What awareness ribbons can do for your organisation – apart from raising money!

Search online for ‘Awareness Ribbons’ and you’ll find lists of (many!) ribbon colours and the dozens of causes associated with each one. It can be confusing when every day/week/month seems to have several causes attached to it.

Some awareness ribbons are attached to specific campaigns – like Pink Ribbon Day for breast cancer or the White Ribbon Oath for family violence – but for many others (in spite of the work of the charity involved) it can be hard to remember what each colour stands for.

This is why we recommend that charities customise their awareness ribbon by adding printing, especially if it’s not a well known cause. A recognisable logo or a few words highlighting the purpose printed on an awareness ribbon makes it much clearer what the wearer is supporting and doesn’t cost very much. It’s as easy as emailing us your logo and/or wording and details of your ribbon colour and we can have your completed ribbons off to you in 10 working days.

So how do Awareness Ribbons actually work?

There are four main part of an awareness campaign that customised ribbons excel at:

Visibility: Worn on the lapel, an awareness ribbon is immediately visible both in person, in photos and in the media, unlike other awareness merchandise like wristbands.

Small and convenient to stock, it’s also an item many corporate partners are willing to display on their front desk or shop counter, helping spread your message.

Opening a Dialogue: It can be uncomfortable starting a conversation about some causes, but an awareness ribbon can raise interest and encourage discussion. That’s what happened with the (arguably first) successful awareness ribbon campaign. Back in 1991 when HIV/AIDS was still a taboo subject, the red awareness ribbons worn by artists and performers at the Tony Awards helped break down barriers to conversations about AIDS.

Education: Awareness for the sake of awareness is not enough – the point of your organisation is not just to let people know you exist, but to educate them about your aims and projects. With the inclusion of a backing card with your ribbon, we can print information about what you do and the importance of it, how people can help, and your contact details. This means that you can widen the distribution of your awareness ribbons, as they can stand alone and don’t need an advocate in person to issue them.

Fundraising: Not all awareness ribbon campaigns incorporate fundraising, but it’s an easy way either cover your costs, or raise additional money for your charity. You set your own price for your ribbons and make them available online, in person, or through partners (like clubs, schools and workplaces).

Even if you take the cynical view that a bit of ribbon can’t expand minds, affect real change, or get people to care, the fact that an awareness pin is small and cheap (even when priced at several times its cost) means that it is a reliable method of raising valuable funds that can be directed where it can really make a difference.

Check out our Awareness Ribbon product page and call us now on 03 9544 0034 to find out how easy it is to order customised awareness ribbons for your organisation.