21st Greentury part of the program “GROWING NGOs #ÎNSTAREDEBINE, EDITION 2021/2022”
NGO at the beginning
One year after its establishment, at 21st Greentury we celebrate by thanking our partners, who have been with us.
In the fall of last year, we had the good idea to submit our candidacy in the program“Growing NGOs in Good Condition 2021/2022”, organized within the In Good Condition program, supported by Kaufland Romania and implemented by the Development Foundation Civil Society.
Over the course of several months, almost monthly webinars were organized to present topics of interest to the social sector. We were also present at some of them, topics such as: fundraising, volunteer management, storytelling and marketing helped us make administrative decisions in the development process of the 21st Greentury organization.
The educational and technical materials made available to the participating associations were of great use to us, for the whole team.
The organizational development of an association at the beginning of the road is defining for how quickly the purpose for which it was founded, namely the impact, will be achieved in a sustainable way.
As part of the opportunities I encountered within the funding programs organized by the In Good Condition program, there was also the call for mini grants opened in June, for the organizational development of the applying associations.
Recommendations for newly established associations which, for the most part, operates online.
By implementing the submitted project, we adjusted technical parts to maintain the association’s activities. Our development needs were identified by the 21st Greentury team, based on recommendations received from specialists.
In terms of communication, the conclusion of the analysis was that the 21st Greentury site needs improvements in terms of Mobile UX by redoing uploaded pictures, loading speed. Also, expanding the authentic evergreen content created by the association was another strategic point we worked on and improved with the help of the mini grant.
Storytelling was another important chapter that we improved through the exercises we went through and that we aimed to capitalize on using the 21st Greentury story and increasing the association’s national exposure.
Volunteer management was of particular interest to the association because this year we ran for the first time the online volunteer program to develop volunteers’ skills in external communication. Following the consultation received, we have updated all the necessary documentation for the most correct management of volunteers. As a second important conclusion we reached after evaluating the online volunteer management activity was the lack of techniques to maintain the group’s involvement right from the beginning. 14 people signed up through the Volunteer Map platform, but only 4 completed the program that lasted 4 months. The need to improve the training skills of the volunteer manager was considered an essential point in the organization of future programs that will involve volunteers.
The development activities implemented were the following: technological development for activities to improve the experience of Greentury volunteers in the 3 areas identified.
Communication (marketing and storytelling)
- translation of the website into English
- UX improvement on the association website (speed and content)
- increasing IT security
- increasing the notoriety of the association through press releases
- creating association identity materials
Volunteer Management
- The training of the volunteer manager through his accreditation as an ANPC authorized trainer
The results obtained:
Improving the performance of the Greentury Association website in terms of: loading speed and user experience.
Increasing the national exposure of 21st.greentury.org.
Realization of communication materials of the association’s mission through materials of the Greentury visual identity.
Accreditation of the volunteer manager as a trainer.
Dissemination of the results we thought would be welcome to make available to those in similar situations as us. Astefl, by promoting articles in the online environment, about our experience within the programs In Stare de Bine, we hope to offer useful information to future associations, which are at the beginning of the road.
ProjectGreentury developed by the 21st Greentury NGO and funded by the program În Stare de Bine, supported by Kaufland Romania and implemented by the Foundation for Civil Society Development.
