February 2003

Editorial

Events... risky but rewarding!

Events have always presented fundraisers with an opportunity to communicate and fundraise on a large scale. And of course, there are good reasons for that. Events do a whole lot of things at one go - create publicity, build your brand, educate and motivate. Though events can be more specifically categorised as creating awareness, building brands, strengthening advocacy, networking or mobilising resources, the bottomline is that they provide a face to your organisation and facilitate interaction.

It's precisely this 'human interface' that gives events their C&F potential. Anything that brings people into personal contact with one other invariably creates the best chance at mutual communication, sharing and support. However, voluntary organisations wanting to use events must tread carefully for the very same reason! Any situation that involves people coming together is open to the risks of conflicting egos, interference from various powers, community sensibilities and a whole gamut of factors beyond an organiser's control.

A wonderful fundraising event planned by The Heartcare Foundation (elaborated in our news section) is a case in point. A super idea, incredible amounts of groundwork (quite literally in this instance) and considerable expenses ought to have made it a rousing C&F success story. Sadly it was not to be. Undone by the vicissitudes of petty local politics, the event that promised so much had to be abandoned well short of its potential.

While it isn't realistic to suggest that one can always foresee hurdles that may arise, voluntary organisations contemplating large events must fully consider how to minimise these risks. Explaining every aspect of the event and getting unequivocal support from everybody with the power to interfere or cause disruption will ensure that the event actually does what it is intended to do successfully - communicate and fundraise.

Editor

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Get support!

50 credibility builders you can't ignore - Part 2

We hope you found the first part of this resource (in the previous edition of FI) useful in determining some ways you can enhance the credibility of your organisation. Here are the remaining 22 credibility builders we had promised we'd be back with!

Media relations

1. Interact with the media on a regular basis and build friendships with sympathetic media persons…it can only help!
2. Formulate press releases chronicling activities and achievements.
3. Insert appeals for volunteers, material and financial support if publications permit it.
4. Make sure all press releases are in sync with the organisation's values and beliefs.
5. Handle all queries professionally.
6. Get a web presence. An informative website is a 24/7 employee working to let others know what you are about and doing.

Steady support

7. Nurture relations with celebrities who will be brand champions and potential fundraisers.
8. Encourage skilled and committed volunteers to give you time. They'll eventually get the word around to others.
9. Think global but work towards securing solid local support.
10. Be part of a network.
11. Share information freely and don't be afraid to request it too.

Legal observance

12. Be well informed about the best possible legal framework for your organisation to function in.
13. Adopt the best legal practices. Strict compliance keeps you out of trouble and in good faith with everybody.

Organisational enhancement

14. Build your brand consciously through public events, advertising and anything that will facilitate better public recall and organisation-cause association.
15. Be a brand ambassador even when you aren't at work.
16. Plan. Then work to it.
17. Help to grow the entire sector rather than just the organisation. The problem is always bigger than that and besides, a healthier sector overall can only augur well for your organisation.
18. Know your subject intensively and be informed about latest happenings in that area.
19. Be creative and innovative in your approach…it always gains respect eventually.
20. Maintain a credibility file.
21. Be professional. Doing good work doesn't give you the right to be remiss.
22. Move with the times (particularly with the use of technology)…it's the only way to stay relevant.

And finally the grand one that subsumes the others - Attend a mcas training workshop!

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News in Brief

What's happening in communication & fundraising?

A heart for art and some art for hearts!

Heartcare Foundation decided to make Valentine's day special this year with a wonderfully fresh fundraising and communication idea. It roped in 75 students from the Chitra Kala Parishad to attempt the world's biggest rangoli, aptly designed to depict a giant heart! Titled 'Art for Heart', the fundraiser saw the students set a new world record by creating a rangoli covering 45,000 square feet in 25 minutes. The mammoth effort entailed the use of four truckloads of stone jelly and over 1000 kilogrammes of colour powder. The stone jelly was donated by Gopalan builders, and was returned after the event for reuse.

