Attraction of resources or what is fundraising. The fundraiser is a new profession in the field of investing. Who is a fundraiser

Hello! In this article, we will talk about a new direction of activity - fundraising, which is increasingly used by charitable and non-profit organizations in our country.

Today you will learn:

• What is the job of a fundraiser?
• What sources are used to raise funds;
• What technologies and methods are used by fundraising firms;
• What are the features of this activity in Russia.

What is fundraising

Every organization needs a constant flow of resources. Some need funds and volunteers for charitable purposes, others need financial injections for confident or development.

In Russia, most non-profit and non-profit organizations do not engage in systematic and thoughtful fundraising. Therefore, they often face the question of lack of money, volunteers or partners for cooperation.

The new term "fundraising" is increasingly found in the media. It means a specific method of collecting financial assets and miscellaneous resources for a specific project. It is increasingly used by non-profit organizations that need volunteer or financial assistance.

The designation comes from the English combination "to raise fund" and literally translates as "raising funds."

In developed countries, fundraising has long been actively used to raise funds for the following purposes:

• Capital to start and work interesting;
• Financing of developments and technical projects in science;
• Maintenance of amateur teams and support of events in the sports field;
• Sponsoring candidates or headquarters in the political arena during elections;
• charitable needs;
• Financial support for cultural events, theaters or museums.

The traditional collection of donations is just one of the areas of work. The result can be personal time of volunteers, various goods and services, discounts on procedures or generous patrons. The latter can help with promotion and advertising, provide transportation or space for the activities of a non-profit organization.

Fundraising types

Experienced fundraisers are becoming more and more in-demand specialists in Russia. This is the name of professionals who, using various methods and methods, raise funds.

Companies providing such services on a contractual basis have been successfully operating in Europe and the USA for a long time. A striking example of fundraising is the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. More than 70 specialists officially work in its staff, whose task is to collect donations and charitable contributions, search for patrons to maintain the collections.

The objects of fundraising can be the release of a disc by a beginner group or the arrangement of a playground. On a serious level, this is the organization of international competitions or the support of many years of scientific research.

In European countries, strategy development is professionally carried out by entire companies and firms, staffed by experienced marketers, managers and lawyers.

Professional search for funds can be project or operational. In the first case, it takes place at a specific event or startup. In the second, resources are attracted to ensure the activities of the fund, maintaining its stable operation.

In addition, fundraising can be divided into two main types:

• Interior: the questions of finding new resources and sponsors are dealt with by the managers of the organization itself;
• External: third-party consultants or professional fundraisers, special consulting companies are involved for successful work.

Fundraising in Russia

In our country, the number of firms and specialists professionally working to collect finances and resources is increasing every year.

The emergence of a large number of non-profit organizations, problems with funding funds from the state lead to the need to hire professionals.

Russia lags far behind the US and Europe in terms of the number of people and companies constantly participating in fundraising projects from different angles.

Three problems hinder rapid growth:

• Distrust of ordinary people to volunteer organizations and wealthy patrons;
• Unwillingness to forcibly transfer contributions (especially when the standard of living of benefactors is low);
• Lack of knowledge about the activities of charitable foundations, their closeness for the majority of participants.

Nevertheless, the Association of Fundraisers already operates in Russia. Established in 2013, it provides ongoing training for professionals based on master classes, seminars and brochures. She sets herself the task of turning the movement into a system that in a few years will unite all professionals and raise the status of their work to the proper level.

Fundraising is a targeted search for investors, sponsors, donors for your project, idea, business. These are not one-time requests for money, but the whole science of how to find permanent sources of funding.

It is interesting! The word came to Russian from English. Fundraising literally means “to raise financing” (raise – to find, fund – money).

In Russia, fundraising is sometimes confused with social actions, raising funds for non-commercial activities, but this is not the same thing. Collecting donations is one of the directions, but money is collected not only by charitable, but also by commercial projects.

Fundraising principles

Any activity can become the object of a fundraising scheme:

• release of a music disc;
• opening a medical office;
• environmental protection;
• Scientific research.

