THE BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP

Save the Children: High

Net-worth Individual
(HNI) Strategy
Maximizing impact of HNI donations via
engagement programs
BCG India and Save the Children

In 2009, Save the Children India began to create mass market portfolio for donors in the
hopes of increasing their funding. Though funding started coming in, Thomas Chandy, CEO
and Irwin Fernandes, Marketing and Fundraising Head, realized that customization of
portfolios for different segments of donors could provide more fruitful results. Specifically
targeting High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs), they initiated efforts to create a portfolio for this
segment, including hiring someone who is an expert in managing relationships with HNIs to
help create the portfolios. However, for several reasons their efforts did not generate the
kind of traction and pull expected. Still, they are dedicated to the idea of HNI-targeted
portfolio, but feel a more coherent strategy needs to be developed for this to be successful.

"There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children. There is no duty
more important than ensuring that their rights are respected, that their welfare is protected,
that their lives are free from fear and want and that they can grow up in peace."
Kofi Annan
I.

About Save the Children

Eglantyne Jebb had one strong belief, "that all children - whoever they are, wherever they
are - have the right to a healthy, happy & fulfilling life."She believed that change is possible,
but only with courage, determination, imagination and good organization. To this end, she
founded Save the Children in 1919. Today, the organization is the leading independent
organization for children, with programs in more than 120 countries around the world. Their
mission is to inspire and change the way the world treats children, leading to an immediate
and lasting change in their lives.
In India, Save the Children was started in 2008 is currently working in 15 different states
across four different programs Child Survival, Child Protection, Education and Responding
to Emergencies and Disaster Risk Reduction1:
1.

2.

3.

4.

Child Survival program - Save the Children works with local communities and
government health systems to improve child and maternal health care and
accessibility to health care
Child protection program Works to protect children affected by natural disasters,
emergencies and conflict. Save the children has also started child labor prevention
programs, and works to expose and prevent exploitative practices again child labor.
Lastly, they are also involved with the reduction and prevention of exploitation &
child trafficking
Education program - focuses on developing inclusive and equitable education
policies and practices for all children, as well as focusing on Early Childhood
Development, the promotion of child-centered approaches, training teachers and
helping communities to develop close linkages with schools
Responding to Emergencies and Disaster Risk Reduction their goal is to ensure
that emergency responses that are timely, at appropriate scale and scope, and that
they provide high quality programming for the most vulnerable children and their
families. They want to increase preparedness of children and their families for
emergency situations in the aftermath of natural disasters through child-centered
and community-based approaches.

Save the Children uses advocacy strategies to assist these four areas. Over and above this,
they use experiences from the field to lobby with government bodies, businessmen and
academics to bring about policy change. Their approach (Fig 1) is to develop and provide
solutions to problems facing children, advocate and campaign for better practices and
policies regarding children's rights and also support the effective implementation of best
practices and programs, to ensure a sustainable impact at a large scale. They are
1

Taken from Save the Children India Annual Report 2013

successful in this approach by collaborating with children, communities, governments and

the private sector to share information, promote the cause and build capacity, to work
towards their goal.
In 2013, they have been able to impact the lives of children in India by2:
1.

2.
3.
4.

5.

6.

Reaching over 12 lakh children across 6,562 villages to provide education,

healthcare and protection especially during emergencies, as compared to almost 9
lakh children in 5000 villages in 2012
Helping around 2.5 lakh children more than in 2012 receive quality education.
Providing 10 Lakh children and their families with access to life-saving healthcare
services, which is an exponential increase from the previous year
Ensuring 3.91 lakh children received protection from harm and also raising
awareness amongst 6.33 lakh adults with the knowledge and resources required
to help keep children safe
Providing emergency relief and rehabilitation support to 3.31 lakh children and their
families, during critical emergencies like floods and storms etc. these efforts were
more than doubled from the previous year
Rehabilitating 71,452 children by removing them from participating in harmful childlabour practices and facilitated their getting back to school and to other child
protection schemes

Key supporters to enable these impacts have been primarily from Institutional partnerships
like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and bilateral or multilateral institutions like
USAID. Corporate partnerships, both local and global, as well as individual donors are also
active contributors. Online fundraising, though small in contribution, is gaining momentum in
India.
II.

