Summary
Development Focus is using different fundraising techniques:
The Power of One campaign has a dual benefit. Apart from raising funds, the campaign aims at sensitising urban, middleclass children about the plight of their less privileged peers in rural areas
Individual giving has been on the rise as social awareness and the urge to contribute to social causes increases. Development Focus has been able to make appeals to friends, relatives and others to contribute for specific causes. Some have become regular donors while others chip in when they can.
Development Focus more recently started with crowdfunding campaigns. The social media are used extensively as a fundraising channel. All staff members of Development Focus try and contact their friends and appeal to them to make online donations. So far no large amounts were received, but funds keep trickling in steadily.
The climate for fundraising from corporates is very favourable in India. For the last two years Development Focus has been active in this field and so far they are very pleased with the results.
Tips and lessons learned
1. Being a small organisation with limited human resources, Development Focus has decided not to attempt actions that involve a lot of work.
2. Development Focus always makes a cost-benefit analysis before starting an action. They only get involved in activities where the output is large enough, compared to the inputs required.
3. These days, a lot of information is available on the internet and a lot of internet browsing is helpful to identify possible sources of funds.
Review by Wilde Ganzen Foundation
Development Focus has developed a number of local fundraising strategies, to replace foreign funds that were going to be discontinued. Very wisely they regularly evaluate their activities and only repeat those with a favourable result, in comparison to the cost involved. It is quite clear that their success is also due to the personal approach in each fundraising action they undertake. And finally, Development Focus is being realistic about their chances of obtaining corporate donations and not discouraged when an attempt does not lead to a successful conclusion.
Details
Short description of the organisation the funds were raised for
Development Focus was established and registered in 2006 as a Local Expertise Centre of Edukans Foundation, Holland. The organisation implemented a Basic Education Programme in Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, three of India’s poorest states to make education accessible, relevant and effective for children and youth through the India Education Program. Development Focus worked with more than 40 local partners and reached nearly 120.000 children in 900 villages and 5.000 youth with livelihood skills. Edukans Foundation provided all the needed funds.
With the change in policy of the Dutch Government, India is no more a priority country for funding from Holland. The agreement with Edukans has also come to an end. Development Focus therefore started fundraising activities. The current sources of income are from corporates as part of their Social Responsibility programme, from students in schools and colleges and from individual donors. For many international aid agencies, India has become low priority and chances of getting foreign funds have reduced substantially, although Development Focus still keeps trying.
Short description of the project or programme the funds were raised for
In recent years funds were raised for:
. a Child Marriage prevention project;
. a pilot Clean Development Mechanism project to stimulate sustainable development and emission reductions;
. a pilot IT project where Information Technology is provided to poor rural youth;
. an Adult Literacy project reaching 104.000 adult learners.
Objectives
To replace the funds received from Holland with locally raised money.
Targeted donors
College students, individual donors, corporates.
Results
| Cost/benefit |
National currency (INR |
Euro |
| Total amount raised |
67,115,000 |
871,153 |
| (-) Total amount invested |
76,000 |
987 |
| Net amount raised |
67,039,000 |
870,166 |
Result comments
During the Power of One campaign more than 300.000 school students and 80.000 college students were sensitised of the plight of their poorer peers.
Description of preparatory work
1. Power of One campaign: design and print 'stamp cards' and 'bookmarks'; get permission from principals of schools and colleges.
2. Fundraising from individual philanthropists: appeal letters are designed and printed.
3. Crowdfunding campaigns using social media: some appealing photos, videos and case studies are put up on the crowdfunding site.
4. Mobilising funds from Corporate Social Responsibility: initial studies are made of the websites of corporates to check geographic and sectoral compatibility with the projects funds are needed for.
Description of implementation
1. Power of One campaign: once permission is obtained, the fundraising officer goes to the school/college along with a volunteer (a good communicator) and addresses the students in their assembly for 6 to 8 minutes, followed by time for interaction. They leave behind “stamp cards” and “bookmarks” for students to take home, sell and bring back the money.
2. Fundraising from individual philanthropists: staff and board members communicate with friends and relatives through e-mail, telephone, etc. Appeal letters are handed over and funds collected.
3. Crowdfunding campaigns using social media: with the photos, videos and case studies published in the public domain, staff, volunteers and board members write to their friends and relatives to have a look and contribute.
4. Mobilising funds from Corporate Social Responsibility: a concept note is first sent and followed up. If the donor is interested, a full proposal is sent. This is normally followed by discussions and culminates in signing an agreement. Success is not guaranteed: perhaps 1 in 8 to 10 concept notes leads to a donation.
Additional information about crowdfunding campaigns:
Development Focus has been producing short video clips for fundraising purposes. A young journalist friend does this on a voluntary basis. For your inspiration here are the links to these videos. They are all posted on YouTube too:
Child Marriage project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pqn3rG2f1A
About Development Focus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzgzDVlw_6U
Power of One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYwwp5neI5Q
Clean Development Mechanism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VltGVyJjUgA
Fuel Efficient Stoves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuU6GHQCTIk
Solar Lanterns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VltGVyJjUgA&t=84s
Computer Based Functional Literacy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EffbnuNKb40
Follow up: Donor appreciation and acknowledgement
In India, an individual donor gets a tax rebate if they contribute to a social cause. Contributions to Development Focus fall under this category. Therefore Development Focus promptly sends a “tax rebate receipt” to individual donors.
Plans to repeat the action
With the exception of large events, Development Focus will continue to use all the other fundraising methods to raise funds for their projects.
