VaLa celebrates 20th anniversary with seminar in Helsinki

The Finnish Fundraising Association (VaLa) celebrated its 20th anniversary at the end of April in Helsinki. Fundraisers from its member organizations, founding members, partners, and other key stakeholders were invited to the celebratory seminar.

Iiro Jusilla & Pia Tornikoski

VaLa was established in 2004 and has been a member of the European Fundraising Association since that year. Over the past 20 years, VaLa has organized fundraising training since 2005, awarded Fundraising Campaign of the Year since 2011, coordinated the Good Testament campaign since 2014 and GivingTuesday since 2018, created guidelines for responsible fundraising and good governance since 2010, and contributed to the creation of a new fundraising law in Finland in 2020.

VaLa, in collaboration with its partners, has also developed a special vocational qualification in fundraising, with the 10th course currently in progress. Currently, VaLa has over 80 members.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice

The celebratory seminar featured speeches on various topics, including “Organizational Leadership and Fundraising in the Era of New Ecosystems,” “Opportunities and Challenges of European Collaboration,” and “Philanthropy and Crises: Roles and Functioning of Philanthropy in Times of Societal Upheavals.”

Additionally, there was a speech by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, who is currently leading the ministry’s preparation of the Civil Society Strategy, which has identified the development of fundraising as one of its main objectives.