The shortlist was chosen by a five-strong panel of judges, they are: Ian Haworth, Graham Page and Bryan Miller of WWAV Rapp Collins; Tim Hunter, deputy director of fundraising at the NSPCC; and Amanda Seller, head of fundraising and communications at the WSPA.
The NSPCC and WSPA ads are up against ASPCA's 'In the Arms' spot, created by US agency Eagle-com; a commercial entitled 'Mouna', created in-house by Dutch charity SOS Kinderdorpen Nederland; and an ad for Unicef called 'Pablo', created by Mexican agency Arena Media Communications.
Alan Bird, events director of Resource Alliance, which organises the conference, said: "We have chosen adverts that all worked well in their territories and did the basics right...We also went for ads that had a positive message. One ad that was submitted was unremittingly glum and that didn't make it on to the shortlist."
Delegates attending the IFC will be invited to vote for the winner by ballot box. The awards ceremony will be presented by Haworth and Tony Elischer of Think Consulting Communications. The winner will receive a trophy and a free place at next year's IFC.
The IFC will run on October 23-26.