Parish Giving Scheme

As a charity whose origins are within the Church, PGS is dedicated to empowering all generations to give with confidence and to feel valued, while easing the administrative burden for churches. In 2020, a major project to bring key services online for donors and church administrators, was the catalyst for a renewed focus on communications – and PGS selected Target to lead this work.

Target has brought its unique blend of communications counsel (working closely with the senior management team) and hands-on creative implementation (producing a ‘ready to use’ communications toolkit) to launch the new PGS Digital Services in the Spring of 2021.

We created a new narrative to launch at the exhibition, introducing the concept of ‘Generation G’ as a means of expressing the culture of generosity. Originated by PGS, the term positions the organisation at the heart of a conversation that has resonance with the church community. Generation G is not defined by age, but by living life generously.

Graphic artist Sarah Scyner was commissioned to create bespoke artwork for the stand and embracing the spirit of generosity, she also designed a suite of wooden postcards that would be given away at the event alongside gift bags of Narcissus Cheerfulness bulbs and ‘Live life generously’ badges.

The theme was also used as a seminar topic, with PGS hosting two 45-minute discussions between representatives from the Church of England’s National Giving Team and PGS members from St Andrew’s Church in Hove, and St John’s Church in Egham.

Grant Forrest, CEO of PGS, says: “PGS greatly benefited from the creativity and event management provided by the Target team as we ventured to our first exhibition. The team delivered exceptional value, ensuring everything from the ideation phase through to event delivery went without a hitch. With confidence in the team given through regular meetings, I was able to focus on other areas of the business knowing that everything was being looked after. 

“Target also lined up meetings with key stakeholders resulting in positive media presence off the back of attending the exhibition. A pleasure to work with, they feel like they are part of our core team and demonstrate understanding of our context which makes them a first-class team to have working with us.” 

Working with PGS CEO, Grant Forrest, Target created ‘A Generous Advent with PGS’ – a series of 28 podcast episodes to be shared through Advent from 28 November to 24 December. The team scripted each episode that was then recorded by Grant and podcast producer, Serena Gay from Made4U Podcasts.  The series was supported with daily Instagram posts, a weekly LinkedIn post and bespoke email content sent to PGS members. The campaign culminated in a personal video message from Grant Forrest filmed at Gloucester Cathedral and shared on Christmas Day across social media and YouTube.

The PGS podcast was available on all major podcast directories and had 1000 downloads.

Grant Forrest, CEO of PGS, says: “Taking a small idea and cultivating into an internationally downloaded podcast in a matter of weeks just demonstrates the talents of everyone at Target.

“Producing the podcast enabled PGS to venture into a new media platform with confidence and leaning on the combined experience of the team, we were able to deliver exceptional opportunities to share the message of generosity, building engagement and awareness for our audience. A joy to work with, the Target team brought our content alive adding depth and texture. They pulled together experts to deliver the overall project looking after all the details which made a busy season run very smoothly.  We couldn’t have done it without them and their extensive skills, experience, and network.”