How to develop fundraising capacity in times of crisis and uncertainty

Online Thematic Meeting, 27th and 28 May 2021 (10:30-12:30 CET)

To register for the sessions click here (Google Form)

Who can participate?

ECFI invites practitioners from community foundations (CFs) and CF support organizations (CFSOs) in Europe (staff, volunteer, board member, or other roles) to join this online thematic meeting which will dive deeper into the topic of sustainability of CFs.

The meeting will be held in English.

You shall receive a link to the zoom meeting after registration. Joining the meeting is possible only for registered participants.

What we offer

The purpose of the meeting is to:

• Learn how a fundraising audit can help on the path to financial sustainability
• Break down the key components of the CF technical support program
• Implement effective strategies to engage and retain new donors
• Get ideas on how to capitalise on partnerships and relationships started during the pandemic
• Get inspired by European colleagues

The meeting will involve 2x2hr sessions held over 2 consecutive days, May 27 and 28 (10.30 – 12.30 CET). We will be taking a closer look at how the Association for Community Relations (ARC), Romania, designed and channelled its technical support to:

1) Guide and assist interested community foundations in understanding the new context and develop personalized approaches for donor care in order to cultivate strong long-term relations with donors and capitalise on relationships started during the pandemic.

2) Conduct a fundraising audit for interested community foundations, in order to understand their momentum, read the post-crisis community reality and develop relevant fundraising plans.

Ela Bălan, Community Foundations Program Director in ARC, who will share her knowledge and experience, said:

“As the Covid19 crisis unfolded, re-assessing and strengthening the health of the organizations in the movement became a priority. The crisis had accelerated the growth of some CFs and it raised their profile in communities, but it has also destabilized organizations that were relatively stable from a financial point of view.”

Using this case study, we will be looking at how a community foundation support organisation has acted with agility in responding to the needs of the field and designed a technical support program for community foundations to assess the current funding context as well as the challenges and the opportunities going forward. But in the same time you will also get practical tips and ideas that you can apply to your community foundation.

For more information please contact Mihaela Giurgiu from ECFI.