Campaign/Marketing Executive of the Year finalist Phillip Jones shares insights into Vinnies’ outreach

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Phillip Jones from St. Vincent de Paul Society Canberra/Goulburn was a finalist for Third Sector Awards 2024 Campaign/Marketing Executive of the Year.

Vinnies Canberra/Goulburn has served the capital region for over 100 years.

Anchored by hundreds of dedicated members of the Society who serve in a range of communities from the Snowy to the Far South Coast of New South Wales, out past Young and around Canberra, we are unique in Vinnies nationally for operating across two jurisdictions and run over 22 programs and services, 28 stores and two reuse facilities.

The members are supported by specialist professional staff and thousands of volunteers in very diverse workforce. At Vinnies, we aim to stay close to the communities we serve and respond to the need we see in a personalised and compassionate way.

In the current economic climate the need for our support has never been greater, nor the demands on us a charity to find more resources to meet those needs.

This makes for a complex story to be told across an area bigger than Tasmania.

Our communications and marketing is done in a way that is efficient, impactful and tells the story of the work we do to give a hand up to those less fortunate.

The aim being that when we approach the community, whether for funds, volunteers or other forms of support, our value as a charity is well understood and trusted.

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Our approach is to cover the many facets of our work with a human face through daily story via our social media and with proactive engagement with local media across our region plus engagement with other peaks through our advocacy work, and encouraging organisations of all types to be part of our journey.

Everyone seems to have a Vinnies story we’ve discovered. Whether it’s finding something special in our stores which funds our work, or how we helped a friend in need, we have retained our reputation as a charity by always focusing on who matters most: who we serve.

Learn more about the finalists and winners of the Third Sector Awards 2024 here.