Alohomora Education Foundation helps young people from underserved communities build thriving careers by enabling exposure to diverse career options and helping them choose a path that aligns with their context, aspirations and strengths.
During #GFC2021, they geared up to start their first crowdfunding effort with GiveIndia by dividing their action steps into 3 buckets:
1) Communication: The team crafted a message focusing on the vision of the organisation and why they do what they do. Each team member added their own personal touch before sharing this with their individual network.
2) Social media: Next, they devised a plan to update their network on their progress and thank their donors on an ongoing basis. Their donors were branded as ‘KeyMakers’ who help them ‘Unlock’ the potential of young people.
3) Outreach plan: They mapped out their individual networks and then proceeded to reach out to them consistently. The whole team came together to motivate each other and put in an intense amount of effort over 5 weeks to make the fundraiser successful.
Last year, the organisation managed to raise ₹7.5 lakhs through crowdfunding. This year, they raised over ₹47 lakhs. They believe that learning to overcome the inhibition to ask has helped them see how much love is there in the world and how many people are willing to give. They also realised that it is important to reach a substantial number of people, even if all of them might not contribute financially. Even if 2 out of 10 people do contribute, it is worth the effort.
“Personally, this fundraiser gave us a lot of confidence to pursue our mission fearlessly. There are around 400 people who have backed the mission and contributed. And many other well-wishers who couldn’t contribute. It inspires us to be more ambitious. In a year where funds have been scarce, we have managed to raise something substantial. In the post-covid world, the need has never been greater.”, say Mr. Divakar Sankhla and Ms. Paromita Jain, Founders of Alohomora Education Foundation.
Their advice to other NGOs is to treat retail fundraising as the main pillar of funds and not as Plan B. “Thank all your supporters, even those who can’t contribute are your cheerleaders. Ask people to join you in your mission. Giving money is not the only way to contribute. Don’t lose heart if someone doesn’t contribute or respond.”
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