Indian NGOs in UK fact-finding tour

By Helen Barrett
Third Sector, March 2007

Ten fundraisers from Indian NGOs will visit the UK next month for a week-long skills-sharing trip.

They will learn about legacies, events, major gifts and direct mail fundraising when the visit UK charities and agencies that will include Sue Ryder Care, ActionAid UK, marketing agency Whitewater and Help the Hospices. A behind-the-scenes trip to the London Marathon is also planned.

"Larger Indian NGOs have well-developed fundraising departments, but they tend to stick to what they know," said Jerrold Cheam, programme officer at fundraising charity Resource Alliance, which is organising the trip.

"We want to give their fundraisers new ideas. We targeted larger organisations because they are likely to be about to implement the skills they learn when they return. We invited NGOs with voluntary annual incomes of more than £117,500 to apply to send fundraisers."

Each participating UK organisation will show the group a particular fundraising discipline.