Helping Ireland's leading animal welfare charity plan for the Future
A conversation with OneDay volunteer Christina Furlong about supporting the DSPCA's awareness and growth strategy with her team at Kerry.
A OneDay by Christina Furlong and team, Kerry
Christina Furlong and her team at Kerry partnered with the DSPCA to uncover new opportunities for growth, helping one of Ireland's leading animal welfare charities better understand its brand, supporters, and future fundraising potential.
Tell us a little about the organisation you worked with: DSPCA (Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)
Christina: Me and my collegues partnered worked with the DSPCA, Ireland's largest and oldest animal welfare organisation. Every year, the DSPCA rescues, rehabilitates and rehomes sick, injured, and neglected animals while promoting better animal welfare across Ireland. They also provide veterinary services, run community outreach programmes, and collaborate with other organisations to promote animal welfare nationally.
The team is incredibly passionate and committed, which made it a very rewarding project to be part of.
What challenge were they facing?
Christina: The DSPCA wanted to better understand how they were perceived by the public and identify opportunities for future growth.
Specifically, they wanted answers to some important questions around brand awareness, fundraising, and how they could continue expanding their impact in Ireland.
They had great instincts and experience, but they were looking for evidence and insight to help guide future decisions.
What did you actually do during your OneDay project?
Christina: We designed a research programme to explore some of those questions.
Working closely with the DSPCA team, we developed and ran a brand awareness survey (sponsored by Bounce Insights) to understand how people view the organisation, what they associate it with, and where there may be opportunities to strengthen awareness.
We then analysed the findings and facilitated an in-person workshop with the DSPCA team to bring the results to life and translate insights into practical actions.
Was there a moment that stayed with you?
Christina: After the workshop, we even had the opportunity to visit the shelter, which brought everything into perspective. Seeing the animals and meeting the people working on the ground made the project feel very real.
What difference did the project make for DSPCA?
Christina: A couple of weeks later the DSPCA announced in national news a merger with the ISPCA, they shared that the reserach we provided would help to make it a success and we agreed to visit again in January.
As Alannah, Marketing Manager at the DSPCA, shared:
"The workshop was just brilliant, and the data is so valuable for us moving forward as we consider how we will evolve to impact more animals in Ireland. Our comms team have already started using some of the messaging we spoke about, and the feedback has been great."
And what did you take away from the experience yourself?
Christina: We loved stepping away from the world of food and experiencing a different industry. The whole experience was rewarding and created such a buzz, that we committed to continuing our support of the DSPCA beyond the initial project.
Finally, what would you say to someone considering a OneDay project?
Christina Do it.
You probably have skills that charities need right now.
For me, this project was a reminder that research can be a powerful tool for social impact. A few weeks of support helped answer important questions for an organisation that improves the lives of animals across Ireland every day.
That's a pretty amazing feeling.
