Lost Angels

The Union Gospel Mission serves Seattle’s homeless population, whose staggering growth caused the city to declare a civil state of emergency. To raise visibility within the market and make an impact outside the Mission’s current donor base, the non-profit created a completely immersive way to humanize the challenge. Using artist Lee Jeffries’ powerful portraits of the homeless, a mobile art installation was created, projecting the fiercely intimate images against the sides of buildings, parking structures and city landmarks. The scale and scenography displaced the pedestrians, commuters and residents from their everyday routine, provoking them to #LookUp at the face of homelessness in a powerful statement of humanity

The campaign set new records for giving and engaging with a new segment of the Seattle community, seeing a 1,000+ increase of media coverage from their highest media periods; a 100% increase in donations; and an 80% increase in first-time donors.

Pre-and-post research demonstrated that the campaign was effective in raising awareness for the Mission and their services:
• Top of Mind/First Mention increased to 7%, reflecting a 75% change;
• Unaided recall increased to 14%, representing a stunning 40% increase.

The program tapped into the soul of Seattle, encouraging the community to see the unseen. The exhibit may have been temporary, but Seattle’s homelessness crisis is not. The campaign asked people not just to #LookUp, but to look within—and to make the decision to not look away again.

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