Our European Members trained to raise funds to become strong advocates
On 26-28 August our training on fundraising took place in Brussels as part of our Capacity Building Programme. 10 of our European Full Members had the opportunity to acquire more expertise and practical tools on how to diversify funding and create a viable financial structure.Building capacity in fundraising was identified as a priority by all the participating organisations in the first phase of the programme dedicated to organisational capacity needs’ assessment. The outcomes indicated the current knowledge level of participants and helped to shape the training’s agenda.
“EPF exists because of our membership, and it is vital for us to have strong members. We hope this training will open up more opportunities for the 10 participating organisations to resource their essential work” said EPF Membership Officer Camille Bullot.
Francesco De Renzis, Fundraising Offer at the European Parkinson’s Disease Association (EPDA), attended the meeting. He explained: “Fundraising is a core issue at EPDA but, being a European umbrella organisation, means we cannot access ‘traditional’ funding channels which are available to national-based patient organisations.”
He continued: “Within the current economic climate, we are considering extending our reach to obtain more funding support and we believe that participating in this training course, and learning from experts, will provide the EPDA with the necessary information and understanding to begin this journey with confidence.”
“Over recent years, our organisation has been financially supported through others’ projects but not an applicant receiving resources according to our needs. We are currently rethinking our structure and activity so the EPF training is a timely opportunity for us to acquire knowledge and experience in raising money for our organisation and develop project ideas” added Gabriela Tanasan of the European Network of (Ex)Users and survivors of Psychiatry (pictured, left).
After the seminar fundraising experts will provide individual coaching to the participants to support them with the development of their organisation’s fundraising strategy and specific initiatives.
Watch the video on EPF Capacity Building Programme on YouTube to understand the project!
For more information about the fundraising training, please contact EPF Membership Officer Camille Bullot at camille.bullot@eu-patient.eu.