Children’s Charity Hopes an Air of Mystery Will Prompt Donations

In Spokane, Wash., people are beginning to notice the number 24 everywhere, spray-painted on sidewalks, in front of banks and businesses, in parking stalls, and on retail windows. It’s even being projected by light onto a building.

It’s all part of Ronald McDonald House Charities “Strength in Numbers” experimental “guerrilla advertising campaign” to elicit mystery and spark donations to local Ronald McDonald houses during the end-of-year giving season. Below each number, in much smaller print, is an Internet address.

A similar campaign is under way in Miami, where the number 7 is being shown on scoreboards during football and basketball games at the University of Miami. In addition, the Ronald McDonald House of South Florida is chalking the number on pavement in four high-traffic areas.

Why the numbers 24 and 7? According to Ronald McDonald House Charities, the number 7 represents the birthday that young Ashanti Jackson celebrated with her family after recovering from a liver transplant while living in the Miami Ronald McDonald house. And in Spokane, 24 represents the number of hours that the house is open to families as well as the number of years the local chapter has been open.

The numbers are also significant because they direct people to the Web sites of the two Ronald McDonald Houses.

The idea, organizers say, is to pique people’s interest so much that they would take the extra step of finding out what “rmhc.org/24” means and the significance of the number. The Web sites also give people a place to donate online, once they type in the Web address on their mobile phone or computer.

“It’s a unique and innovative way to raise people’s awareness and subsequently increase our donations through an untraditional way of using social media,” says Mike Forness, executive director of the Spokane chapter.

Mr. Forness says the graffiti will be in 50 spots all over his city, with a total of 400 stencils on sidewalks, parking lots, and windows.

For the first week or so of the campaign, the charity did nothing to explain why the numbers were popping up so it could give the drive a sense of mystery, Mr. Forness says. Once people understand the campaign, he hopes they will be intrigued enough to donate.

Ronald McDonald House Charities says its “Strength in Numbers” campaign is a nontraditional, low-cost approach to increasing visibility and donations. “It’s a new way to raise money for our global organization,” says Clara Carrier, spokeswoman for Ronald McDonald House Charities. “We’ve never done it before. We’re just experimenting.”