OUR MARKS: Center for Philanthropy
15.11.2023
Zuzana Behríková (In the Center for Philanthropy, she is responsible for the donation system DARUJME.sk and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for Philanthropy, as well as the Foundation of the Center for Philanthropy.)
How do you perceive the implementation of the project over time?
DARUJME.sk is a unique donation system designed for the long-term support of non-governmental organizations in Slovakia. Registered and verified NGOs can create a donation page according to their specific needs at any time, publish it on their website, and enable their supporters to quickly and securely send one-time or recurring donations for causes close to their hearts.
The goal of the project, supported by the ACF – Slovakia program from June 2019 to December 2021, was to significantly upgrade the DARUJME.sk system in terms of technology, making it simpler, faster, capable of handling a large volume of donations simultaneously, and built on the latest technologies.
In addition to the technical aspect, our project included activities to educate involved organizations in the areas of fundraising, marketing, and communication. We also conducted an awareness campaign about the then-new donation tool.
What results have you achieved thanks to the project?
DARUJME.sk has been operated by the Center for Philanthropy since 2012. “Our results are best reflected in the numbers of donations used by Slovak non-governmental organizations for their activities: at the time of applying for a grant from the ACF – Slovakia program, organizations received online donations totaling 3 million euros.” By the end of the project, this amount had increased to 11 million euros. As of the writing of this article in August 2023, donations have exceeded 25.5 million euros.
Have you been able to achieve the goals you set at the beginning of the project?
The grant from the ACF – Slovakia program allowed us to significantly advance our donation system. DARUJME 2.0, which we developed from scratch using the latest technologies, successfully handled the increase in donations during COVID, but more importantly, it demonstrated resilience by seamlessly processing an incredible volume of donations from the Slovak community following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. In just the first four days of the conflict, we received over 22,000 donations totaling more than 1.6 million euros for organizations aiding people fleeing the crisis. Donations were coming in literally every second. It confirmed that DARUJME.sk is a stable tool to support organizations and can withstand even a major crisis.
What achievements have you attained thanks to the project and the support of the Active Citizens Fund – Slovakia? What was the project’s impact on the target groups and the community?
DARUJME.sk is not just a technical tool. We are committed to ensuring that people in organizations know how to communicate with their donors, building a long-term relationship with them because they share a common concern. That’s why we also focus on education in fundraising and communication, helping organizations improve their relationships with donors. As a result, many organizations have been able to diversify their funding sources, and individual giving has become a stable source of income for them.
Thanks to DARUJME.sk, over 270,000 people now have experience with online donations. We contribute to the cultivation of philanthropy in Slovakia.
What experiences has your organization gained from the implemented project?
The support from DARUJME.sk came to us at the right time – we would not have been able to handle two major crisis situations, COVID and the war in Ukraine, without the new system. The platform’s development and the increased number of donations brought us new possibilities.
As the project authors, we appreciated the responsiveness, speed, and flexibility of the program representatives in their communication with us the most. COVID affected our project, and we had to quickly adjust many activities, and ACF – Slovakia always showed understanding. It was also very helpful that the project was not overly administratively burdensome and bureaucratic, allowing us to focus on fulfilling its content.
How do you assess the collaboration within the Active Citizens Fund – Slovakia program?
For me personally, this project was a significant challenge – managing activities in a two-and-a-half-year project, unexpectedly impacted by COVID, was quite demanding. However, I saw a great sense in the project from the beginning, which helped in its fulfillment.
Together with colleagues and external programmers, we did our utmost not only to carry out all the activities but, more importantly, to bring about the necessary changes in DARUJME.sk that subsequently assisted non-governmental organizations and donors.
We have also produced a video about the 3P project – work, assistance, support as part of the Active Citizens Fund – Slovakia program, which you can watch here: