“We loved helping the National Trust shape a crowdfunding campaign that breathes new life into Castlefield Viaduct. Turning a forgotten rail line into Manchester’s own sky garden — and uniting community, nature and heritage in one inspiring project.”
The National Trust is at the heart of UK conservation, welcoming 30 million visitors each year. They’re the proud caretakers of over 500 historic treasures and sprawling expanses of coastline, farmland and forests.
Thanks to memberships and donations, they keep their sites open to everyone while protecting wildlife habitats. Their team of architects, ecologists and heritage experts works to safeguard buildings, landscapes and rare species, with sustainability guiding every decision. They’re also tackling climate change through green initiatives, renewable energy and public engagement. It’s inspiring, rewarding and a privilege to be involved with their work.
The National Trust is at the heart of UK conservation, welcoming 30 million visitors each year. They’re the proud caretakers of over 500 historic treasures and sprawling expanses of coastline, farmland and forests.
Thanks to memberships and donations, they keep their sites open to everyone while protecting wildlife habitats. Their team of architects, ecologists and heritage experts works to safeguard buildings, landscapes and rare species, with sustainability guiding every decision. They’re also tackling climate change through green initiatives, renewable energy and public engagement. It’s inspiring, rewarding and a privilege to be involved with their work.
The National Trust wanted to build on the Castlefield Viaduct’s success. What started as a forgotten 1896 rail line has blossomed into Castlefield’s very own green ‘sky garden’ — a slice of Victorian-era steel turned lush oasis. After reopening in July 2022 with a fresh look and some vital funding, it’s now a place where the city’s industrial vibes mix perfectly with serene green spaces.
Phase two is even more exciting. The plan is to link the viaduct to the canal, weaving a stunning green walkway into the heart of Manchester. Crucially, it brings nature to people who live in busy urban areas. The National Trust has asked us to lead a crowdfunding campaign that sparks public interest and helps them reach their fundraising goals.
We gathered with the National Trust’s project leads, marketing communications representatives and board members for a hands-on discovery session.
By the end, we had a solid plan for priorities, deliverables and next steps. Everyone left with a clear sense of direction, stronger team spirit and real momentum to drive the campaign forward.
We started by showing how crowdfunding thrives in similar sectors, backing it up with real examples. Then we mapped out a plan with clear milestones, a flexible team setup and a realistic budget — giving the National Trust freedom to choose how much support they needed.
We focused on a strong message, a multi-channel approach and striking visuals like videos. We also recommended the best tools to share the story and bring people on board. To widen the campaign’s reach, we proposed a solid marketing strategy covering social media, email, PR events and local business partnerships.
Our work paid off. It helped the National Trust get the green light from their board for phase two of the Castlefield Viaduct crowdfunding campaign.
They asked us back to help build the campaign from the ground up. Lots of fun elements to cover! Audience, brand voice, competitor analysis, key messages and fresh campaign ideas to start off strong.
We scrutinised the National Trust’s brand to figure out who they should target and how they can stand out from others. This research is going to guide the crowdfunding campaign and bring new ideas into how the brand is seen.
We checked out what has worked in the past for the Trust, online and offline. Based on that, we proposed a plan to better engage people and boost donations.
We made sure our plan fit well with what the National Trust stands for and the specific goals for the Castlefield Viaduct project. This approach highlighted what’s special about the project, making it more trustworthy and attractive to potential donors.
We carried out deep research into local sentiment, historic context and the Trust’s values. From there, we shaped core themes which speak to the Castlefield Viaduct’s unique appeal and its impact on the community.
Persuasive messages showed Castlefield Viaduct is a living landmark that unites people, honours the past and welcomes innovation. These messages will guide all campaign content, from social posts to donor briefs. By anchoring the campaign in meaningful themes, we give every piece of communication a clear purpose and inspire real connection with supporters.
We defined a tone of voice that reflects the evolution and future direction of the National Trust. We also came up with campaign ideas based on the main themes and messages. The team can adjust and refine these as needed.
We built an amplification plan. This included mapping out local and national partnerships, media hooks and event opportunities. The goal: boost visibility and excitement, so more people feel inspired to back the campaign.
We recommended targeted paid ads on Facebook and Google to connect with the viaduct’s fans, bring in new donors and boost engagement. We also proposed an email marketing plan for timely updates, encouraging loyal and new supporters to stay involved.
On top of that, we advised leaning on organic social media to build a real sense of community. Through fresh ideas and a refined voice, we helped them see new ways to build on strengths and be more strategic.
The Trust now has a flexible plan covering messaging, audience insights, marketing tactics and creative concepts. It’s ready to scale for future campaigns across the Trust’s wide-ranging work, giving their team more control and confidence.
We’ve given the National Trust a campaign blueprint they can share with their wider team. Designed to guarantee donations and give everyone involved a clear roadmap. At the same time, it’s flexible enough to steer other projects across the Trust’s portfolio.
Our expert insights injected fresh confidence into the National Trust team. They’re fired up to smash their crowdfunding goals. And we can’t wait to see the results.
We have been really impressed with the work that MP&Co have done in helping us to scope the creative direction for a crowdfunding campaign. The team have been a pleasure to work with and incredibly conscientious and thorough. They outlined their process from the first meeting, so we knew what to expect and when, which really helped with our internal planning. They took time to understand our needs really well, were able to take into account a huge range of information and a vast complexity of viewpoints, and produced a comprehensive set of strategic recommendations which went above and beyond what we had expected.
The creative concepts were thoughtfully considered, and aligned perfectly with our brand and audience insights. Everything was delivered on time and any queries we had along the way were dealt with really quickly, including providing additional versions of information to make it easy for us to share progress with senior stakeholders. The team approached our campaign with genuine enthusiasm, invested their time and expertise seriously, but delivered it all with humour which made the whole process very enjoyable. We now have a creative direction and a plan for implementation in which we can feel really confident, and we know where to come if we need further advice or input.
Sally Bowden, Philanthropy Consultant, National Trust
