Pictured above: Isabel Penne and Josefien D’Haene, co-leaders of GivingTuesday Belgium
Some people come home from conferences with a few pens and a tote bag. Isabel Penne brought back GivingTuesday Belgium.
At a European Fundraising Association event, she heard about GivingTuesday and its network of country leaders across Europe – but Belgium was one of the few countries without one. So Isabel and Josefien D’Haene, Chair and Community Manager of Fundraisers Belgium, decided to take it on. As they put it, “we felt it was our responsibility to take on this role and give generosity an extra push in Belgium.”
In a short time, and with almost no budget, they’ve brought more than 250 organizations onto a free giving platform, won the backing of the Belgian Food Banks and the Belgian Federation of Philanthropic Foundations, and launched a weekly campaign to keep generosity in the public eye. We asked them how they built a network of partners, volunteers and organizations from the ground up, and what they’ve learned along the way.
“As Belgium was one of the few countries that still had no official GivingTuesday ambassador, we felt it was our responsibility to take on this role and give generosity an extra push in Belgium.”
How have you set things up? Who’s involved, how do you share the work, and how does it reach different parts of the country?
As there is virtually no budget for our campaign in this first year, the movement relies heavily on the time and expertise generously contributed by volunteers from Fundraisers Belgium and our partners. Koalect has provided the platform, while KWIN Agency supports our communication and marketing efforts.
Through Fundraisers Belgium, we already have a strong network of non-profits and organizations working for the benefit of society. We wanted to offer them a channel through which they could communicate with the general public about their work and the causes they champion. For some organisations, this was not really necessary, while for others it represented a unique opportunity. More than 250 organizations have registered on our free platform, enabling them to connect with interested donors and volunteers and direct them to their own websites and donation pages.
We held dozens of conversations and online meetings with umbrella organizations to enlist their support in promoting GivingTuesday and communicating its message to their members and wider audiences. A feature about the initiative was published in the magazine of the VBO (Federation of Enterprises in Belgium), while the Belgian Food Banks, the legacy-giving program Testament.be, the Influencer Marketing Alliance, the ngo-federation and the Belgian Federation of Philanthropic Foundations have publicly endorsed and supported the campaign.
At the same time, we are working to mobilize the general public. We have established media partnerships with two outlets: BRUZZ in Brussels and 7Dimanche in Wallonia. We are also making every effort to raise awareness of GivingTuesday and the importance of philanthropy among radio and television broadcasters, as well as other media outlets.
“Every Tuesday counts”: a poster from GivingTuesday Belgium’s weekly campaign.
We did not want to limit the spotlight on philanthropy to just one day. That is why, on 1 September, we launched our campaign, Every Tuesday Counts, which highlights a different theme related to philanthropy each week through social media. Our aim is to keep generosity in the public eye throughout the year and to demonstrate that every act of giving, however small, can make a difference.
What has surprised you so far, or been harder than you expected?
We are positively surprised by the number of non-profit organisations that have already joined the platform and are sharing their stories of generosity with us on social media.
What has sometimes been challenging to explain is that there is no commercial motive behind this movement. Our sole objective is to raise awareness of the importance of generosity in all its forms. Another challenge is securing free advertising space, which has become increasingly difficult in today’s media landscape.
“Our aim is to keep generosity in the public eye throughout the year and to demonstrate that every act of giving, however small, can make a difference.”
What are you looking forward to around 1 December and Generosity Week?
We look forward to seeing organisations share their stories and campaigns around GivingTuesday and, in that spirit, bringing people together to celebrate generosity and inspire others to give. We also hope that the message will spread widely across social media and that we will be able to showcase inspiring stories through radio and television talk shows.
If someone in Belgium wanted to get involved, what would you tell them?
Science shows that giving, whether it is money, time, expertise, goods, or even a smile, makes you feel good. Through simple, small, yet meaningful actions, we can make a positive impact in these sometimes challenging times. Join us and give!
Find more stories from across the network on GivingTuesday Europe’s LinkedIn page.
