croatia: Setting up individual fundraising system in FoE Croatia

In early 2008, however, FoE Croatia / Zelena akcija (Green Action) still lacked a robust membership system, which made it difficult to communicate with and raise funds from supporters. They were unable to generate sufficient income to meet their needs.

what happened?

FoE Croatia carried out a project to improve their fundraising systems.

They created a database of 60,000 potential supporters, and used this to send a fundraising mailing to 10,000 people, using a selection that was representative of the whole list in terms of age, gender balance and location.

They researched availability of recycled paper and envelopes, and designed a mailing to take advantage of available materials and to facilitate collection of useful data about their supporters. The resulting mailing contained a personalized letter, to ensure that donations could be tracked, as well as information about their programs and campaigns, and an eye-catching image of national hero Ban Josip Jelačić in a gas mask.

what changed?

The mailshot evidently appealed to potential supporters, as 211 people sent a donation. FoE Croatia now has more committed supporters and a robust membership to build together a sustainable Croatia.

what next?

FoE Croatia will continue to develop and improve their supporter fundraising activities. They have received funding from Croatia’s National Foundation for Civil Society Development to carry out more fundraising mailings.