Auteurs
Frederic Jonsson https://www.linkedin.com/in/frederic-jonsson-08786a171/
Boas Kraaijeveld https://www.linkedin.com/in/boas-kraaijeveld-a36468162/
Maud van den Bosch https://www.linkedin.com/in/maud-van-den-bosch-596520160/
Kim Brolsma https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-brolsma/
Executive Summary
“Let’s be good instead of just less bad.” – Michael Braungart (2019)
What is the role of a fundraising event? Many fundraisers have been organised these past years, under many different forms, but what were their contribution to their initial mission? Should those events only focus on raising money for the functioning of a charity or can their scope be broadened to include different impacts? This paper proposes a reflection upon dedicated events in order to inspire managers of NGOs that are interested in improving their fundraising events by connecting them to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The sector is in crucial need to improve their fundraising practices as many flaws and efficiency were detected, which may harm the initial mission of the organisation. As a result, this paper is a call for managers to rethink the planning of their events by aligning it with the sustainability agenda. The SDGs are created to inspire, since sustainability is not just about individualistically reducing carbon footprint, but rather about increasing our positive footprint by working together.
Furthermore, this paper makes several recommendations in the form of a guideline for the planning of fundraising events. Probably the central point of improvement is to rethink the role of the attendees. As people stand idle to assist to a specific event, they are not helping in any way the initial cause that motivated their presence at event. Therefore, this paper encourages the creative use of the volunteering energy that is available. In fact, this paper identifies fundraising event as ephemeral stocks of volunteering energy, making room for the possibility of enabling episodic volunteering.
The guideline proposed in this paper should be used by fundraising events organisers as a tool to ensure the effectiveness and integrity of a fundraiser. It is not just about cutting cost and becoming as efficient as possible, but rather it is about creatively improving the impact of these event by connecting to the SDGs, effectively making use of the volunteering energy available and go the extra mile to create an environment of positivity and effectiveness. As fundraising events have the potential to create even more positive impact, this paper aims to provide fundraisers an inspirational start to achieve this positive change.
“What we have to do the next forty years is much more exciting than what brought us in this situation.” (Johan Rockström, 2010)