In the aftermath of Giving Tuesday 2016, MOAS Fundraising Manager Christina Lejman thanks our dedicated supporters and reflects on what has made this particular fundraising campaign so successful.
“I have known since I joined MOAS that our donors are special. Not because of your politics or demographics, but because of your spirit. This spirit matches our own here at MOAS: you are plucky, active, motivated and always full of surprises.
When I started at MOAS it was a young organisation and our donor base has grown and matured alongside us as a charity. This is why I am lucky enough to know many of you in one capacity or another, having exchanged emails, holiday cards or Skype calls.
It is because we have always valued the advice and feedback of our donors as well as your contributions that we have been able to grow so successfully together. It is as a result of the community’s energy and vigour that we have been able to weather storms, overcome hurdles and continue to meet the needs presented to us, even when these challenges have seemed insurmountable.
For these reasons, and many more, I should not have been at all surprised when we not only reached, but surpassed, our #GivingTuesday target yesterday, despite it being hugely ambitious at more than double last year’s aim. How many ways are there to thank a community of supporters who speak out bravely in support of a controversial issue, have taken a chance on a mould-shattering NGO, and who have never failed to meet a challenge head-on?
How I wish you could know the depth of our gratitude to you all, but in the meantime, all we can say is:
Thank you.”
This message was written on the afternoon of the 30th November 2016 as we were calculating the success of our Giving Tuesday campaign. We had set a target for ourselves and our supporters of raising €20,000 on Tuesday 29th of November, the growing international fundraising day linked to the holiday season.
We knew this target was ambitious but we wanted to push ourselves and our community in this very challenging fundraising environment. We had also been extremely honoured when the renowned actor and Oscar-nominee Michael Fassbender agreed to participate in our campaign through his participation in our Giving Tuesday video clip. We hoped his voice, added to our own, might help us reach our goal.
Watch our #GivingTuesday appeal video:
Over the course of the day we watched, in awe, as over 80,000 people viewed the appeal and as thousands of contributions came in, steadily pushing our progress bar towards and then beyond 100% of our target.
By the early hours of Wednesday morning PST we had raised over €39,000, over 198% of our original goal.
We are so grateful to all those who participated through donating and spreading the word of this campaign. The money we’ve raised will go a long way to saving the lives of the migrants and refugees who still leave the shores of Libya each day fleeing war, persecution and poverty.
MOAS was created as a civil society institution and our incredibly active community have proven, time and time again, the power of collective action in philanthropy and the spirit of hope that still exists among us.
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