Thursday 7 March 2013

Continuity in the role of the INDEVOUR's

A class I am currently enrolled in, INDEV 303: Theory and Practice of Marketing and Communication for Development, is both an introduction to marketing practices and an introduction to INDEVOURS.

       INDEVOURS (see page for full organization description) by its very nature is an annual affair, with students raising funds over the summer to support their upcoming international development placement in the fall. This is where I come in. As a second year student in a third year class, I won't be participating in fundraising directly during the summer, nor will I be going anywhere other than to and from the UW campus and my apartment in Kitchener in the fall of 2013. At first, I assumed this was a massive disadvantage, then realized the advantage to INDEVOURS my unique situation could provide.

      Having experience fundraising in the past (MSF, Public Outreach, United Way Renfrew Country), I have seen the difficulties presented with garnering continuous funding - and those difficulties were present with well-known organizations, let alone a small group of university students in a city already flooded with university organizations looking for support. Part of this difficulty may arise from a lack of continuity: only 16 weeks see massive promotion, and if donors aren't thinking of INDEVOURS, they won't be donating to INDEVOURS. Some fundraising events may take longer than 16 weeks to plan and advertise, and perhaps because I will be familiar with what some of the 2014 cohorts' goals are, I can pass the information and planning tools onto my own cohort of 2015. I say we start brainstorming for the long-term, plan a year ahead, and workout a system to bridge the gap that exists between cohorts.

4 comments:

  1. Yes - I definitely agree that this is an issue, and one that has been bothering me since the beginning of this course. One of main goals of branding and marketing is to maintain an image in the public eye, and if we go silent for 8 months at a time, I don't feel that we are succeeding. Also, raising funds would be a lot easier if we were able to have a few fundraisers that went on throughout the year. Hopefully, with your help, we can incorporate some of this into the future of INDEV.
    Katiana

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    1. Glad we're seeing the same issue Katiana, I'm not sure where the solution lies, but I think tomorrow in class we can discuss it further, brainstorm some solutions up

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  2. That's an awesome way to look at your situation Corey! Defenitly looking at things in a positive light and how they can benefit you (in these kind circumstances) is important. I think in the end you'll be able to help your own cohort by having the experience of taking the class ahead of time and being able to prepare/think more long term.

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  3. I hope so Michelle! I think we have the ability to always contribute in additional ways to increase how our decisions benefit us. Maybe I'll be an unplanned for guinea pig during these marketing classes

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