A global perspective series: fundraising in Vietnam
Dear Diary,
For our second installment in this series, we are taking a long flight from New Zealand to Vietnam – a Southeast Asian country on the Southern end of China and neighbor to Thailand. Here, we are going to learn all about fundraising in Vietnam from Angélique, Head Fundraiser at Saigon Children’s Charity in Ho Chi Minh City.
Can you describe fundraising in Vietnam? Do you have fundraising methods that differ or are similar (translate) across the world?
Being a fundraiser today in Vietnam is really exciting, so much is happening and if you are creative and ready to take on a challenge you can launch amazing campaigns. I have only worked in Vietnam with medium size international nonprofits, so my experience is really linked to their way of fundraising for their activities in Vietnam. The biggest motor has always been corporate partnerships with multinational groups, with their primary objectives being engaging their employees around a community project. But we see now more and more marketing departments reaching out to launch marketing campaigns promoting their corporate social responsibility.
Peer to peer fundraising is also an interesting phenomenon, as it’s really close to the Vietnamese culture of giving and their usage of social media. In Vietnam giving has always been triggered mostly by the community in need next door, or by a referral from a trusted connection. Now millennials are translating this approach on social media, not yet in the exact or similar way we see in other countries in which you set up a fundraising page on any platform, but by sharing their support to one cause online. We see huge engagement in a campaign when an action is matched with a donation.
Local peer to peer platforms will be more common, and I am convinced that peer to peer fundraising will explode.
How do you stay afloat on new resources and fundraising trends? What resources do you rely on for information? Any favorites?
I am a fan of fundraising Facebook groups, like “Nonprofit communication professionals”, “nonprofit unleashed”, or “nonprofit happy hour”. I like to hear about other fundraisers’ troubles and challenges, and listen to recommendations of peers. I like Classy’s resources even if there can often be a marketing trap, but my number 1 is the Resource Alliance. I watch all of their videos from their latest online conference, and from there I stalk every speaker on LinkedIn to track all of their next moves and publications. I got the chance to present at the Asia Arnova conference and that put me in touch with lots of researchers on the topic of fundraising. Even if as a practitioner it’s not always easy to read through the academia way of presenting ideas, I am learning a lot from researchers’ work. I also usually follow all my favorite charities (for their work, their communication style, fundraising successes, etc.) like Charity Water, Pencils of Promises, Marie Stopes, Oxfam, and DoSomething. I am a huge nerd of annual reports, audited accounts, IRS forms, as a means to collect data and understand on how successful organizations have grown. And at the office and within my team we try to organize as often as possible “interventions”, where we invite a speaker to discuss one challenge we are facing and help us move forward. It’s a great occasion to get in touch with other fundraisers.
Do you incorporate prospect research into your fundraising strategies? If so, how? And if not, why?
I think it depends entirely on the kind of organization you are working with - if they are a startup, or very established, launching a new program or working on increasing the annual gift of your current donors -prospect research may or may not be necessary. I have worked very hard on prospect research at some point and less at others.
What advice would you give a new fundraiser, first in Vietnam, and then across the world?
In Vietnam, I would recommend a new fundraiser to be creative and very attentive to who are your supporters. There is no fundraising-oriented curriculum in Vietnam, everyone is in a self-discovery phase, so we are all learning what fundraising in Vietnam should be. Trust your understanding of the Vietnamese culture and your fundraising style, but find the right team, and the right organization for you.
Finding the right organization is for me the most important thing. You can be the best fundraiser if you don’t have the right organization to support you, you will fail or burn out. Be smart with who you will be working with and that will be the key to your success.
---
Many thanks to you, Angélique, for sharing your experiences, amazing advice and knowledge with us.
Readers, I am excited for our next location. Hold on to your passports. And in the meantime, if you are still deciding on where to go on vacation before the Winter Season (in the United States), well check out Vietnam!
Until next time, September 15th!