Philanthropy in India

The current state of philanthropy in India is such that there is a lot of potential for donations,
but only a fraction of this is being tapped. Those more engaged in philanthropic activities
include those who have set up their own foundations and are actively fundraising. There are
also a significantly large number of small charities located in small localities that are
concentrating on the rights of the poor and underprivileged.
Who is donating the money and on what basis? Though the private sector plays a key role,
global funding bodies, corporates under CSR and wealthy individuals that are interested in
or have connections to the fundraising body are few in number and highly sought after.
Much of charitable giving is also based on religious communities and is family centered.
Also, most NGOs are not focused on communication with donors a very small majority of
NGOs even send out regular newsletters. Of this group, even fewer NGOs keep donors
involved with the impact of their donations or donations in general. This erratic
communication becomes a disincentive for donors due to the lack of transparency in the
impact their donation has caused. It also shakes the credibility of the organization, which can
become problematic when trying to sustain donation figures. Lastly, when communication is

Taken from Save the Children India Annual Report 2013 and 2012

weak, donors are unable to understand the complexities of the sector and the choices made
by the NGO, which increases the risk of donors being dissatisfied with the impacts created.
Thus, the more NGOs communicate, the more willing donors are to fund them.
Over the years, more structured forms of philanthropy are becoming common. Foundations
are growing which are empowering new people to get involved in philanthropy. The new
legislation stating, "at least 2% of the average net profit of the company made during three
previous financial years must be spent on CSR activities," will lead to more compulsory
funding from the corporate sector. Additionally, the internet boom in India and use of mobile
phones to connect to the internet has allowed social media to make expanses of people
more aware of different initiatives that are being advertised, at little or no cost. The
introduction of new applications for phones and secure-pay features online, have allowed
money to be donated more readily over the internet. However, the awareness and use of
online donations is much lower than more developed countries like the US and UK. The
convenience of being able to donate from the comfort of your own home is definitely a strong
pull factor, if utilized to its maximum potential.
III.

Save the Children India's efforts to maintain and increase their philanthropy

Save the Children was registered as an independent organization in India in 2008. In 2009,
the marketing team decided to create mass market portfolios for individual donors. The aim
was to target the middle class, and appeal to their sense of philanthropy by marketing the
impact their donations would make. As expected, donations started coming in, ranging from
double digits to lakhs of rupees. Over the course of two years, interested HNIs3 would each
donate 1 lakh or more. After doing some simple calculations, it became clear to Thomas and
Irwin that customizing a program for HNIs would of the utmost importance. The program was
to promote donations from existing and new HNIs donors, as well as involve them with Save
the Children on a more permanent basis.
In 2011, a relationship management expert was hired to run the portfolio. This resource was
hired from the banking industry, as he had previous experience in wealth management of
HNIs. His role was one of a relationship manager, to go into the field and speak to HNIs,
updating them about Save the Children and how any donation would help the organization
and associated children. Another part of his role was to develop innovative and relatable
products that could be marketed to HNIs either individually or through campaigns, events,
newsletters, among other ideas.
IV.

HNI activity in different markets

Foreign markets
The idea to focus efforts on HNIs in India came about because Save the Children has been
very successful in other geographies, especially in the USA and UK. For example, in the US,
Save the Children have been able to capitalize on legacy planning portfolios, in which the
organization tied up with financial institutions and linked certain proportion of funds from

While there is no standard definition of HNIs, they can be based on Net Worth, Investible surplus, assets
under advise, or liquidated assets. The most common standard for HNI used in India is to consider those
individuals that earn 25lacs or more per year as HNIs. Source: www.icicidirect.com

HNIs to be donated to Save the Children upon death. Seeing this, Thomas wanted to
replicate efforts in India, adapted of course, to an Indian context.
Annual private charitable giving was estimated to be between $5-6billion in 2006. The 2010
World Wealth Report by Capgemini and Merill Lynch state that our wealthy population is
growing at 50%, between 2008 and 2009. As of 2011, individual charitable donations in the
US are around 75% of all private funding. In the UK, donations are at 60%.
The Indian market
The affluent, or HNIs, have an annual income of Rs.25lac or more (for detailed income
distribution, please refer to Fig 2 A). With India's population growth and economic promise,
the percentage of HNIs in the country is increasing exponentially (Refer to Fig 2 B for more
details). By 2020, India's affluent class will be larger than the entire population of Canada4.

