Résumé
Reuben Wachira, the fundraising officer at St. Joseph the Worker Parish was constantly disappointed by donors and partners dropping out and not supporting the good initiatives that they implement through the church. The catholic parish over the years has come up with great initiatives that have impacted the community in a big way, but no one knew anything about them until they organised the music extravaganza fundraising event.
The achievements from the fundraising activity were impressive. They were able to raise approximately Kes. 4 Million ($40,000) that was ploughed into the different initiatives. With the funding, they equipped and enhanced the workshop with the required machinery and tools used for carpentry and tailoring classes. In addition, they managed to sustain a training programme that integrates different skills that are valuable in the job market for approximately 150 youth and improve their livelihood.
Conseils et leçons apprises
1. Fundraising is friendraising: St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Parish plans to sustain the friendships formed long after the fundraising season is completed.
2. Social media are a powerful tool in resource mobilisation.
3. Early and comprehensive planning: ensure to plan comprehensively and involve volunteers as much as possible.
4. Costing donations in kind: it is paramount to attach a cost to donations given in kind.
Remarques Wilde Ganzen
St. Joseph Development Programmes decided to give local fundraising a try, after having completed the Change the Game Academy course on Local Fundraising. They eventually decided on a music extravaganza, an excellent choice as it attracts the entire community, not just a specific group. The action was a real success and led to a much deserved financial result and a set of really useful tips and lessons (see above).
Détails
Brève description de l’organisation pour laquelle les ressources ont été mobilisées
Located in Kangemi, St. Joseph the Worker Parish was established in 1985 by the Jesuit Fathers of the Eastern Africa Province. It is situated in the Kangemi slum, an urban settlement on the outskirts of Nairobi city, Kenya. Over the years, the church has set up various entities that support their thematic programmes on education, youth, women and children. The parish has set up a school, St. Joseph Secondary School, which provides students from the community access to secondary education while Upendo Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) education programme offers educational support in the form of scholarships to orphans and vulnerable children from poor families. The parish also has set up the Uzima Women Integrated Programme which delivers support and care to persons affected and living with HIV/AIDS and those experiencing social marginalization. For the young men who are out of school, they have the St. Joseph Carpentry Workshop that has in the past served as a men’s group that assists in giving livelihood skills.
Brève description du projet ou du programme pour lequel les ressources ont été mobilisées
The funds were raised to accomplish the following objectives:
1. Equip and enhance the Training Centre with required machinery and tools.
2. Maintain a sustainable integrated skills training programme for 150 youth.
3. Establish sustainable production units within the Training Centre.
4. Establish a mechanism of promoting and enhancing livelihood support.
Résumé de l'action de mobilisation de ressources
“We learnt the hard way that donors are fatigued and support from the local government was equally difficult. We decided to put into practice what we learnt from Change the Game Academy classroom course on Local Fundraising. Initially, we had thought of having a fundraising dinner but realised that it would only target a specific audience and also providing food for the event would be costly. The music extravaganza became a brilliant idea as it would include the youth in the community,” adds Reuben. The fundraising was not as easy as they thought. Balancing between the planning and fulfilling their actual work obligations was a daunting task for the committee who were members of the different ongoing initiatives. The fundraising exercise began months in advance and most of the money was collected before the actual event. The contribution came in form of cash and pledges. “We developed marketing materials and mobilised through advertisements in the church and social media such as WhatsApp groups. This got us a lot of youth who were willing to support the cause. They were our biggest resource.” adds Reuben. “In addition, we used raffle tickets which the students helped to sell and brought in a lot of funds.”
Objectifs
1. Equip and enhance the Training Centre with required machinery and tools.
2. Maintain a sustainable integrated skills training programme for 150 youth.
3. Establish sustainable production units within the Training Centre.
Cibles donatrices
1. Local congregants
2. Project beneficiaries
3. Local & international organisations
Résultats
| Coût/bénéfice |
Monnaie nationale (KES |
Euro |
| Montant total collecté |
1,984,319 |
17,338 |
| (-) Montant total investi |
256,020 |
2,237 |
| Montant net collecté |
1,728,299 |
15,101 |
Détails comptables
St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Parish raised:
Pledge cards 363,650.00
Jeane Loice France 270,000.00
Jumuiyas 50,900.00
Javier & friends 20,000.00
Raffles 61,955.00
St Joseph Parish 100,000.00
Bouncing castle 1,050.00
KLB contribution 128,112.00
Individual support 360,540.00
Marseille contribution 500,000.00
Discounts from purchases made estimated to Ksh 128,112
Costs made included:
1. Mobilisation costs & development and distribution of marketing materials 62,500/=
2. Purchase of raffle items and expenses during the fundraising event 193,520/=
Suivi: Appréciation et remerciement des donateurs
Donor appreciation and acknowledgement is an important aspect of any fundraising activity. Reuben and his team know this too well and they are in the process of dispatching thank you letters to all donors, friends and beneficiaries who supported the music extravaganza.
Plans pour repéter l’activité
As for Reuben and the team, they hope to have a second music extravaganza that will be equally successful. They plan on picking out the learnings from the first event and using them to come up with a concrete strategy that will inform a bigger local fundraising plan. The team also plans to build their skills on how best to use of social media as they realised it was a tool that could have been used better to mobilise resources.
