December 2003

Editorial

Let me tell you a story about...

Well, its that time of the year again, folks! Another year has crept past us and we are pleased to have been in touch with you.

In the past year, you may have noticed quite a few changes in the newsletter.
We began the year by introducing a lot of new sections and saw the newsletter grow into a loooooong winding one, scroll after scroll. Having had a great time bringing you loads of stuff, we decided to reduce the euphoria and have finally (we think!) evolved a more structured format.

We have been bringing you stories from different corners and thought it might be nice to listen to your stories for a change. Yes, we are talking about your 'story of change'! Stories are an excellent form of communicating the work of your organisation and very effective in moving people to give to your organisation. So lets hear it from you. Refer to our 'tutorial on 'stories of change' for some tips.

Send in your story of change before 5 February 2004 and the best entry (adjudged by mcas trainers) will win a cash prize of Rs 500! Remember, we want a short story not more than 50 words.

What's more, we'll carry the winning entry in the February edition of Fundraising-India with an analysis of why it won. Hurry up and it could just be yours!

Editor
Top

FR Snapshot

Ask and you shall be given

On a Sunday morning early this December, the priest at a local church in Bangalore announced to the congregation that the church had adopted a village and had decided to celebrate Christmas with the children in the village. He announced that they had planned to get the kids new shirts and treat them to a Christmas lunch. He appealed to the people to contribute any amount even if it was Rs 100. He quietly mentioned that the church would have loved to get the children trousers and arrange more festivities but at the moment they did not have funds for that.

The following week, the priest announced that there was one person who had come forward to sponsor the shirts, trousers and the lunch. He also announced that the money collected from the group would go towards building the village!

The lesson is simple. ASK.

Top

News in Brief

What's happening in communication & fundraising?

Kathalaya announces workshops for teachers

Kathalaya, a Bangalore based group that aims at 'establishing storytelling as an effective educational and cultural tool in all spheres of education is conducting two workshops for school teachers. Titled 'Teacher as a Teller' and 'Stories to Subjects', the workshops are scheduled for 16 and 17 January and 6 and 7 and February respectively. The registration fee for each workshop is Rs 950 and includes a certificate, teacher's kit, tea, lunch and snacks. For further details email kathalaya@vsnl.net

Centre for Education and Documentation announces scholarships for media students

Four students who received the CED-INSAANIYAT Scholarship on social violence are currently working on their papers, researching social violence and looking at how communalism affects them. Interested students, especially those in media studies are encouraged to apply for the second batch of scholarships. The scholarship provides an honorarium of Rs. 3,000/- plus expenses for basic travel and DA depending on the proposal submitted by the student, and a year's complimentary membership to CED. For details, email uma@doccentre.org

The CED - OUTREACH Scholarship for activists and concerned students has also been announced. This is a new Scholarship for activists and students who want to take time out to study, read or research issues related to development either full or part-time. Scholars are expected to research and collate material on trends and analysis of current issues affecting development and social change and examine new perspectives and directions for the NGO sector, peoples' movements and structural transformation. The amount of scholarship ranges from Rs. 30,000/- to Rs. 75,000 depending on duration and project. For information on this scholarship, email scholars@doccentre.org

Wanted! Fundraising professionals who want to change the world

Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) is looking for Indian Fundraisers who can work as VSO volunteers, together with communities in other developing countries. Living and working alongside local communities, and in local organisations, volunteers will gain experience in developing fundraising strategies, identifying new funding opportunities and writing proposals. Key tasks might include creating management systems, networking with international and national donors and devising strategies for income generation.

Selected volunteers will be working with limited resources and need to garner the support of a wide range of stakeholders. Volunteers will receive a local wage and preparatory grants. In addition to this, accommodation and travel will also be covered.

Challenge yourself by applying today. Email ivo@mitra.org.in with your CV and a brief note on why you would like to volunteer with VSO. For further information on the programme visit www.ivoindia.org or send a mail to ivo@mitra.org.in.

Credibility alliance decides to set up formally

The Credibility Alliance met last December and has decided to recruit a full-time Director. Ranjan Rao, former Secretary of Nagarika Seva Trust in Karnataka has been appointed acting Director from January 2004. A working group has been set up to finalise the draft norms on enhancing the credibility of the voluntary sector in India. The norms drafted by the Credibility Alliance are aimed at better governance, accounting and
annual reporting. For further information on Credibility Alliance email Ranjan at info@credall.org.in

Top

Tip of the month

Right age to pitch for a legacy?

If you are aiming a legacy direct mailer at your donor database, which is the right age to start? Various studies have shown that there is no fool proof method to gauging the right age-range. While there is no guarantee that a person who writes a portion of his legacy to you at the age of 40, when he is all fired up about voluntary organisations will not change priorities on turning 70, there is no guarantee either that the person who does so at the age of 60 will not change on turning 80! Therefore the key probably is to start early and carry on consistently...

Top

Stories of change have great potential to explain an organisation’s work and achievements to the general public. Writing a story of change is essentially a two-step process.

STEP 1. Gathering all relevant/ raw information. This entails collecting the following information:
- As far as possible, a clear before-after situation to illustrate what the change has been.
- State the problem(Who or what was the original cause and what were the perpetuating factors)
- What was the solution (details of intervention by the organisation)
- Name, age, sex of the person who is the central character of the case study. The story could be about a family or a community
or an entire village too.
- Basic background:state literacy and poverty levels and other marginalisation factors; if it’s about an individual then, family’s
economic, health, education and personal background.
- Include quotes, as far as possible. This is in order to keep the story as personal and one-to-one as possible.
- Find relevant pictures with descriptions

STEP 2. Translating it into a simple story

Once you have gathered all the above ingredients try to write it as a simple positive story that clearly represents your organisation’s work. See the sample below.

Selvi’s new lease of life

Look how she runs to school! Ribbons in her hair, school bag clutched in her hand… she doesn’t look any different from other school going children. But, seven year old Selvi hasn’t always had such an easy path to follow.

Her father passed away a few years ago and his fields were taken away. The family was left with nothing. Selvi’s mother Neelavathi had to work hard to clear some land in the forest and cultivate it, in order to feed her children. Selvi was forced to drop out of school to help her mother.

Their life changed when the family was introduced to World Vision. Neelavati joined the self help group organised by World Vision in the village. This enabled her to take out a loan so she could buy some goats.
By selling the goats’ milk, the family now has a steady income. And that’s not all!

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 and direct support 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