Summary
Bethany Society is a non-profit, secular, registered, charitable Society established in Mendal, East Garo Hills, Meghalaya, India in 1981. They create opportunities for persons with disabilities and the rural poor through inclusive education, sustainable livelihoods, and social inclusion.
Since they started they have impacted the lives of nearly 10.000 persons with disability and their families. More than 1.000 adult persons with disabilities are engaged in independent income generation programmes and every year 80 teachers are trained in inclusive education.
All that work requires funds, so Bethany Society enjoyed doing Change the Game Academy's Local Fundraising course. During their Festival of Inclusion, they reaped the benefits.
Tips and lessons learned
1. Weather conditions play an important role in the success or failure of an event like ours.
2. Financial constraints; you have to adapt your plans to your financial limitations.
Review by Wilde Ganzen Foundation
A festival offers the opportunity to put together a varied programme that attracts a wide audience. In this case, there was also something very special: the 'Café in the Dark' where sighted people could experience what it is like to visit a café as a blind person.
But even the most appealing programme requires publicity to attract people. And here Bethany Society scored particularly well. They sent e-mails to the participants (parents, teachers, community members), donors, and the bands. Pamphlets were distributed in the community, to the wellwishers, students, and other stakeholders. It was sent to the donors in the mails too. Banners and posters were put out on the streets nearby and in the vicinity of nearly 5 Kms with the help of volunteers. Board members made phone calls to potential donors. Promos were posted on social media and videos of the event were shared after the event.
Details
Short description of the organisation the funds were raised for
Bethany Society is a not-for-profit, secular, registered society established in Mendal, East Garo Hills, Meghalaya in 1981. We dream of an earth fully alive, wherein everyone enjoys fullness of being. We work towards this by forming partnerships with persons, communities and resources so as to create opportunities which empower, enhance dignity and lead to security of health, food, livelihoods, and shelter in a sustainable manner. We work with people in vulnerable situations such as persons with disabilities, children, youth and women living in extreme poverty, especially those located in remote rural areas.
Some of our programmes are:
CLAN (Community Led Accessibility Network)
We follow a Community Based Inclusive Development (CBID) approach to promote accessible environments to facilitate the mainstreaming of disability. Our motto: "Impairment is not a weakness of an individual, it's the richness of human diversity".
CLEAN (Community Led Environment Action Network)
Our programmes are aimed at empowering the community by promoting environment-friendly and sustainable livelihoods. Our motto: "We segregate only garbage".
Short description of the project or programme the funds were raised for
The festival was meant to raise funds for the activities of Bethany Society in general, to amplify their capacity and capability in the cause of uplifting lives in distress.
Summary of fundraising action
The Festival of Inclusion took place on Friday, 20th May, 2022. This venture was a long overdue and much-needed fundraising event to amplify the capacity and capability of Bethany Society in the cause of uplifting lives in distress.
The festival included music, games, a ‘Café in the Dark’ experience, food and refreshments, skits, and a spirit of bonhomie all around.
Objectives
- Promote quality inclusive education
- Enhance our Information and Communication Technology Lab (ICT Lab)
- Provide honorariums/salaries to our deeply dedicated teachers
- Procure Teaching-Learning Materials (TLMs) to enhance our standard of education
Targeted donors
1. Business persons
2. Politicians
3. Individuals
Results
| Cost/benefit |
National currency (INR |
Euro |
| Total amount raised |
800,000 |
9,795 |
| (-) Total amount invested |
175,000 |
2,140 |
| Net amount raised |
625,000 |
7,655 |
Result comments
A festival is a great opportunity for networking and the initiation of partnerships.
Description of preparatory work
- Identification of theme
- Identification of venue
- Identification of events
- Identification of responsible staff, management, parents, students, volunteers
- Identification of students to play in the band
- And organise the 'Café in the Dark'
Description of implementation
The fundraising programme was designed for one day, May 20th, 2022. It started at 10 AM and continued to 7 PM. Around 12 neighbouring schools were invited, including friends and wellwishers.
There was a variety of food stalls: Chinese, indigenous foods, snacks and beverages.
Café in the Dark was the event that attracted most participants.
The games were also very popular and drew the attention of students from different schools.
Follow up: Donor appreciation and acknowledgement
Thank you cards
Plans to repeat the action
Yes, a similar festival