V.

What worked and what didn't

What worked:
Indian HNI initiatives were started in 2011, with the hired expert. He began to contact the
existing donors identified as HNIs. Phone calls were made to potential HNIs and meetings
set up for new and existing HNIs. The new resource was also able to use his references
from his banking work to help Save the Children gain new donors.
However, his time at Save the Children was short. Before he left, he attempted to create a
cohesive portfolio. Starting with a welcome back and personalized calls to keep in touch, he
also introduced the specific impact of donation amounts on the website to create more
transparency on the part of the NGO and more reliability on the part of the donors.
Structured donor visits to different sites and meetings or seminars with the CEO were also
planned. He also sought to build a 'wishlist', one that mapped the top HNIs in the country
and how Save the Children could access them using the networks they were already
linked to.
Brainstorming sessions were also held around fundraising events and how they could work.
For example, by accessing the network of an existing donor who was a doctor in a prominent
hospital, an event was organized with the hospital association to try and raise funds for the
creation of a mobile health unit. Doctors offered monetary support and were willing to
volunteer their expertise in healthcare for the project. For more immediate needs, as in the
case of emergencies, personnel would go and talk to existing and potential donors to try and
get funds for emergency relief and to buy basic necessities to send to the affected area.
The Leadership Club A strategic initiative:
A plan for a Leadership Club, comprising of major donors, was detailed out to engage with
them more directly. The club was to have city chapters, with members being given personal
attention via calls, meetings, handwritten notes or addressed mails. Members were divided
into different levels based on their contribution. A benefits list based on the level of
4

BCG Perspectives, The Tiger Roars: Capturing India's Explosive Growth in Consumer Spending

contribution was also detailed out (refer Fig 3, A)). A fundraising calendar was set up to keep
track of events, campaigns, project updates and newsletter send-outs (refer Fig 3, B). A
rewards and recognitions program was also planned, but no detailing of this took place
(Fig 3, C).
In terms of communication with members, monthly updates, renewal requests, annual
achievements, acknowledgements to major contributors were planned, as well as
discussions around identifying potential new members and inviting them to join the club (Fig
3, D). A detailed plan for the prioritization of new and existing donors was also created to
target those donors that were more likely to donate (refer Fig 3, E). Lastly, an event for the
inauguration of the club was created, including meeting with the Board and CEO, project
visits followed by a description of the funds needed for successful completion of the project.
A Gift Range chart will be introduced for this purpose, to clearly show the number of pledges
needed to raise the required funds. There were also plans to award the inaugural members
as 'Charter Members', to acknowledge their commitment to Save the Children.
However, the leadership plan was never implemented.
What didn't work:
However, the biggest issue with all these initiatives is that they were not structured, there
was no continuity, and there was incomplete knowledge of the market size. After the doctors
contributed to the mobile health unit, there was no follow-up on trying to expand this
program. Donations were brought about via references. However, as these individuals were
known to the resource, he was not able to push to sustain the high annual figures; the
funding size started decreasing. The efforts on who to target were not based on a strategic
model if he felt a large amount could be spent, he focused on them.
For emergency relief efforts, representatives would go and talk to donors and take them
through a work plan for what Save the Children were planning to do. However, Save the
Children's work is evolved around the response to an emergency that occurs. Though talks
began about the possibility of putting in place emergency readiness criteria and a package
that can be taken to donors so the organization can expedite the receiving of funds, nothing
was taken forward. Media coverage would create a sense of urgency to donate which can be
leveraged.
Though the Leadership Club initiative was planned out, no engagement program was
implemented to keep donors updated on what was happening at Save the Children, or
experience a defined customer journey. Also, no products were created during the tenure of
the resource, thus no marketing or advertizing of these took place. Though talks of hiring
someone experienced in product creation was considered, no such initiative has taken place
yet. Neither was an incentive program or a team structure for employees created.

