Here's my complaint. The "creative" that some agencies come up with - often isn't appropriate (I've talked about that before), or, is completely out of brand or character for the charity in question and often has ZERO worth as a fundraising device. Here is the ad that Extreme came up with for Halifax's Food Bank.

The headline reads "It Takes More Than Food To Feed The Hungry."
Yes. That's true. Great. So now what? - So nothing, I continue to flip through my magazine or paper.
Oh hold on! Maybe I'm supposed to GIVE something - let's see, where are my glasses? Right. There does seem to be a suggestion to maybe give generously. Oh - and there is even a phone number - that's handy.
Taaffe writes "Pro bono work usually comes with the promise of a great creative opportunity. A pro bono job can provide the type of challenge that may be lacking in your everyday work, a unique opportunity to flex one's creative muscles." He goes on to say "You never ignore any client's needs and objectives, but with pro bono work, it is totally appropriate to insist on creative latitude as a prerequisite."
Really?
I thought the whole idea of working with charities is to help raise money and make a difference. I can be a bit of an idealist at times - but, it is not time to 'flex my creative muscle' - it's time to raise money.
ASK for a donation and then TELL them how to give it.
Marketing is also running a poll - I was interested to see where it stands currently.

I would suggest that if you work at an agency or a charity to download a copy of "Why Bad Ads Happen to Good Causes" by Andy Goodman.
I know that sometimes that an ad or poster for a charity is to "increase awareness" and that's fine so long as the awareness is about the cause, not the charity. It's not you, the charity or you the agency, it's about who or what you are helping. That being said there is a great quote in Andy Goodman's piece.
Attention, Not Just Awareness
"You can throw oodles of information into a person's awareness. The problem is that everybody is doing it. Awareness is vague, general information, and doesn't by itself catalyse any action. Attention is targeted and specific. It gets people moving. In a simple analogy, awareness is the target and attention is the bull's-eye."
Thomas Davenport & John Beck, The Attention Economy
Let's get people moving.