Sometimes citizens of Russia become fundraisers without even knowing it. When a girl publishes a photo of a kitten on her VKontakte page and announces a fundraiser for his treatment, or musicians publish a call for financial assistance to record a new album, these are elements of a spontaneous fundraising strategy.

However, serious fundraising is a targeted resource sourcing strategy that uses modern tools and technologies. A fundraiser is a professional who receives money for his work, and a fundraising company is a serious organization with a dozen employees. She uses the achievements of various sciences (psychology, sociology, marketing) to make the collection of money regular, to turn individual streams of charity into a cash flow.

Thus, fundraising is the rules, methods and technologies for attracting money and other resources. The attraction work satisfies three criteria:

1. transparency and openness (a person must understand where, what the money goes to);
2. accessibility (it is easy to donate, there are no barriers);
3. control (people need confidence in the intended use of their money).

Charity Traditions in the USA and Western Europe

In France, Germany, entire clinics, scientific laboratories, and art galleries function thanks to the involvement of voluntary contributions. Charitable activity of people and corporations is a long tradition. Individual citizens oversee institutions and schools, hospitals and hospices, support non-profit and business projects - sometimes throughout their lives. Even poor people consider themselves obligated to give part of their income to non-profit activities.

Those who use Wikipedia paid attention to the request of the site administration to make a donation for the development of the resource. This is a prime example of a fundraising scheme. The electronic encyclopedia does not publish advertising, so the non-profit organization "Wikimedia Foundation" collects funds to support the resource. In 2 years, it has raised $20 million against a planned annual budget of $28 million. Organizations and individuals contribute money.

In the countries of Europe in the second half of the 20th century, there was a reduction in state subsidies for culture, and fundraisers got down to business. Intermediary fundraising agencies were created: Arts & Business, Comedia in the UK (providing financial support for cultural projects), the Gan Charitable Foundation in France (sponsoring French cinema), the German Federal Cultural Foundation in Germany. In Russia, a similar role is played by the Institute for Cultural Policy, founded in Moscow in 2002.

In the United States, the Metropolitan Museum operates under a fundraising scheme. It has 75 employees in its Resources department. Their task includes marketing planning and market survey, preparation and execution of campaigns to raise funds from individuals and corporations. These are just large examples - there are hundreds of such projects in Western Europe and the USA.

This should be known! Companies collect and accumulate funds, and also look for candidates who could receive funding (grants). The profitability of the agency and its reputation depend on the “correct”, targeted, use of funds.

What is the job of a fundraiser

The profession of "fundraiser" is not in the classifier, but in the list of vacancies it is found more and more often in Russia. Business structures and non-profit organizations would be happy to have a fundraiser in their state. But it is difficult to find an experienced person in Russia - you have to raise professionals on your own.

A fundraiser (in Russia, such people are also called founders) is not standing with a donation box near a shopping center. He develops a fundraising strategy, communicates with potential donors, participates in television programs, prepares actions, seeks investments and grants.

In general, the fundraising algorithm can be divided into the following stages:

1. Communicate information about your activities to potential investors (donors).
2. Find people who favor the activities promoted by the fundraiser; get resources and money from them.
3. To interest loyal donors to become permanent curators of the organization's activities.

Who can be a donor and transfer funds:

• private persons;
• commercial enterprises, corporations;
• state institutions;
• non-profit charities.

In Russia, attracting resources from a wide audience is the business of non-profit social organizations. To support business, it is better to apply for a grant from special funds (non-profit structures that collect money to finance certain types of activities). Among private investors, the Soros, Ford, Xerox Foundation, Apple, General Electric Fund are known (the latter finance projects in related activities). The fund has conditions and criteria for issuing grants - they are distributed on a competitive basis.

The state also allocates financial resources - this is the competence of local authorities and regional state funds to support entrepreneurship. The fundraiser's task is to find a specialized organization, prepare a package of documents and apply for a grant.