VI.

Problem Statement

The CEO of Save the Children wants to understand the extent of funds they can raise in
India to help not only sustain on-going efforts, but also to roll-out efforts they have planned in

new sectors. To do this, they have asked us to estimate the current Indian market size for
funds.
As part of this project, Save the Children has also asked us to create an overall strategy for
bringing HNIs on board by innovation in marketing, funding, product creation and
engagement, which could potentially also tap into a new customer base.
Linked to this, they have asked us to also present some ideas on how to increase overall
engagement with the current donors to ensure more confidence and satisfaction with Save
the Children. Strategies for this can include (but are not limited to) ways in which existing
customers can be used as advocates, changing the current Leadership Club program to
make it more impactful, creating a new program for existing and/ or new HNIs, and
emergency relief protocols. Thomas is seeking innovative ideas which can create a delta
difference in performance, while also being sustainable in the long run.
"Save the Children is often told that its aims are impossible that there has always been
child suffering and there always will be. We know. It's impossible only if we make it so. Its
impossible only if we refuse to attempt it."
Eglantyne Jebb

Appendix
Fig 1:

Source: Savethechildren.in website

Fig 2A:

Fig 2B:

For the full report, please go to:

https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/consumer_products_retail_the_tiger_roars/

For detailed figures on household income data, please refer to the attached file

Fig 3:
Details of The Leadership Club
Description: The Club comprised of significant Major Donor who would be involved in making
exceptional contribution to the impact made by Save the Children. This will be a progression
from donor to major investor in the field of Child Rights. Their experience with SC will be
more personal one, relying less on mail and telemarketing and more on personal contact.
When this group is sent mail, it will be personalized and specific whenever possible, often
hand addressed on higher-quality stationery with first-class postage. There will be city wise
chapters of the club, for eg. Delhi Chapter, Mumbai Chapter.
A) Contribution Levels:
The Club will be further divided into classes based on the level of contribution:
INR 100,00 to 199,999

Bronze

INR 200,00 to 499,999

Silver

INR 500,00 to 999,999

Gold

INR 10,00,000 and above Platinum

The Benefit list that forms a part of the Welcome Pack

Benefits Checklist and Strategy Worksheet
Benefit

Bronze

Silver

Gold

Platinum

SC Leadership Club Membership logo

Exclusive annual recognition event

Listing on donor wall (A donor wall will be

developed in the SC website)

Day Sponsorship Opportunity (Where they can

interact and sponsor a day's event in a center)

Recognition in annual report

Luncheon with CEO or Board Chair and/or
celebrity interaction

Invitations to SC events

Special Quarterly Newsletter

Programatic exposure of SC projects

SC publications and Assessment reports

B) Fund-raising Calendar:
A fund raising calendar will be used to track event dates, mail dates, telemarketing
campaigns and email campaigns. The heads of the calendar would be as under:

Activity

Jan
-14

Feb
-14

Mar
-14

Apr
-14

May
-14

Jun
-14

Jul
-14

Aug
-14

Sep
-14

Oct
-14

Nov
-14

Jan
-15

Monthly
Updates

Periodic
Renewals

Special
Appeals

Upgrades

Events

Project
Visits

*
*

Marketing
Website

C) Rewards and Recognition

The reward and recognition level of the members of the Leadership Club will be based on
the class they belong. This will also be a motivation for the members to upgrade to a higher
class.
D) Correspondence with the Leadership Club
There will be a defined annual vision for The Leadership Club that will be planned in
concurrence with all the members of the Club. Monthly updates will give brief overview of
the entire Save the Children intervention. The update sent in the beginning of the year will
comprise of previous years achievement on The Leadership Clubs vision,
acknowledgment to major contributor, introduction of new members, overall Save the
Childrens achievement and acknowledgement to the Club. There will be invites that will be
sent out to prospects to join the Club all through the year. This invite may also be sent to the
existing donors (though not at the same time of renewal request) who donate close to INR
100,000 every year.
There will also be an insider news letter sent out quarterly only to the Leadership club
members. This report will also contain up-to-date information on achievement of Leadership
Clubs annual vision.
The envelope and letter heads used for correspondence of The Leadership Club will have
distinctive appearance. The stationary will have The Leadership Club mentioned on them.

