Fundraising: The Framework of Charity

Have you ever heard of the phrase, “money doesn’t grow on trees”? It teaches us that money, this precious means of exchange, should never be spent carelessly and always with a second thought in mind. So, how do NGOs (non-government organizations), establishments that are crowdfunded with your or any other willingly donated money, get something so precious? Is it a scam? Do they trick you? The answer is no, they don’t have to, because the cause behind each organization is the second thought everyone should have.

Of course, each organization cannot just state its cause and simply expect the money to come rolling in; it requires dedication and patience to raise awareness on the problem they seek to solve. Now, just saying this could never do the work that NGOs do every day justice, that’s why I want to share the close-up personal perspective of my internship program within Yayasan

Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN), an environmental-based NGO located in Indonesia as the affiliate of The Nature Conservancy (TNC).

Inside their headquarters, YKAN does its best to help both the land and sea, from the 500 hectares of mangrove conservation to adopting 14 companies in their fishery program. Accomplishments like these do not go unnoticed, as YKAN has integrated ecotourism to help experience the mangroves themselves locally. They offer people like us to learn about the mangroves by going through them, letting them see just how they hold our waters from flooding and provide stable ecosystems for common wildlife such as Proboscis Monkeys. As an organization, they actively host university outreaches, educational workshops, and engagement programs to help advertise it. Any funds that come from these tours go right back to helping the mangroves.

With the fisheries, YKAN often works with companies as corporate partners to help the ocean’s ecosystem to benefit the overall scene. They advertise online donations as often as they can through social media platforms, hosting talks and seminars of scientists and gruellingly providing statistics on the progress they have made to other companies to extend their outreach. Donors get status reports on how they’re donations have helped the ocean as well, providing insight on any bit of impact they’ve made to help the world.

All of this is done by the YKAN’s workforce, people who work day in and day out to make sure operations like these go smoothly. The only way NGOs ever fundraise is through one thing: action. Through action, they do not trick or manipulate but inspire; they incite people to help a cause that leads to a ripple of action in a world that needs it.

It isn’t just YKAN but NGOs all over the world that take the fundraising from different angles. Oxfam from Britain open charity shops that sell donated items; Wildlife Conservation Society sell plush animals where you can essentially adopt an animal and learn all about the species you are helping survive; Movember from Australia made a whole holiday around growing moustaches to draw attention to its cause on men’s mental health. The list goes on and on, and these NGOs work tirelessly to make their cause known and well-supported. Yes money does not grow on trees, so why not spend it on a cause that makes our world better.