Strategy pillar 2:
Build trust among our audience and partners
Saleh Saeed, DEC Chief Executive, meets Amin from Lebanon who is receiving food assistance supported by the DEC appeal funds. Image: Carmen Yahchouchi/Fairpicture/DEC
Our five-year strategy
In 2024 we embarked on a new five-year strategy. Our core mission remains the same: to raise funds to save, protect, and rebuild the lives of people impacted by major disasters overseas.
Working with our member charities and the Rapid Response Network, our activities are focused on four strategic pillars. The second pillar is focused on building trust among our audience and partners.
Building trust
Engaging with those who support an appeal on how their donations have been used helps to build trust in the effectiveness of humanitarian aid and deepens support for future emergency appeals.
The DEC has delivered reporting back campaigns for our recent appeals and will continue to improve how we engage with our audiences during this strategic period.
Our priorities for building trust with our supporters include:
- Mobilising a ‘whole appeal’ approach to engage audiences
- Reimagining our supporter experience
- Investing in our existing and future audiences
- Driving timely, impactful and authentic content
Driving timely, impactful and authentic content
When gathering and sharing the stories of those impacted by disaster we aim to do so ethically and sensitively, amplifying the voices of those directly impacted and championing the work of local communities.
This year when launching the Middle East Humanitarian Appeal we worked with an external consultant to develop ethical guidelines to address specific challenges relating to the appeal, including the use of imagery and language that conveyed the resilience of affected communities.
In 2025/26 we will develop a methodology for the co-creation of reporting materials as part of our commitment to shift the power towards local partners and communities.
We will share the methodology with our member charities and also embed better processes for engaging local content creators that offer their creative input into our communications outputs.
Engaging audiences throughout an appeal
A ‘whole appeal’ approach means we tell the story of each appeal from the moment we launch to the end of our humanitarian response when all the funds have been spent.
This approach allows us to be transparent about the impact of donations and build public confidence in the humanitarian sector.
Reimaging our supporter experience
By improving the experience we give to supporters as they engage with DEC appeals, we hope to continue to build public trust and confidence in supporting future emergency responses.
In 2025/26 we will review our supporter services operations to ensure we are providing quality engagement and care during both busy and quieter periods.
Learning that shaped the sector
In December 2024, the DEC delivered a webinar on how the humanitarian sector has grown and evolved between the launch of two of the DEC’s biggest ever appeals - the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami Appeal and the 2022 Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