Important! It is very important for a donor (philanthropist) to know that the money transferred by him will be used for its intended purpose. Therefore, part of the work of the fundraising department is to convince of the intended use of funds.

Promotions and events

To attract the attention of potential investors, the organization conducts a set of events. It can be:

• fairs, charity bazaars, lotteries, auctions;
• television shows, concerts, holidays;
• targeted fee for a one-time event or in favor of a specific person.

Representatives of the organization meet with sponsors in person or make a mailing list to interested parties. They also announce fundraising through television and the Internet, using announcement sites, the press, crowdfunding sites, and social networks. The goal of high-profile events is to attract an audience, collect information about potential investors and people who are ready to donate money for goals they understand. Then the founder starts working with the database. He calls people, sends letters of gratitude, informs about the next events, reminds of himself.

Should know! A fundraising company of a serious level plans its activity for 3-5 years ahead. A quarterly list of events is compiled, taking into account the territorial aspect. Along with the planning and holding of actions, they are analyzed and controlled.

The strategy of finding money is somewhat similar to starting a business. Its main steps:

Important! The donor must understand the purpose of the funding. The fundraiser is also required to provide reports on the use of funds.

Fundraising technologies

How does a fundraiser raise funds?

• in cash to the cashier or donation box;
• non-cash to the settlement account of the organization;
• through the sale of souvenirs, commemorative badges, tickets to the event;
• in the form of a grant or subsidy;
• with the help of deductions of percent for the sold goods.

The cosmetic companies Mary Kay, Avon have programs to raise funds for scientific research on the problem of cancer: when selling products marked with a special marker, deductions are made to the corresponding fund. For the consumer, this is a convenient form of donation - there is no need to travel somewhere to deposit money; in addition, in exchange for contributions, the consumer receives a product. For cosmetic brands, this is both charity and advertising, as customers are loyal to a company that is ready to participate in social projects.

One of the priorities of the founder's activity is to make contributions not just regular, but to simplify the process so that a person does not have to go to the bank's cash desk and fill out multi-level questionnaires. Fundraising company websites have "buttons" that make it easy to donate money. A mechanism for regular payments is also provided - for example, 1% of the amount of online purchases is deducted to the current account.

Note! Internet banking has opened up new mechanisms for fundraising management, because it is much easier and safer to organize fundraising through electronic payments than to collect funds “manually”.

Although the technologies were perfected in cultural and social projects, fundraising management has also become a part of commercial enterprises. One of its varieties is crowdfunding (raising funds to launch a commercial project via the Internet).

5 ways to become a successful fundraiser

1. study the needs of the market, convince the audience that it will support an important project, create a sense of belonging to a common cause;
2. analyze the motives and incentives that drive people who are ready to help with money or other resources;
3. look for and implement simple ways to transfer money;
4. maintain contact with patrons and donors, provide reports on the funds spent;
5. regularly hold high-profile events, come up with original ways to draw attention to your project.

The specifics of Russian patronage

In Russia, the fundraising market is at the initial stage of development. In the US and Europe, 50-70% of citizens make voluntary contributions, in our country this figure does not exceed 5%. So far, an operational type of donations is flourishing in Russia (when funds are raised for a specific person or event), but even here the amount of funds raised is not comparable with the amounts collected by popular founders in America or Europe.

What prevents fundraising technologies in Russia from “gaining momentum”:

• low financial literacy (people are sure that some organizations that collect money on a voluntary basis are scammers);
• people's distrust of Russian business as such (why give money to someone who will not succeed anyway);
• the memory of the Soviet era, when contributions were collected from the citizens of the USSR for all kinds of projects by force.

As a result, a number of Russian crowdfunding projects (SmartMarket, VCStart) have been forced to cease operations. The rest are Planeta.ru (supports artists and musicians) and Boomstarter (finances business start-ups and creative projects).

The Association of Fundraisers operates in Russia. Its founders are heads of non-commercial charitable projects and foundations. The organization conducts seminars, master classes, publishes informative articles and information about vacancies.

