How To Start An Avalanche Of Legacy Giving: A Case Study From Serbia

The Organisation for the Respect and Care of Animals – ORCA is an animal welfare and nature protection organization working in Serbia. In 2018, Ms. Ljubinka Vivcar, who had been using the services provided by ORCA’s Counselling office for animal protection, kindly left us a 35-square meter apartment after she passed away. Legacy giving is extremely rare in Serbia, especially legacy giving to CSOs. ORCA set up a crowdfunding campaign to turn this apartment into the first student home for animal and nature protection, raising funds for its renovation from 200 individual and business donors. This campaign also inspired three further legacy gifts to our organization, which is revolutionary in this part of Europe. Building on this success, we are establishing an endowment fund within our organization to promote legacy giving in Serbia and the Western Balkans region. Our work represents the first signs of a reaffirmation of what is a glorious tradition in Serbia and the surrounding region dating back to the end of the 19th century.

Learning outcomes:

• How to build trust for legacy giving;
• How to design and implement public surveys on fundraising potential for animal protection in Serbia;
• How to plan a successful crowdfunding campaign in Serbia;
• Key things to plan and communicate when fundraising from individual and business donors;
• Building a future using strong monuments of the past in legacy giving.

Who should attend:

• CSOs, foundations, experts working in charities in the South-East Europe (SEE) region.
• The workshop is suitable for anyone who wants to know how to run a successful crowdfunding campaign and learn more about legacy giving experiences in SEE.