Summary
According to Ms. Rith Chantha, chairwoman of the Toek Hout Mean Chey Kdey Sang Khem Agricultural Cooperatives, the local fundraising training has been significant to understand that "fundraising does not only refer to outsiders’ funds. Of course, it is possible to do fundraising outside of our local community, but this takes a lot of time and effort. Local fundraising is a more efficient option that saves time and resources."
You may recognise the name of Ms. Chantha or the organisation she represents; they featured in an earlier example, because they managed to survive the COVID-19 pandemic by starting an online purchase order and home‐delivery service for agricultural products:
changethegameacademy.org/examples/local-fundraising/view/?id=245Since then, the cooperative has not been idle. Fundraising for new initiatives has led to successful expansion of activities. You can read more about it in this example.
And if you would like to see their video, here is the link:
LFR Kampong Chhnang (youtube.com).
Tips and lessons learned
1. Community involvement and participation remains the bedrock of our success.
2. Excellent relationships with stakeholders and donors is equally important. If those key groups know what you are doing and share in your success, it increases their willingness to continue investing their resources in your activities.
3. Also organise support for yourself: a listening ear, advice, it is very important when you are momentarily not sure what the next step in an action or campaign should be.
Review by Wilde Ganzen Foundation
Apart from the importance of community participation and communicating with your stakeholders, which we also mentioned in the first example, we would like to draw your attention to a new strong point: when you are raising funds, then make sure you yourself have people around you can turn to for advice and support. In this example, the former local fundraising classmates still maintain contact through social media popular in Cambodia, such as Telegram and Facebook Messenger, and support and encourage each other when the need arises.
Details
Short description of the organisation the funds were raised for
Our community was established on December 20, 2015, with only 39 families as members. Today, we have 907 families (577 of which are women-led households). In 2017, we started planting vegetables, beginning with only one family. After the first family's success, we expanded to 5 families, then to 25 families on a total land area of 0.2 hectares. As of now, 210 families are planting on a total land area of 86 hectares, and 90 percent of our products are allium vegetables (spring onions, garlic). Our allium vegetables also received a certificate from One Village One Product (OVOP).
Short description of the project or programme the funds were raised for
We raised funds for the construction of water pumping stations and a new road.
The water pumping stations costed around 125,000 dollars each and we had 3 stations. Currently we have a solar system we got from relevant stakeholders such as Harvest3, which was linked to these stations. It plays a vital role to reduce the electricity cost. Since climate change has severely impacted on the farming landscape, we are always looking for the latest technology to reduce such costs.
Summary of fundraising action
In 2021, I participated in a local fundraising training. One major challenge for me was computer skills, but I tried my best to overcome it. After the course, I noticed a significant change in myself and the community’s management. Before the training, I thought that funds could only come from potential donors outside our own region. However, I learned that funds do not refer to money only. They can be materials and labour too. As a result, we successfully built a water station, which was supported by the government. Then, we built a new road through collaboration with community committees, local authorities, and external authorities in a fundraising project. In particular, I have gained more knowledge and the ability to communicate better with others. Nowadays, we have raised funds to employ staff working for our community, some are voluntary workers, and some receive a small pay, contributing significantly to developing our community.
Objectives
1. To construct a total of 3 water pumping stations.
2. To build a new road.
Targeted donors
We prefer to work with members, businesses and authorities from our own community.
Results
| Cost/benefit |
National currency (US$ |
Euro |
| Total amount raised |
375,000 |
345,500 |
| (-) Total amount invested |
0 |
0 |
| Net amount raised |
375,000 |
345,500 |
Result comments
One of the women farmers tells her story:
"Since we have built water pumping stations in our village, the agricultural sector has been benefiting a lot. We can now grow vegetables such as cabbage, cucumber, and more, all year round. Previously, without access to the water pumping stations, we could only grow vegetables during the rainy season. Even then we had problems marketing our produce as the road was so bad. However, now everything is better. Before, allium vegetables were sold at a price ranging from 1,500 riels to 2,000 riels per kilogram. But now, we can sell them at 4,000 riels (1 dollar), and the cheapest is at 3,000 riels. Moreover, previously we did not know how to grow vegetables properly. However, after joining the community, we gained the necessary knowledge and skills to grow vegetables the right way. As a result, I can support my children to go to higher education, and my family's economic status is way better than before. Additionally, the whole village has seen a lot of development. Previously, people in my village lived in small houses, but now, we can build big ones."