It is interesting! International practical conferences "White Nights of Fundraising" are held annually in St. Petersburg.

Conclusions and results

Fundraising is a set of activities that will help you find resources for your project and make voluntary contributions regular. The fundraiser has its own tools and technologies that will help to interest investors, philanthropists and sponsors. To achieve a result, it is important to conduct a market review (to assess how ready the society is for voluntary financing of someone else's activities), to choose the right social direction for the action, and to ensure control over the expenditure of the collected money.

Important! According to experts, fundraising schemes proved to be viable during the crisis. People limited themselves in purchases, but continued to transfer money to projects close to them. In Russia, an avalanche-like implementation of fundraising strategies is expected in the next 2-3 years.

Fundraising (fundraising, fundraising, fundraising) - the process of attracting external, third-party resources for the company, necessary for the implementation of a task, the implementation of a project, or for the purpose of the activity as a whole. The concept of fundraising comes from the USA, where it is used in the sector of non-governmental non-profit organizations. The term fundraising comes from English words (fund - means, financing, raise - finding, collecting).

Fundraising, in a broad sense, is a technique for finding sources of funding and resources to support activities. Distinguish between project and operational fundraising. In the first case, the collected funds go to the implementation of a specific project, in the second - the funds are used to carry out the current activities of the organization.

Fundraising can be internal or external.. In the first case, we are talking about the development and implementation of a strategy for finding sources of support for activities by the management of the organization itself. In the second case, fundraising is the subject of consulting activities, when the search for funding is carried out through the involvement of professional fundraising consultants. There are terms: "professional fundraiser" - one who provides services to attract resources independently or under a contract; "fundraiser" ("fundraising") - an employee of an organization that is looking for ways to raise resources. To attract resources in fundraising, volunteers can be involved - groups of the population who are ready to sacrifice their free time and (or) money to find the required resources.

Fundraising resources mean material or non-material resources, such as, for example, human, informational, financial, legal, marketing, etc. Methods of attracting resources in fundraising: making a request (personal and personal); mass actions to raise funds, with the use of campaigning; grant competitions; volunteering; mutually beneficial partnership; subsidizing; provision of paid services; membership fees of organizations; collection of private donations; lending.

Attracted resources, depending on the purpose of the source of attraction, are usually divided into commercial and charitable. Charitable (resources, organizations providing resources) - voluntary and disinterested assistance, donations of legal entities and individuals in the form of providing recipients with organizational, financial and other assistance. Forms of charity - patronage and sponsorship.

The source of attracted resources can act as a sponsor, investor, grant-giving organization, philanthropist or donor.

Maecenas- an individual providing material, financial, organizational and other charitable assistance on a disinterested voluntary basis. Sponsor- a legal or natural person providing material support on a voluntary and non-profit basis for charitable activities in order to promote only their name (name), trademark, etc. Donor- a legal or natural person providing material, financial, organizational and other charitable assistance to non-profit organizations on a voluntary disinterested basis. Grant- a charitable contribution or donation of a targeted nature, provided by individuals and legal entities in cash and in kind.

Often, the company does not have attracted resources due to the specifics of the resource itself, the short period during which this resource will be in demand, the availability, development of the resource from others and the profitability of attracting a third-party resource, compared to the purchase of this resource by the company itself.

Scientific fundraising- scientific design, the art of preparing, writing and supporting applications for competitions organized by scientific foundations and other charitable institutions in order to raise funds for the implementation of scientific research projects and scientific and organizational events.

financial fundraising- this is the process of finding and collecting finance (reimbursable or non-reimbursable) to ensure the activities of the company.

Marketing fundraising- the process of collecting and analyzing the opinions of marketing specialists on the methods and methods of conducting marketing activities, marketing consulting.

Fundraising is the process of raising funds and other resources that the organization cannot provide on its own and which are necessary for the implementation of the project.

Possible sources of attraction of resources: companies; private persons; funds; state bodies.

