'Shave or Dye' most admired appeal

The Today FM 'Shave or Dye' campaign for the Irish Cancer Society was the most admired charity campaign of last year, according to an all-Ireland survey of charity chief executives.

The campaign, now in its third year, is promoted by Today FM presenters and encourages people to either dye their hair or shave it off. It raised €1.3 million for the Irish Cancer Society last year.

Since the launch of this year’s campaign last month, more than €250,000 has been raised.

The campaign will receive all the proceeds from the release of the official Ireland Euro 2012 single The Rocky Road to Poland which features an all-star cast of The Dubliners, The Coronas, Damien Dempsey and Bressie.

The survey was carried out online by the specialist charity insurer Ecclesiastical among 50 of the chief executives of charitable organisations on both sides of the border.

Its finding are being presented at the 2012 CO3 (Chief Officers Third Sector) Leadership conference in Derry, which
will feature leaders of 45 Irish charities.

Other admired campaigns include 'Movember' where men grew moustaches during November for prostate cancer research, Unicef’s 'Euro for Zero' campaign which encourages the public to donate a single euro for charity, the 'Black Santa' campaign in Belfast every Christmas and the women’s mini-marathon in Dublin.

The highest rated charity ambassadors in 2011 were Roy Keane for the Irish Guide Dogs; Donncha O’Callaghan for Unicef, Jedward for the ISPCC and Keith Duffy for Autism Ireland.

Nearly three-quarters of all respondents said celebrity endorsement was either important or very important in raising the profile of charitable organisations in the current economic climate. A total of 6 per cent of leaders consider it to be crucial.

The recession is having a mixed impact on charities. While funding and donations were down for the majority of charities last year, 36 per cent reported that the number of volunteers has increased.