The DARUJME.sk donor system was established in 2012 by the non-profit organization Center for Philanthropy. At the time, we felt that people were increasingly shopping online, and it seemed logical that when they got used to it, it would be natural for them to donate online where necessary. However, we also had to convince non-governmental organizations in Slovakia that funding for public benefit activities can be obtained not only from grants or fundraisers. Gradually, thanks to a few brave organizations, we succeeded. The number of donations collected grew slowly and donors also learned to trust this method of donation.
Developments on the Internet are taking miles. In 2019, we already knew that even though 370 organizations were registered in DARUJME.sk at that time, which together received almost 3 million Euros in 7 years, without a serious update of this tool, it will gradually stagnate. We have seen that the system works, it makes sense, but it has to move with the times. The call from the Active Citizens Fund for strategic grants on Civil Society Development has pushed us to plan deeper development of our NGO service – an opportunity to think carefully about where we want to move and what we need to do.
Obtaining the grant worked literally as an accelerator of change.
Suddenly we were able to disengage from obtaining resources for operation and we could fully focus on development. Instead of cosmetic modifications that would only last for a while, we set out from scratch to build a completely new DARUJME.sk based on the most powerful technologies with the potential for further natural growth. We have been working with programmers for over a year to bring organizations the easiest way to raise donations, but to find small NGOs who want to create a donation page in 5 minutes, and to provide all the sophisticated procedures for large organizations. who work with thousands of donors. We also thought of giving the donor three donations, because the simplicity of the process is its beauty.
And the corona came into it. The streets were depopulated, whoever could, closed at home. However, the most vulnerable often had nowhere to go, they still needed help. It was then that we experienced a huge wave of solidarity over the internet – organizations approached donors to help them continue to help with their online donations, or to help them survive the lockdown, so they can help. Organizations that used to address individual donors earlier in person began to register with DARUJME.sk. Collections from the streets have moved to donation sites on the Internet. Many donors have made regular donations to help organizations better plan their operations. Without a simple online donation system, money would not get where it was needed.
Covid-19 complicated our long-term training program for fundraisers, which we developed in cooperation with United Brand Advisors and the Norwegian organization Norsensus MediaForum. We had to move the originally planned personal workshops to the online space. We prepared a series of eight workshops called “Fundraising Meets Marketing”, where participants could learn more about marketing and communication as effective tools for attracting and retaining individual donors. The workshops were led by experienced lecturers from the business and non-profit sectors, and although we did not meet the participants in person, the Internet at least allowed us to invite a larger group of people interested in education.
What about the participants in the training program?
“Overall, this whole initiative was great, thank you for organizing it and bringing in so many speakers that a lot of people from the nonprofit sector could hear.”
“Thank you for organizing this training and thanks for what you do and, as you are here for us as an organization, you are also part of the regular service, as well as any further questions and consultations.”
At the time of writing, we already had a tool for creating donor calls, but we were unable to persuade organizations to start using it. Thanks to a grant and cooperation with the Norwegian partner organization Norsensus MediaForum, we have prepared an information campaign on the calls – and it has already created hundreds of donor calls, in which the organization’s most loyal fans address their friends to donate to the NGO to support its activities. However, the ambassadors of the organizations not only brought the organizations more than a few hundred thousand euros, but mainly disseminate information about the activities of the organizations and expand their donor base.
At the time of writing the grant application from the ACF program, the organizations received almost 3 million through DARUJME.sk. At the time of writing this blog, it was already over 10 million euros. Today, DARUJME.sk helps non-governmental organizations to obtain funding for their activities, enables donors to donate easily and safely on a topic that is close to their heart, and last but not least, it helps to develop donations in Slovakia.
Zuzana Behríková – manager DARUJME.sk