Experience of Collecting Donations For Edhi Foundation( Circle 05)
First Meeting With Circle
When we were given this task of collecting money for the Edhi foundation we held a meeting very next day to plan out this task and strategy to perform it most effectively and efficiently. In the first meeting, everyone in the circle shared their respective ideas on how to collect donations. However, in the first meeting, we drafted a theme of the collection but we were not sure how we are going to execute the whole plan.
All Circle Members Started Collecting Donations
The next day we started collecting donations without having a concrete plan. Everyone was not sure how to ask for donations because it was the first time for everyone that they were asking for donations except Aleem Qasim who was already part of a society where they collect donations for their village.
Two days passed with zero amount of collection then Ahmad Younus came up with an amazing idea that we should create a charity donation flyer. No one has a clue about how to create this flyer what needs to be included in this poster. Ahmad contacted one of his friends(Mr. Khurram Irshad)who is a graphic designer and asked him to make an appealing flyer for our circle. Then we started thinking which channel should be used to collect donations as we will be asking people for donations who can be far away from us. After searching we came up with an idea that we should use all probable ways so whatever donors find easy they can donate through that channel.
Communication through Flyer
After we got our amazing donation flyer we started communicating using this appealing flyer rather than just posting status or post in a written form.
This flyer played an important role in completing this activity as it was easier to post and appealing in nature. Our reach was increased it was easier to send this flyer to a close friend and asking him to put it on his Facebook.
Change In Strategy ( Actually worked)
We waited for 4 days when we didn’t receive any amount we started thinking to change the existing strategy and I suggested that we should target potential donors in our friends and families rather than targeting people in general. So the new strategy was, we are going to keep posting this flyer on Facebook and WhatsApp statuses along with incorporating a new strategy which was to send a personal message or a call to ask them for donations in person.
We called our friends personally and asked them to donate by making them realize the importance of humanitarian work. And making them realize that their single penny means a lot for this noble cause.
Many people who saw our statuses and posts but didn’t responded, on asking them in a personal message a lot of them replied positively and stated that yes we will give you the donation but after Ashoura or some people said that we will donate as soon as we receive our salaries.
It was our fortune that the new month was about to start and everyone was about to receive his or her salary or pocket money and there was a hope that we will be receiving amounts sooner or later
Many of our friends who were unable to provide funds at that time are now directly submitting donations into the Edhi Foundation account
Difficulties Faced During Activity
From the first meeting, we as a circle was on the same page regarding the performance of this activity. There were different suggestions in other circles that we should go out and ask people directly or go to someplace where people get together and we will ask them for donations. We as a circle was sure that we are not going outside and will try our best to collect as much as we can without going anywhere physically.
This activity would be easier to perform and the collection would be a much bigger amount if universities were open. We were left with only a few avenues to collect donations.
We reached hundreds of people but no one even bothers to reply. The major issue was people view our statuses and posts and rather than saying we are going to donate or not they just send us thumbs up.
Things went wrong when a Friend of a circle member abused him on asking donation for Edhi Foundation. A friend of that member was against this organization for pathetic reasons. However, we backed up each other by saying that there are different kinds of people having a different school of thoughts so we should not be bothered by such kind of pathetic thoughts.
Another major issue was people, kept promising us rather than giving amount they were giving another date that I’ll give you the amount after Ashura and after Ashura, they said we will provide you this after 15 days.
What We Learnt From This Activity As Group
We learned a lot of things from this amazing activity. In the start, it was a kind of a challenge after time it became a smooth activity
Learning Outcome:-
JUST DO IT: Keep on thinking and making new decisions is not a problem-solving act we should start doing as soon as we have an idea then after spending some real field knowledge we should then review our strategy so (just start) was a big lesson.
THE REAL MEANING OF 1 AUR 1 GYARAH: When we started it was looking like a big mess and no one has any experience in doing such kind of activity but after the first meeting we were like it is not that much difficult and we have a big reach collectively and we can do it.
REVIEWING POLICIES REGULARLY: At the start, our first policy that we made doesn’t really work. After four days we revised our policy which really worked out and gave us the lesson that we should not keep trying on the same track but we should give some time ourselves to review the track on which we are already working on.
DO NOT SET AN ABSOLUTE TARGET: As a circle leader, I never stated an amount that we are going to collect this much of amount or this is the minimum threshold for a single member. Rather I focused on keep motivating and encouraging everyone that yes together we can do this. If I would have stated any amount or has set any target it would make the member feel guilty if they don't get that amount or would have stopped them collecting more donations when they reach that threshold.
Individual Learnings Or Comments Of Circle Members :
Ahmad Younus: This activity has taught me a lot, It was hard to get funds from people. It has made me realized that failing is not an issue but giving up on your idea is the real issue.
Sidra Tul Muntaha: The experience has helped me a lot in accepting failures as our first strategy was failed but we never gave up and tried again with a different strategy and this is the step when failure becomes the success that when you fail you try again and that results in the growth of your mindset.
Tuba Jabeen: I basically get an idea of being in the path of faith at all costs. Accepting the failures, and moving on with the team spirit to complete the task, sometimes it is heartbreaking but we can mend our broken heart with a strong faith in what we are doing, eventually, our reward will be the smile which someone will have when they will find comfort from our efforts.
Muhammad Usman Khan: It has helped me in a way that people won’t believe in you but you have to believe in your self to achieve your goals.
Ghurniq Zahra: I have learned a lot from this experience but the amazing lesson was even if you face failure in a first phase or at one step don’t stop just keep going and revise your plan accordingly sooner or later. Success will come to you. What as a person you need to do is to put all the effort and hard work in your idea
Ahmad Suffyian: A person’s potential is not what he does or thinks his actual potential is beyond his own imagination, what he needs to do is to work on his thought process and do not let anyone tell him what he is capable of. I don’t have a single thought before doing this activity that people out there are so generous in giving a helping hand. Now people are encouraging me to carry on this activity and collect donations from them on monthly basis. At the start, I don't have an idea of this but now I can say without any doubt that we just need to put effort and Allah will take care of the rest.
Thank You So Much!
Amal Facilitation Staff: We would like to Thank you all for giving us an opportunity to undertake such an amazing experience especially Sir Hamza and Mam Nimra for encouraging us and making us believe in ourselves and providing us all the details and encouragement to perform this activity in the best possible manner.
Donors: This activity would not be possible without your generosity. Everyone who donated money or even encouraged us with a positive response has played an important role in completing this activity so we Thank you All.
Circle Members: I would like to Thanks all the members of our circle. Everyone played an outstanding part in this donation activity. Ahmad Younas for making this amazing donation flyer and for your enduring support for making it successful. Muhammad Zubair For going the extra mile and collecting a major portion of the donation. Ghurniq Zahra for collecting donations, collaborating all, and for the suggestion which really worked out. Tuba Jabeen, Usman Khan, Sidra Tul Muntaha, and Aleem Qasim for taking part in this activity and making it successful.
