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Description
Following an organizational needs assessment and action plan, this project aims to rethink Acreditar’s strategic positioning, improve its fundraising, establish better communication with all stakeholders and the community in general, inspire its various stakeholders and the community to involve them with Acreditar''s cause and improve Acreditar’s capacity for advocacy through a market research, consulting, benchmarking and communication and advocacy campaigns.
Summary of project results
The project aimed to address several critical issues identified in the organisations’ needs assessment, particularly influenced by the ongoing pandemic. Fundraising was essential for the sustainability of Associação Acreditar, especially in the current economic recession. Efficient management of limited resources was crucial, necessitating a study on Acreditar''s positioning and fundraising methodologies. Communication was also a priority, as the pandemic challenged Acreditar''s traditional face-to-face communication model, pushing towards digital communication. This shift was seen as an opportunity to improve internal and external communication models and operational methodologies. Advocacy was another key area, focusing on ensuring the rights of pediatric oncology patients, particularly during the pandemic. The project aimed to implement the "Right to be Forgotten" law in Portugal, allowing cancer survivors to access life and health insurance as if they had never had cancer. The action plan prioritized these areas to enhance Acreditar''s capacity and sustainability.
The project contracted a market study on Acreditar''s positioning and fundraising methodologies. The study''s main results were presented to the team, management, Barnabés (cancer survivors), and volunteers in a session with the study''s lead. The study revealed that Acreditar''s notoriety was very low, prompting the need for strategic repositioning and planning for the next three years to increase visibility.
Four storymapping workshops were conducted to build a new narrative, shifting focus from the institution to its integral members, such as parents and children with cancer. This new narrative formed the basis for the 2022-24 Strategic Plan, developed with the entire professional team and a specialized volunteer. The plan was reviewed and approved by the management, who decided to meet monthly instead of three times a year to ensure goal alignment.
A planning and execution control circuit was established, with monthly action maps and meetings to track progress. A plan for applying the new narrative was initiated, involving team meetings to present the new communication approach and discuss collaboration between the Communication and Fundraising team and other teams.
In digital communication and marketing, several co-creation sessions with consultants led to the development of a tactical document and Brand Book for digital communication, a 2022 budget, and a Holistic Communication Plan. The Communication and Fundraising team planned 2022 activities based on these sessions. A marketing agency was hired to implement necessary changes. In advocacy, legal consultancy services were hired to review and compare legislation in Portugal and Europe regarding the mourning period for a child''s death and to prepare a petition text.
Training and consultancy services were also hired to plan and execute a public awareness campaign and convert signatories into donors. The campaign to extend the mourning period for a child''s death collected over 83,000 signatures, leading to the law''s extension from 5 to 20 days, promulgated on December 15, 2021, and published on January 3, 2022.
Meetings and contacts with political parties and a hearing with the Labor and Social Security Commission were also conducted. The Fundraising lead participated in a digital fundraising workshop to explore various digital fundraising methods.
A video, market study presentation, and project closure and evaluation sessions were created for project dissemination.
In terms of results the project achieved its main objective by empowering human resources and Acreditar itself to better fulfill its mission. Over 20 people were trained: 9 staff members from the Advocacy, Communication, and Fundraising teams, the General Director, and the Research Lead participated in training and consultancy for the public awareness campaign and converting petition signatories into donors.
Additionally, 18 staff members, 2 board members, 2 Barnabés, and 1 volunteer participated in storymapping workshops.
The entire professional team and the board, totaling 20 people, were involved in developing the 2022-24 Strategic Plan.
Five staff members from the Communication and Fundraising team participated in co-creation sessions for the digital communication and marketing plan, and one staff member attended a Digital Fundraising Workshop.
The advocacy training was crucial for the team to understand the consultant''s strategy and succeed in the campaign to extend parental bereavement leave. Legal consultancy provided comparative legislative research, which was frequently referenced by media and political parties.
The communication training was essential for planning better communication with stakeholders and the community, particularly digitally.
The fundraising training equipped Acreditar with financial means to ensure sustainability, with donations increasing by about 20% in 2021 compared to 2020, especially in the last three months.
The storymapping training initiated a new narrative for Acreditar and strategic repositioning, involving the entire professional team in drafting the Strategic Plan, which was reviewed and approved by the board.