The main objectives of fundraising will be: fundraising; acquisition of new partners and friends of the organization; the opportunity to openly declare yourself and inform about your goals.

Fundraising can be "internal" and "external" according to the method of implementation. Internal fundraising is when the development and implementation of the search for funding is carried out by the employees of the organization on their own. External fundraising is a search for funding carried out through the involvement of professional fundraising consultants. In this case, this role can be played by both independent experts and specialized fundraising firms.

Telefundraising (telefundraising) - appeal to potential donors and philanthropists by phone and fax.

Mail fundraising is an appeal to potential donors and philanthropists by mail.

Individual fundraising (individual fundraising) - a personal appeal to donors and philanthropists in a personal conversation.

Solo fundraising is the acquisition of support.

Event fundraising (events fundraising) - holding various events (auctions, exhibitions, lotteries, presentations, dinners, etc.)

26. Project funding sources

Project financing, as a rule, involves the following stages: 1) preliminary search for resources; 2) development of financial strategy; 3) development of operational financial plans; 4) conclusion of contracts with potential investors. Sources of project finance are cash used as investment resources. They are subdivided into internal (own capital) and external (attracted and borrowed capital).internal financing (self-financing) is provided at the expense of the enterprise planning the implementation of the investment project. It involves the use of own funds - the authorized (share) capital, as well as the flow of funds generated in the course of the enterprise's activities, primarily net profit and depreciation. Self-financed can only be used to implement small investment projects. Capital-intensive investment projects, as a rule, are financed from not only internal but also external sources. External financing involves the use of external sources: funds from financial institutions, non-financial companies, the population, the state, foreign investors, as well as additional contributions from the financial resources of the founders of the enterprise.

27.Innovation project, specifics of innovation project management

Innovation project- a project containing a feasibility, legal and organizational justification for the final innovative activity. The result of the development of an innovative project is a document that includes a detailed description of the innovative product, the rationale for its viability, the need, possibility and forms of attracting investments, information about the deadlines, performers and taking into account the organizational and legal aspects of its promotion.

The implementation of an innovative project is the process of creating and bringing an innovative product to the market.

The purpose of an innovative project is to create new or change existing systems - technical, technological, information, social, economic, organizational, and to achieve, as a result of reducing the cost of resources (industrial, financial, human), a fundamental improvement in the quality of products, services and a high commercial effect.

Innovative projects are managed by innovative management.

In the world practice, the management of innovative projects is a special area of ​​professional activity, the right to conduct which is secured by a certificate. There is an international association for innovation project management, which issues such certificates with international status. The innovation manager has special requirements. He must be well versed in various types of professional activities corresponding to various phases of the innovation process - marketing, design, production, investment, etc. He must have a good understanding of the specific "language" of each profession - drawings, technological processes, algorithms, budgets, etc. He must be a highly qualified and experienced leader, who is fluent in the functions of management: planning; organization; coordination; motivation; control; representation; selection and admission of personnel; Information Support; provision of resources.

When managing an innovation project, the most important task of an innovation manager is to coordinate and control phase projects: 1. By content. So that there is no lack of necessary design solutions or, conversely, their duplication (completeness and consistency criterion). 2. By data (information) flows. Each project has a certain set of data at the entrance to it, which are necessary for the development of design solutions. At the output of the project, data is generated that is the input for subsequent projects. The tasks of the manager are: coordination of data flows; providing relevant information; installation of a unified regulatory and documentation base. 3. By time. Coordinating project work on time, as far as possible, the manager should provide for the parallel execution of different project work in order to reduce the time and eliminate “temporary gaps” in work. 4. By resources and priorities. In conditions of limited resources, the manager determines the priority of certain project work. For example, the priority may be to provide a high quality product or a low price with standard quality, or product promotion, sales organization. 5. According to the participants of the innovation process. The main participants are: the customer - a legal or natural person acting as a consumer of the project results; investor - a legal or natural person who invests in a project. An investor can be a customer at the same time; designer (developer) - specialized organizations that perform research and development work necessary to achieve the goals set in the project. The designer also conducts a feasibility study of the project and draws up design estimates; performer (manufacturer) - organizations (usually these are manufacturing companies) that manufacture (materialize) an innovative product, according to project documentation. The designer and contractor can be the same person. The most important task of the innovation manager is to stimulate the innovation process so that it does not turn into a “sluggish process” and does not stop completely. In this regard, the manager must have alternative solutions, provide for all kinds of reserves for finance, personnel, materials, and predict possible difficulties and risks. At the same time, the manager must provide for optimistic, pessimistic and realistic options for the development of innovative activities.

