Where does the money come from?

Summary:

Most projects require funding. Is fundraising done within the OVO or by others?

Where does the money come from?

SolinaJoki 1183636143|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Though my experience with online volunteer organizations is very limited, it seems that the major cause of failure in many projects is fundraising. Very little can be done without the funds. The volunteers may have the best of intentions, spending much time putting together a great plan with a very willing community, but the project gets to a point where it cannot progress without funding. And if the project does progress beyond that stage, it is because it has been taken on by an established charitable organization.

An online volunteer organization (OVO) is at a distinct disadvantage in this respect. There is very little that can be done as a group to raise funds online. How does one establish the credibility necessary for the donor to feel secure that their funds will be well spent? What exactly is the entity the donor is sending funds to? In my experience, this method does not have a high success rate.

As mentioned elsewhere, I believe that an OVO might succeed best by acting as a broker between the community in need and established charitable organizations, finding a match between the community and the organization that would be best able/willing to meet their needs.

I'm hoping others here have had better experience with the fundraising/OVO experience. What have your experiences been? And what are your thoughts on a better way?

Re: Where does the money come from?

Teresa Flanagan 1183652689|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover

Hi Katie: Many of the issues that you have brought up have been thoroughly discussed, in the past, through the "Resources" section of Nabuur. As a Nabuur facilitator for a village wanting a tractor, I still wonder, if I ever manage to fundraise enough for this project, to whom would I send the cheque?. Furthermore, how could I be sure it would be spent on a tractor? Who is monitoring this? My church parish is presently involved in raising money for a tractor (not on my project!) for a community in Angola. This is being done through the connection of a parish right in the community in Angola, that has set up a bank account, offers tax refundable receipts and is visible on the internet. I appreciate that not everyone wants to go through the "religious" route, but I have more confidence in this situation, in that funds will be received and spent properly, than I do in the Nabuur model.