The record effort was successful in getting wide media attention, with local newspapers as well as television channels like Star News, Udaya, E TV and Citicable covering the event. The event was a definite success from a communications perspective as it allowed Heartcare Foundation to draw public attention to the need for subsidised heart care for underprivileged patients and talk about what it is doing to help. The organisers had planned for the rangoli to be publicly exhibited from 14 to 16 February, at a nominal entry fee of Rs 10 per head. Cultural programmes were arranged for later in the evenings to make the event a strong public draw. Unfortunately though, the fundraising potential of the event was scuttled by unforeseen political interference and the exhibition had to be shut down on the first day itself making it impossible for large numbers of people to visit the exhibition.

For those who are looking to draw C&F lessons, this story certainly has a few. The event was commendable for a number of reasons. It linked a popular calendar day to its cause with a strong and interesting idea. This made it easier to attract attention from the media. The event involved young people in an issue that is typically not youth related and thus harnessed the energy and enthusiasm of a younger profile of volunteers to create awareness of heart care needs. Getting youth to involve in a cause is valuable because they are likely to grow into long term supporters.

Also, the concept of creating a fundraiser with materials that could be reused is noteworthy because it minimises any post-event wastage. However, this event was sadly, also an example of how external influences can hinder the successful completion of an event. Voluntary organisations planning fundraising events must anticipate such hurdles and preempt them as far as possible.

Spice Tele and Terry Fox foundation devise unique fundraiser

Spice Telecom subscribers in Karnataka were given the unique opportunity of brightening the lives of cancer patients through an innovative fundraising plan. They had the option of dialing 279 (a special line) and be billed at Rs 10 per call to that line. The scheme held from February 4-12 was conceived in association with the Terry Fox foundation and proceeds will go towards a project at Kidwai Hospital for research in head and neck cancer. Once subscribers dialed in, they were introduced to the Terry Fox foundation and given details on the annual Terry Fox run, a charity event that raises money for local cancer research and a creation of awareness about the disease. Since its inception in 1981, the annual event has gained the participation of over 1 million people in 76 countries.

Dream A Dream gives an old FR idea a brand new twist

The dreams of many promising young children around us lie crushed and tossed away… hardly more than trash in a bin. But fundraisers at Dream A Dream saw more to it than the sordid symbolism. They saw a great fundraising opportunity! They're now tying up with upmarket stores, restaurants like Pizza Hut and others to have 'Dream Bins' (symbolically containing the dreams of these children) placed at receptions and other high visibility locations. These collection boxes are being advertised under the catchy slogan 'Help uncrush a dream!' The first 'Dream Bin' was launched on 15 February at The Bombay Store, Bangalore. 'The Dream Community Partnership Initiative' as it is called, has been designed by Fisheye Creative, sponsored by Xerox Modicorp Ltd and supported by The Bombay Store.

The lesson: While donation boxes are not a new fundraising idea, reinventing them to identify more closely with your cause can make your initiative more interesting and exciting.

mcas researcher awarded prestigious fellowship

Priya Anand, head of research at mcas, has been awarded the 2003 International Fellowship Program by the Centre for the Study of Philanthropy, New York. She was one of 10 persons chosen for the prestigious fellowship from a pool of 143 applicants representing 52 countries. The three-month long fellowship gives fellows the opportunity to study community foundations and diaspora giving in the multiethnic laboratory of New York. Her topic of research during the fellowship will be Indian Hindu diaspora and religious philanthropy with particular reference to the New York-New Jersey area. This carries forward her recent research in the area of temple trusts and Hindu religious giving and fundraising in the state of Tamil Nadu.

If you have any news or announcements pertaining to communication and fundraising, do write in to us. Thank you.

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Special Report

It's farewell to our Class of 2003!

The first batch of mcas' 10 month training programme graduated at a simple but warm gathering on 6 February 2003. The course, which began last May, consisted of 10 modules on various aspects of communication and fundraising and was attended by 8 participants from different organisations focussing on diverse areas of voluntary service. Each module (spread over 1 month) was based on a unique '1 week theory, 3 week practical' model and was the first course of it's kind in the country.

