How Christmas trees helped Camp Quality grow their appeal income by 15x and The Smith Family achieve an 85?tivation rate

For charities, the end of the year isn’t just another campaign window—it’s often the main event.

But a strong Christmas appeal isn’t about more emails or louder asks—it’s about creating a moment supporters want to be part of, something they can see, share, and feel proud of.

Here’s how Camp Quality used a custom digital Christmas tree scene, built on Funraisin, to create even deeper supporter engagement at Christmas—and how those trees turned into real income to fund life-changing projects for families who need them most.

An animated tree that shows donors their impact in real time

About the appeal

Camp Quality’s Christmas appeal reimagined Christmas giving as something you could see, touch, and share.

Supporters were invited to decorate a virtual tree that sat in the center of their site—each donation lighting it up with a new bauble and message. Donors could pick an amount, watch their bauble appear instantly, and hover to see their name appear alongside others on the tree.

Every bauble represented the real impact of Camp Quality’s work: bringing fun, laughter, and moments of relief to kids facing cancer through camps, getaways, counseling and family support.

The challenge: Creating more than a mailout

Camp Quality wanted their Christmas appeal to do more than ask for seasonal donations. Their average Christmas season income had dropped from 2021 to 2022.

There were two reasons for this:

Cost of living pressures meant donor purse strings were tighter, and just about every charity was feeling it
The Christmas season brings heavy competition for donations

They wanted to show, not just tell, what they do—bring joy and positivity at Christmas through their appeal, not just their impact.

Camp Quality wanted to stand apart by creating something uniquely theirs—an experience that celebrated every gift, made momentum visible, and felt joyful enough to keep supporters coming back.

The solution: A virtual tree that made giving visible

Working with Funraisin, Camp Quality created a custom Christmas tree that became the centerpiece of their appeal. Each donation lit up the tree with a bauble and donor name, creating a public record of generosity that kept growing.

It included:

A beautiful, child-like design that echoed the joy at the heart of Camp Quality’s brand

Instantly appearing baubles and donor messages that celebrated every gift in real time

Specific impact handles for every donation amount, showing supporters the difference they were making

A sliding bar of recent donations and amounts, adding built-in social proof and momentum

The results: More than double the income

Over two years, Camp Quality’s Christmas appeal income grew from just under $91k in 2022 to $200k in 2024—a 120% increase overall.

The biggest leap came between 2022 and 2023 when the Christmas tree was first introduced, when income doubled.

First year of Christmas tree (2023) brought in 2x income growth YoY
Average gifts grew to $88.40 in 2023, then $103.64 in 2024—a 23% rise in two years.

“Last Christmas, we didn’t just want to ask for donations, we wanted to share the joy that makes Camp Quality so special. The Christmas tree we built on Funraisin gave supporters the chance to see their impact instantly. Watching people’s generosity light up in real time was powerful, and it helped us more than double our appeal income.”

Arabella McGinness
General Manager - Marketing
Camp Quality

What you can apply to your own campaign

Think about how you can show supporter impact instantly—not buried in the thank-you email, but visually

What makes your organization uniquely ‘you’? Match your appeal to your brand’s personality, and connect with supporters in the process

Create momentum and social proof—show collective progress to remind people they are part of something bigger

Add a touch of surprise and delight at Christmas—visual cues like new baubles or messages can make giving even more fun and reward giving behavior