ShelterBox Case Study

ShelterBox is an international disaster relief charity that provides emergency shelter and essential aid to communities affected by disasters, conflicts and climate change. With global headquarters in the UK, and teams responding to crises worldwide, their mission is simple: No one without shelter after a disaster.

Storytelling is at the heart of their fundraising efforts. Supporters want to see the impact of their donations, and photography and case studies play a crucial role in bringing these stories to life. But before Asset Bank, managing these assets was a challenge.

The Challenge: Connecting Stories Across a Global Network of Fundraisers

Before using Asset Bank, ShelterBox’s digital asset management was fragmented. "Our teams would come back with Moleskins full of notes, reminders of what had happened, and photographs," says Danny Whear, Global Head of Brand and Content at ShelterBox. "Pre-Asset Bank, my job was somewhat of a custodian of all this photography, but it was really difficult to manage."

Managing Assets Across 12 Countries in Microsoft was "Almost Impossible"

Photos and stories were stored in Microsoft folders, making it almost impossible for teams across 12 fundraising countries to find what they needed. Early attempts to use platforms like Flickr weren’t scalable, and as the organisation grew, so did the demand for easy access to high-quality images and case studies.

Valuable Marketing Collateral was Getting Lost

With teams fundraising in countries from the US to Australia, having a decentralised system wasn’t working. "Our fundraisers are always producing materials or giving presentations. They need to be able to self-serve and find the stories themselves," explains Danny. Without a structured system in place, assets were getting lost, and teams struggled to quickly find compelling content to share with supporters.

ShelterBox turned to Asset Bank as a one-stop shop for their storytelling assets. Now, teams worldwide can self-serve, finding and downloading images, captions, and case studies with ease. “It’s been invaluable for us as a place to store all of our stories and photographs,” says Danny.

Key Asset Bank features that have transformed our workflow:

File Tagging and Searchability
“Being able to search by country and by year has been really helpful,” says Danny. ShelterBox responds in multiple countries in a given year, sometimes returning to locations they’ve worked in before. The ability to quickly retrieve relevant content by filtering through location and timeline has been a game-changer.
Case Study Management
ShelterBox doesn’t just store images; they also conduct in-depth interviews with the people they support. Having the ability to keep case study documents alongside photos means that fundraisers can pull complete stories together more easily.

Intuitive Interface
“Having something that feels like a website that’s intuitive to our users is really helpful,” says Danny. Asset Bank’s user-friendly design means even those who aren’t familiar with digital asset management can get around it easily.

“The important thing is that our teams that need new content know that there's fresh content added. Our home page now has a library structure. We've also got the ‘newly added’ section that I know a lot of people use. I walk around the office, and I see them just going in and looking at what's on. So that module has been something I know has worked well for us at ShelterBox.”

Engagement with Asset Bank has been encouraging since it launched. “People are finding what they need, downloading it, and using it effectively,” says Danny.

Asset Bank Helped Us Connect Success Stories Across the Globe

For ShelterBox, Asset Bank isn’t just a tool, it’s an essential part of connecting donors with the people they help. As the organisation continues to grow and respond to more crises worldwide, having a centralised, easy-to-use platform for managing stories and assets will remain a crucial part of its mission.

“We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without something like Asset Bank. It helps our teams worldwide access the content they need to raise funds and tell the stories that matter.”

- Danny Whear, Global Head of Brand and Content at ShelterBox