Educational course for people in charge of online communication and fundraising

Characteristics

In what way is internet communication different to traditional forms of communication such as by paper, telephone, or in person? What are its main benefits and what do you need to look out for? What are the newest trends and what to expect in one, three, or five years from now?

The course will take you through the basic rules of how to communicate with your supporters online and the proper steps to take if you want to turn a fan of your organisation into a regular financial donor.

Through presentations, discussions, and practical demonstrations, participants will be given information about what is needed for effective communication and fundraising, working and building relationships with donors on-line.

Concrete examples, both domestic and from abroad, illustrating the latest trends will serve as inspirational guidelines to improving on-line communication in your own organisations. The course utilises its lecturers’ lengthy experience and know-how in raising funds from individual donors.

Target Group

The course is for anyone who:

  • Is interested in getting a basic overview and necessary information for effective communication and fundraising online;
  • Needs to find their way around the dynamically developing field of working with donors via social media and the internet;
  • Needs to enrich their approach to financing with inspiration and new trends.

Corse Topics

  • Ideal website - what do supporters expect from your website?; Types of website; Trends; What to remember.
  • I am on-line, therefore I am! - overview and development of social media; On-line isn’t about days, it’s about minutes; Generation “Z”.
  • Using social media for communication and fundraising - why and how to use Facebook, YouTube, and other media (Pokec, LinkedIn, Twitter, 4square...).
  • Newsletter and email communication - do you need a “newsletter” or “cyber appeal”? How to write a newsletter.
  • On-line acquisitions - how to collect leads for free and how to use them; On-line advertising.
  • The path from fan to donor – turn your supporters into fundraisers - converting fans to donors; How and when to request your first gift; A one-time, or regular request?; Peer-to-peer fundraising; Inspirational examples.
  • How on-line advertising works - paid advertising (Google AdWords, Facebook Ads, banners) and free advertising; How to motivate fans to share your message.
  • Mobile devices - why you should not forget about mobiles; From SMS to apps; Mobile internet and the web; How to fit on a small screen.
  • Donation portals and the integration of payment tools into webpages - the purpose and differences of portals in Slovakia; How to write and promote your appeal well on portals; How to integrate e-commerce on your web quickly and freely.

Takeaways For Participants

  • Inspiration and new information for the development of on-line communication and fundraising;
  • Course presentations, presentations from the CEE Fundraising online Conference (for an additional fee);
  • Expert domestic and foreign material/texts on the issues raised in the course, concrete examples, example studies, recommendations for other books and internet sources,

Lecturers

Mgr. Katarína Bartovičová

Deputy Chair

Starting as an activist in 1997, Katarina went on and worked for Greenpeace Slovakia as a Fundraising and PR Manager between 2001-2010. She was in charge of donor acquisition and management, personal income taxes allocations and financial management. She had also volunteered for Amnesty International Slovakia and later became the organisation’s member and president of its Coordination Council. She has been the Consultant for and Deputy Chair of the Slovak Fundraising Centre since she co-founded it in 2009, being mainly responsible for building individual and corporate giving. In 2016 she started working as a fundraising manager at European Digital Rights in Brussels, whose goal is to protect human rights and freedoms in the digital environment. She also works as a fundraiser for Post Bellum.

Ing. Eduard Marček, MA, PhD.

Chair

Eduard has been working in the non-profit sector since 1997, and has rich experience from many consulting and training projects at home and abroad (e.g. strengthening fundraising capacities of non-governmental development organizations in four countries of Central Europe in collaboration with the UK’s Resource Alliance). As a Consultant, he deals with NGO fundraising and financing and cross-sector collaboration. He provided consulting services to a number of domestic and international non-governmental organizations and worked on various analytical studies across Europe. Since February 2018 Eduard works as a Head of Individual Fundraising for Transparency International Slovakia. Eduard is a Co-Founder and Head of the Slovak Fundraising Centre and between 2019-2021 he served as a President of the European Fundraising Association.