On 21 March 2022 we began implementing a project aimed at capacity-building for our long-standing partner in Kenya, the Salesian development organization Don Bosco Development Outreach Network. Within the project a Salesforce database will be programmed for the partner organization, local staff will be trained in fundraising and a pilot fundraising campaign will be organized.
A Slovak expert with extensive experience in managing and programming databases travelled to Kenya in March 2022, where he will be present for 4 months. In the first month he will carry out an analysis of the partner’s requirements, gather existing data, draw up a data model and ensure that the partner organization is registered with Salesforce, which provides non-profit organizations with free database licences. He will program the basic structure of the database and consolidate the existing databases. At this stage, the conditions will be in place for the first training session for the partner organization’s staff.
The fundraising training will be delivered in two parts. The first part will take place in the second month of the Slovak expert’s presence in Kenya. It will last one week and will cover an introduction to fundraising, the importance of a CRM database for fundraising activities, a presentation of the new database, an introduction to the Salesforce environment, and basic exercises providing hands-on experience with the database. A month later, the second part of the training will be held, also lasting one week, covering lead generation (searching for and gathering new contacts of potential donors), adding contacts to the database, reaching out to contacts via direct mail and Mailchimp, working with Mailchimp, donor segmentation, cultivating donor relationships, a practical exercise on working with Mailchimp using the database, preparing a fundraising campaign, donating online and via direct mail, and managing the campaign to maximize returns. The fundraising training will be attended by 10 staff members of the project partner. In addition to the training itself, thanks to his presence in Kenya the Slovak expert will continuously work on training the staff, in particular one staff member who will be responsible for the fundraising agenda within the organization.
From the third month, the Slovak expert will start working on preparing the back-end for running a pilot fundraising campaign in Kenya. He will set up the link between the partner’s bank account designated for donations and Salesforce, integrate payment gateways into the partner’s website and build the foundations for online donating by linking the database with the Mailchimp tool. He will create a donation landing page, oversee the choice of the campaign’s purpose, the preparation of materials for the campaign in the online environment and for direct mail, and ensure the technical setup of the campaign. In the last month the campaign will be launched with mailing, the direct mail will be carried out, and the campaign will also be supported through advertising on social networks and in the media. After the campaign, the Slovak expert will handle the import of gifts, the analysis of gifts, donor thank-yous, process automation and will support further activities within lead generation.
The EUR 23,720 project will end on 21 July 2022. Thanks to the intervention, the project partner Don Bosco Development Outreach Network will be able to independently create online campaigns, use effective fundraising tools and, in doing so, increase the organization’s financial capacity for projects aimed at supporting poor youth in Kenya.
