Thumbs-up for fundraising course

by K.W.Mak
The Star, Malaysia, 28/05/2007

Raising funds for charity does not require third party involvement, and there are professional who are ready to teach the skills needed to raise those funds.

Nanyang Foundation executive director Ann Woo said the Fundraising and Communication course offered by the Resource Alliance would help many charitable bodies bypass the need to solicit third party services to help raise funds.

Woo said she was endorsing the course which would have its next intake on June 19 and getting the Nanyang Foundation to give partial sponsorships to non-government organisations (NGOs) that wanted to send personnel for the training.

"What we learnt gave us leverage to create better impact in our organisation," said Yayasan Harapan Kanak-Kanak Malaysia honorary secretary Wan Mohd Nazri Wan Hassan.

For Hope Worldwide Kuala Lumpur programme director Darick Wong, the course had enabled him to lift his organisation from one that had zero volunteers and dwindling funds to one that could meet its monthly expenses and a  network of over 300 volunteers.

"The programme is about learning from each other's experiences and I am fortunate to have learnt a lot," said Wong.

Society of Interpreters for the Deaf administrator Cindy Leong, meanwhile, said she was now organising a programme to raise RM3mil, which would have been an absurd target prior to her joining the course.

IJN Foundation project advisors Faizah Abdul Aziz said the course helped her establish and project the organisation's branding.

"I am now on a membership drive to get volunteers and I will have to ask Darick how he got his 300 volunteers," said Faizah.

Resource Alliance regional representative (Asia Pacific) Jessie Tong said there were more advanced programmes being taught in Singapore and Japan.

The course covers the legal framework of the local system and helps participants analyse the strengths and weaknesses of each organisation, identify relevant funding sources and establish an effective communication strategy.

Woo urged NGOs that would like to join the programe to contact the Nanyang Foundation and obtain partial funding for the course.