There will be Welcome Pack containing benefit information; matching gift information, etc.
will be developed.
E) Cultivation of Major Donors
Besides the existing donor base we may also explore some pay sites for information on
prospective major donors of the country. The existing and prospective major donors will be
classified as per the prioritization grid.
Prioritizing method:
I.

Affinity or how well do they like Save the Children (SC)?

Assign each donor a ranking of 1, 2, or 3 indicating the strength of their commitment to SC.
3

They have been donating regularly over the past two years.

They have donated for the first time during emergency

They have not donated to SC in the last two years but have donated before that.
II.

Life Stage or where are they in their life?

Where are they in their life in terms of ability to make a major gift?
Assign each donor a ranking of 1, 2, or 3 indicating the strength of their commitment to SC.
3

Their children are grown and self-sufficient, or they have no children. Spouse is healthy
or deceased. Wealth is certain; they are ready to dispose of wealth

They are at the peak of their career, their inheritance is expected. Children are
beginning their own careers, starting their own families. Wealth is not yet certain; they
are not yet disposing of their wealth.

They are young, mid-way through their career, children are still at home.

III.

Ranking: The Product of the Two

Multiply these two numbers together to get one of the following
combinations, visualized in the Moves Management Prioritizing Grid:

These are the prospects. They are the most committed, have the greatest disposable
wealth, and are most ready to give.

These come next; either they need to become more committed to SC (something that
can be influenced).

Need both to like SC better and to be in a better position to give. After addressing 9s
and 6s, we will focus on this group.

Either they love SC but cant give, or they can give but hardly know SC. The former is
not worth addressing now, but the latter definitely needs to go on the list for long-term
cultivation.

2&1

Probably not worth pursuing now, but will follow later.

Moves Management Prioritizing Grid

3
Affinity

3 love SC but cant give

6 love SC and might give

9 love SC and can give

2 like SC but cant give

4 like SC and might give

6 like SC and can give

1 Know SC but cant

give

2 Know SC and might give

3 Know SC and can

give

Rules/Lessons:
1.
2.
3.
4.

9s will be followed regularly.

6s will be cultivated for next level.
3s and 4s are going to take some time and effort.
Defer work on 1s and 2s until 9s, 6,s and 4s are taken care of.

F) Inauguration of the Club

Invitation card will be designed and sent out with details about the club to the current Major
donors of SC. Depending on their response they will be explained about the role of the club
and the impact it intends to create. There will be an event planned in the month of June,
2014 where the members will meet and formally inaugurate the club. Inauguration will also
give a defined vision of the club which will be evaluated in the annual meet.
Currently this has been discussed with four major donors/prospects (Bimal Tanna, Jaiveer,
Rohit Bhasin and Subir Gupta) who have shown interest to be a part of the club.
Prior to the event there will be a project visit by some of the members of the club. In Delhi,
we will consider the Hugo Boss project for the project visit. There will be an audio visual that
will be created from their visit which will be presented in the event along with the welcome
pack. The members will get to meet the Chairman of the board and the CEO of SC in the
event. These members will be made the Charter Member of club as a distinction to
recognize their ongoing commitment. New membership to the club is only through
introduction by the Charter Members.
There will be a Four Pager note describing the project and a Gift Range Chart that will
reflect the amount and the number of pledges needed to raise the total budget to support the
project for a year. The Gift Range Chart will look as follows:
Pledge over 1
years

No. Of Gifts to
secure

No. of Gifts Still To

Secure

Total

INR 10 lac

1000000

INR 800,000
INR 500,000

2
3

1600000
1500000

INR 300,000

1200000

Secured to
date

INR 100,000

700000

TOTAL

17 gifts

6000000

Once the club is inaugurated the flow of events will be as per the calendar that was finalized
in the inauguration/annual event. The Mumbai chapter event may be combined with the
Tobbells event. We will also see all board members references and Campaign teams
support for celebrity and signature names in the club.