One of the reasons for the increased popularity of global crowdfunding is our world’s adjustment to the new post-Covid reality. This powerful tool allows for more flexible, nimble, and reliable financing without the need to involve diverse financial institutions, which more often than not can be a cumbersome and time-consuming feat. Historically, social projects have been quite successful in finding sponsors through crowdfunding, however, to do so, one has to have a fundamental understanding of the principles of crowdfunding. And that’s where Crowdfunding Academies step in and play a crucial role for civil society organizations (CSOs), providing them with the necessary knowledge and training to develop the skills needed to run a successful campaign.

Tadamon Crowdfunding Academy receives over 70 applications from civil society organizations

Over the last several decades, CSOs in Kazakhstan have increasingly become financially dependent on governmental funding as well as on private companies' support. But Covid-19 has drastically changed this landscape, as the government budget and private sector’s funds are now being reallocated for the post-pandemic adjustments and other needs. As a result, CSOs have realized that they need to adapt too, and the resulting wave of interest is a seed of hope for that transformation.

With more than a hundred CSOs registered on the Tadamon platform and over 70 submitted applications, the local civil society community has demonstrated its willingness to compete for a place in the first Tadamon Crowdfunding Academy in Kazakhstan, jointly organized and managed by ISFD, IsDB, and UNDP. Cooperatively, the above-mentioned agencies in partnership with the local ecosystem representatives managed to deliver the project in the digital format.  

After a tough selection process, the Evaluation Committee, consisting of experts from IsDB, UNDP, and the local crowdfunding platform Start-time.kz, identified 29 CSOs that got a seat at the latest academy, based on their overall commitment and robust ideas.

This has been more than an Academy, this has been a family

Crowdfunding has a huge potential in Kazakhstan. The Tadamon Crowdfunding Academy graduates are bound for success, as we have witnessed their great determination and powerful stories for community change. Before the Academy was even over, some of our CSO graduates launched their campaigns, and regardless of challenges, one month after the launch we can already see some incredible results:

• Successful campaigns can change lives: CSO “Bereke” supports underprivileged families by providing residential facilities – a home. Within one month, they collected the full amount of funds required to build and equip a sports playground for underprivileged kids in one of their facilities. 
• The power of the pitch: During the training process on pitching and fundraising, another CSO, “Baqytty Shanyrak” managed to arrange a partnership with a private company during their pre-campaign round and gathered the full amount required for the project.  
• Telling your story opens doors: Following the training on communications, the CSO “Sources of Good” began working on increasing their visibility and social media engagement, promoting their projects, and interacting more with their target audience. As a result, their project was picked up by the national media and was selected to be part of the state ecological competition. Now, the CSO is a part of the public eco-TV show series.
• Crowdfunding for immediate action: The CSO “City society of disabled people ‘Taraz’” administers a range of treatments/therapies that involve activities with horses – hippotherapy. Hippotherapy is a physical, occupational, and speech therapy that utilizes the natural gait and movement of a horse to provide motor, and sensory input. For paralyzed individuals hippotherapy complements physical rehabilitation programs. The CSO launched their campaign recently, and aim to use the raised funds to purchase additional horses for therapeutic activities: https://start-time.kz/project/details/2190/description

All of the above was possible due to the intensive work done by all Tadamon Crowdfunding Academy participants, their profound dedication, desire to learn, and willingness to succeed. We are looking forward to seeing how Academy graduates will find further ways to benefit from the knowledge, network, and experience gained during the process of joint collaboration. We are sure there will be more success stories to come in the near future!

Follow the Tadamon website and social media channels for upcoming campaigns from Kazakhstan’s vibrant civil society to support them with a direct contribution or by sharing a campaign across your social media networks and among your friends.