Samenvatting

Cordaid, one of the biggest development organisations in the Netherlands, works on several topics to reduce poverty all over the world. One particular topic is Urban Matters that designs smart solutions for slums. Cordaid Urban Matters has given the assignment to conduct research regarding successful fundraising within the Dutch non-profit market with particular focus on the target group of Dutch businesses.
Therefore, the main purpose of this report was to research the key success factors in a communication strategy for Cordaid Urban Matters in terms of raising more funds within the Dutch non-profit market. The objective was to design a communication strategy that presented Cordaid Urban Matters solutions to attract and approach funders in the Netherlands by doing extensive desk and field research on the Dutch non-profit market.
Desk research was the foundation of this research and by analysing the organisation and its environment, one had an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of Cordaid Urban Matters as well as their opportunities and threats. Cordaid is well known within the Netherlands among businesses and has a well implemented website. However, the lack of a fundraising and communication strategy makes it hard for the organisation to conduct proper fundraising in the Netherlands. Also, the competition between NGOs is increasing and therefore Urban Matters needs to protrude within the market.
Further on, the Literature Review revealed that fundraising must be an expression of an organisation’s identity and that one has to find the right match with a partner, which has the same values, mission and objectives. Throughout ten in-depth interviews it was gathered that a fundraising strategy is of need and that currents trends are donor involvement, event fundraising and relationship management. Moreover, when Dutch businesses collaborate with NGOs they mostly want to share their expertise and knowledge instead of funding projects. However, entering new markets in countries is a trigger for interested businesses.
Therefore, it was recommended to first and foremost develop a fundraising strategy specifically for the Dutch non-profit market. This fundraising strategy should include crucial components like targets, clear messages, a donor lifecycle and plans to sustain the relationships with donors and businesses in the Netherlands, all with the means of communication.