Three Lessons about Fundraising

NGOs normally exist in the name of public good. But like any other business, to reach their mission, NGOs also need one thing – funds. This is where Venture for Fundraising comes in.

Tapulanga Foundation brought Venture for Fundraising’s most popular training courses to Sugarland Hotel, Bacolod City last September 5-6, 2013. The Manila-based non-profit organization has been operating since 1999 and has conducted courses in over 25 countries. Their Basic Course on Fundraising session features Pinky Medina, the executive director, and Lea Las Pinas, senior program manager for training.

More than fifteen delegates from various local organizations and groups came to the two-day, lesson-packed session.

Here are three main lessons that stood out for us:

1. Passion is infectious.

When you have a genuine desire to achieve your mission, it will show. Two-faced organizations do not attract donors or employees/volunteers. People would want to help those who are truly committed to their service.

2. You win some, you lose some.

You gain more donors as your organization grows and your fundraising skill develops. You’re also bound to say goodbye to some, for a variety of reasons. It’s normal, so don’t fret too much about it – unless you lose more than you gain.

3. Fundraising is, basically, friend raising, says Pinky Medina. Fund raising comes right after.

Pay more attention to your donors than to the amount of donations. Fundraising goes beyond money and contacts – it’s the relationship with the donors themselves that really matters.

The talk also featured brief presentations from Robin Abello, founder of Akubo Software; Jay Abello, a film director known for the documentary Pureza: The Story of Negros Sugar and founder of the production house Seventh Films; and Bash Adriatico, who runs Copy Paste Prints Express.

The course was sponsored by Akubo Software Philippines, Sugarland Hotel, and Copy Paste Prints Express.

To view the photo album on the Basic Course on Fundraising, please click on this link: 

http://goo.gl/KKSEut