. Sponsor can be both a private person and an organization, whose assistance can be gratuitous and paid. The latter involves the dissemination or promotion of information about the sponsor, a donation agreement is drawn up for the mention of the brand. Donor- an individual or organization that makes gratuitous donations or sponsors grants on a competitive basis. Patrons are individuals who make gratuitous donations.

Fees are divided into targeted requests and program activities. Targeted fees attract more people, as they are aimed at helping a specific person, most often experiencing health problems. Program fees are organized to sponsor social services or large-scale programs. The cost of salaries of employees and involved specialists, as well as indirect costs can be included in any type of fees. Examples are programs for the rehabilitation of people with disabilities and the social adaptation of children left without parental care, as well as the organization of regular volunteer assistance in hospitals. The transfer of donations can be carried out both by bank transfer and through cash payments. As a rule, you can make a donation through the cash desk of the organization, a bank or a specially installed terminal.

Story

Collecting donations through the book festival, 2005

In the world

The practice of collecting donations for socially significant purposes dates back to the 17th-18th centuries. One of the first major patrons of the time was the European Medici family, which sponsored the scientific discoveries of the Renaissance. Another example is the Rothschild family, who throughout the 20th century owned the largest fortune in the world and regularly donated to charity. The term "fundraising" itself originated in the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the collection of donations for social projects of the "third sector" - an area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe economy that unites non-governmental organizations. At that time, the sector was engaged in tasks that were ignored by private and public structures. So, in 1900, the first major fundraising project was carried out, organized by Charles Ward and Frank Pierce to build the building of the YMCA Christian Volunteer Organization in Washington. In 1931, the New York Public Foundation was founded on the basis of donor donations. (English)Russian, the donors of which independently determined what the funds should go for.

Since the 1950s, the share of NPOs in the "third sector" of the United States has increased significantly, which made it possible to single out fundraising as a separate management discipline. After the end of the economic crisis in 1973, the state reduced funding for NGOs, as a result of which the latter began to use various types of fundraising strategies. Currently, there is a developed institution of charity in the United States - by the end of the 20th century, more than 1.6 million NGOs were registered, with a total budget of $ 800 billion. Donations from companies and large entrepreneurs are also common. So, the founder of the social network Facebook Mark Zuckerberg has donated more than $45 billion to socially important projects. Apple is also active in charitable activities, spending about $30 million a year. Entrepreneur Warren Buffett is one of the top donors in the world, having given over $30 billion to charity since 2006.

Russian experience

Charitable activity in Russia began with the adoption of Christianity in 988. Over the following centuries, monastic institutions became the main centers for helping the destitute, and personal motives were the main motivation for donors, because by giving alms, a person felt closer to God.

Modernity

Donation box in a Russian church, 2018

The undeveloped areas of charity in Russia are helping people in difficult life situations: HIV-positive, chemically addicted, those who have served their sentences and emigrants. This is due to a general distrust of NGOs and an unfavorable legislative environment. Thus, the draft law “On non-profit organizations” adopted in 2012 significantly reduced the activities of NGOs, some of which were recognized as foreign agents. These included the Levada Center, the regional organization for helping refugees and internally displaced persons "Civil Assistance", the center for the study of political repressions "Memorial" and others. The imposed restrictions affected the status of the organizations and reduced their budgets.

The most difficult thing is to raise funds for NPO infrastructure projects aimed at the activities of organizations. An example is the work of the editors "Such things":