The programme for the evening began with an introduction by Murray Culshaw, followed by a brief recap of the course structure by training head Bharati Ramachandran. Kishore Rao, founder and managing trustee, Bangalore Hospice Trust (Karunashraya) for cancer patients, addressed the gathering. He stressed on the importance of bringing professionalism to the art of fundraising and urged the graduating trainees to be constantly sensitive to potential fundraising opportunities as some of the best ones are found where they are least expected.

The programme was concluded with the awarding of certificates and the announcement of each candidate's grades (having been evaluated through a written test, final reports submitted by them, presentation skills and a record of their work throughout the year). Joyal Bose of Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre, Madurai stood first, closely followed by Father Maria Doss of Jesuit Province, Madurai and Sudeshna Sengupta of Khusboo Welfare Society, Gurgaon respectively. The participants said the 10 month course had given them greater confidence in their abilities to raise funds and communicate the work of their respective organisations more effectively. All of them were able to successfully raise funds for their organisations during the course of their study, with amounts ranging up to Rs 8,00,000!

The programme was also attended by senior staff of participating organisations, fundraisers from Bangalore and friends of mcas.

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Website Review

A virtual shop window for charities

For all those who've felt moved, but didn't know how to reach out to millions of underprivileged fellow Indians, www.icicicommunities.org is a good place to start! Aimed at the urban Internet-savvy middle and upper class Indian, the portal seeks to redefine traditional ideas of charity and create more convenient and accountable donating, volunteering and support options.

Much on the lines of a shop's display window, the site let's visitors look up a number of voluntary organisations, check out what they do and explore ways of involvement. Interested donors can select an organisation of their choice, searching either by organisation or focus area and then make a secure transaction online. Owned and managed by the GIVE Foundation, Ahmedabad, the site promises all donors a 100% proposition (every rupee donated will be given to the charity chosen, the donor furnished with complete information on how the money was used and all incidental expenses underwritten by ICICI). GIVE's unique model of seeing every donor as an "investor" looking for "impact returns" from the donation is a strong draw for donors with a corporate background as it implies a more professional relationship between donors and recipients.

The site follows a novel partnership ideal, where different "channels" on the portal are managed by different partner organisations or "channel partners". For the shopper in you, there's 'Shop the Cause' channel offering high quality handicrafts produced by poor artisans. IndiaCalls, the volunteering channel is a good place to check out, if you want to volunteer some of your time and skill. Then there's InfoChange, a news channel dedicated to disseminating information on development and social change.

All in all, a very helpful site that is doing its bit to take the voluntary sector in India into the Internet age… while giving concerned persons a whole new range of options for involvement.

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Announcements

Workshop for third sector on effective leadership on 28-29 April

XIME, Bangalore, Oxfam India and mcas are jointly organising a management development programme in effective leadership, specially focussed on voluntary organisations from 28-29 April. The programme is aimed at helping heads of medium sized voluntary organisations, senior staff, board members and trustees understand the nature and elements that make up good leadership. Areas of specific focus will be visioning and strategic decision making, leadership styles, role of the board, building credibility, managing change and time and the importance of communication and fundraising. Key resource persons from both the voluntary sector and management circles will handle various workshop sessions. For additional details, contact Brig K Venkataraman (Retd) at xime@xime.org.

New schedule of short term workshops now available online!

The latest schedule of mcas' forthcoming short-term communications and fundraising workshops is now available online at www.fundraising-india.org/training/short-term. The first workshop on Annual reports will be held between 23-25 April 2003. Subsequent modules will address the areas of brochures & newsletters, media relations, basics of public fundraising and editing skills. To register by phone, call 080 535 2003/ 5115 0580 or email us at training@fundraising-india.org.

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Please feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends, associates and anyone who might be interested. And do send in your queries and suggestions to training@fundraising-india.org

mcas -- MURRAY CULSHAW ADVISORY SERVICES -- Bangalore, serves the voluntary sector in India. We offer training on communication and fundraising, undertake research on related issues, publish books and maintain a database of about 8,000 organisations in India. Contact us at: 2nd Floor Vijay Kiran Building 314/1 7^th Cross Domlur Layout Bangalore 560 071 India Tel: 91-80-535 2003/ 5115 0580 email training@fundraising-india.org website: www.fundraising-india.org