For the Amhara people in this era even the most simple activities like fundraising and uniting have posed severe challenges. Engulfed in what can be considered a Genocide and operating in a political climate where multiple organizations with similar goals are vying for the support and financial contributions of the same target audience, it is proving challenging to effectively unite these organizations and address the issue of limited resources from the same pool of people.
We have searched the web for the most successful and proven strategies to fundraise and unite the struggle. Here is some of what we found for fundraising and bare in mind that some of these actions can even be taken at local and even individual level to address this challenge:
Coalitions and Alliances (even if temporary at first): Forming coalitions or alliances is a powerful way to unite organizations with similar goals. These coalitions can work together on common campaigns and fundraising efforts, amplifying their impact and reducing the burden on individual supporters.
Clearly Defined Roles: Ensure that each organization within the coalition or network has clearly defined roles and responsibilities. This can help prevent overlap and ensure that each organization contributes its unique strengths.
Joint Fundraising: Instead of each organization separately soliciting funds from the same audience, they can engage in joint fundraising efforts. This can involve creating a single fundraising campaign or platform where supporters can contribute to multiple organizations at once.
Resource Sharing: Share resources such as donor lists, fundraising strategies, and best practices among the organizations. This can help optimize fundraising efforts and reach a broader audience.
Prioritise Transparency: Maintain transparency with supporters about the collaboration and how their donations will be distributed among the participating organizations. Ensure that donors know their contributions are going to a collective effort.
Specialise: While the overall goals may be similar, organizations can target different niches or segments of the audience. This can help reduce the perception of competition for the same donors.
Donor Stewardship: Focus on donor stewardship to build long-term relationships. Show appreciation to donors and keep them engaged with the cause, so they continue to support the coalition or its member organizations over time.
Diversify Funding Sources: Encourage member organizations to seek funding from various sources beyond individual donors, such as grants, corporate partnerships, and foundations. Diversifying funding sources reduces reliance on the same donor pool.
Impact Measurement: Demonstrate the impact of the collective efforts. Regularly share success stories and progress reports with donors to show how their contributions are making a difference.
Conflict Resolution: Establish a mechanism for conflict resolution within the coalition or alliance to address any disputes or disagreements that may arise henceforth.
By adopting these strategies, organizations with similar goals can work together effectively, maximize their impact, and alleviate the challenge of competing for the same supporters' limited resources in a political struggle. Next let’s look at what we have found in terms of uniting the struggle of organizations with same or overlapping goals that may be similarly competing for the same supporters’ attention. Some of these are:
Assessment and Outreach: Conduct an assessment of the organizations involved to identify common goals and areas of overlap. Initiate outreach to leaders and key stakeholders of these organizations to gauge their interest in collaboration.
Formation of a Steering Committee or Guild: Establish a steering committee comprised of representatives from each organization to oversee the unity efforts.
Define Shared Goals and Values: Hold collaborative meetings to define shared goals and values, ensuring alignment among all participating organizations.
Develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): Draft a Memorandum Of Understanding that outlines the terms of collaboration, including the roles and responsibilities of each organization, decision-making processes, and mechanisms for dispute resolution.
Joint Activities: Launch a joint fundraising campaign that combines the fundraising efforts of all participating organizations. Create a shared platform or campaign website where supporters can contribute to multiple organizations at once.
Ongoing Resource Sharing and Training: Facilitate resource sharing among organizations, including donor lists, fundraising strategies, and best practices. Provide training and capacity-building opportunities to strengthen the capabilities of all organizations.
Sustainability: Work towards long-term sustainability by continually strengthening the coalition, expanding partnerships, and diversifying participants to events, funding sources and other key agenda items.
This action plan provides a structured approach which is urgently needed for the Amhara struggle against repression and the burgeoning genocide. To unite organizations with similar goals and optimize the efforts in a political struggle while addressing the persistent challenge of limited resources and competition for the same support base. It is especially important to bare in mind that these persistent issues highlighted above will fluctuate from bad to worse and improve through the months and years ahead, therefore it is of utmost importance to diligently follow code and apply the above as required throughout the life of our struggle.
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