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Last month saw fundraising practitioners, consultants and experts from across Europe come together in Warsaw for the CEE Fundraising 2024: Sharing Experience expert seminar.
The event, the second to focus on fundraising capacity building, was organized by the Academy of Civic Organizations Foundation (FAOO) in collaboration with the Slovak Fundraising Centre, and with the financial support of the Active Citizens Fund, funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
Three key themes
25 attendees, from Poland, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, and the UK, gathered over two days on November 7 and 8. Following the first expert seminar in 2023, this time sessions took place around three key themes: AI Insights: Unlocking New Dimensions in Fundraising; Grassroots Fundraising & Mobilisation: Building Trust and Independence; and Philanthropy in Uncertain Times.
Day 1 focus: growing fundraising income; AI benefits & risks; grassroots fundraising & mobilisation
The learning journey began with a session entitled: Great Fundraising: What Does It Take to Double, Triple or Even Quadruple Your Fundraising Income, presented by Prof. Adrian Sargeant and Dr Jen Chang from the UK’s Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy.
The second part of the day focused on AI, including how it can provide deeper information about donors and help fundraisers better understand their motivations. How AI may personalize the donor experience and help to optimize fundraising campaigns was also discussed, along with the risks it brings into fundraising. Illuminating talks were given by Kateřina Švidrnochová, Masaryk University – Brno on Fundraising in the AI Era: Strategies, Tools, and Case Studies, and Piotr Bilik, Stowarzyszenie Otwarte Klatki on AI in Action: Enhancing Fundraising Efforts to Improve the Lives of Factory Farmed Animals.
In the afternoon, discussions turned to the topic of grassroots fundraising and mobilisation, looking at best practices and strategies for mobilizing the public and fostering grassroots fundraising as a response to non-transparent public funding practices or whims of the rich. Whether mass mobilization can bring money that matters was also discussed, along with whether grassroots fundraising contributes to the independence of the civic sector.
Konstantina Papadimitriou from Inuksuk Consulting presented on Solidarity Trips: Engaging Donors Through Volunteer Experiences; Zuzana Suchová & Ivan Zaťko from Donio Slovensko on Raising Voices: Crowdfunding for Democracy, Rule of Law, and Independent Media in Slovakia; and Björn Lampe, from Denmark’s betterplace.org spoke on How to Raise 1.5 Million EUR in 48 Hours: the Potential for Grassroots Fundraising in the Creator Economy.
The first day ended with a panel discussion, providing both panellists and audience with the opportunity to share ideas, hopes and concerns about the future of philanthropy.
Day 2 focus: exploring the challenges faced by organizations supporting nonprofits
Day two focused on challenges faced by specialists who support nonprofit organizations in their fundraising capacity building, and explored strategies and tactics for surviving, developing, and thriving. Those attending explored critical questions related to professional development in an interactive session, including how to effectively keep pace with the evolving needs of clients (nonprofit organizations) and respond to them.
Participants also had a chance to identify and articulate their own educational needs to help them find the best way to enhance their competencies, and ultimately be ready for the future.
The final session saw the event close with a discussion on key findings and recommendations.
Commenting on the event, FAOO’s Andrzej Pietrucha said:
“Why did we decide to bring together fundraising practitioners, consultants, and experts who support civic organizations in CEE countries? Because despite the ongoing processes of European integration and globalization, the context for charity fundraising in our region differs significantly from that in Western Europe or Scandinavia.
“The philanthropic traditions, weakened by years of communism, along with a lower level of economic prosperity and the political particularism of the ruling authorities, create a unique and demanding landscape for fundraising activities. Therefore, we view non-grant fundraising as crucial for the independence and development of the third sector, with a special focus on those countries that have been listed or will be listed as ‘shrinking democracies’.”
Photos by Marek Rozwadowski
