’s PledgeMe profile, a crowdfunding platform designed to empower organisations to raise funds through project donations, equity investments, and lending campaigns, Mint and Honey guided the development of the Applause profile by crafting concise and compelling messaging, reviewing tailored reward structures, and ensuring alignment with the organisation’s overarching mission.

To facilitate seamless donations and engagement, Mint and Honey worked with Applause Charity to develop an online donation portal utilising Raisley’s digital fundraising platform.

Raisley is a powerful and intuitive fundraising platform that enables charities to create custom campaigns with integrated donation features. With its user-friendly interface, Raisley supports personalised branding, multiple payment options, and real-time reporting. This made it an ideal platform not only for hosting Applause’s inaugural campaign but also for serving as the organisation’s long-term solution for regular giving and donor engagement.

Mint and Honey worked with the Applause team to customise the platform to align with Applause’s brand identity, creating donation tiers, and integrating user-friendly features that simplified the donor journey. The website’s design was optimised for both desktop and mobile users to ensure accessibility for all potential donors.

The collaboration between Applause and Mint and Honey resulted in a highly successful launch of the fundraising drive. The PR campaign garnered widespread attention, increasing brand awareness and engagement for Applause as a newly established charity. The Raisley-powered donation platform successfully facilitated a record number of donations with feedback from donors highlighting Applause’s compelling mission as the key factor in their decision to contribute. Additionally, the platform now serves as Applause’s regular giving portal.