Fundraise To Support The Needy During Covid-19 Crisis

By Author: Akshaya Patra
Total Articles: 118
Comment this article

The COVID-19 crisis has jeopardised the lives across the globe. And, the low-income and marginalised sections of the society are the worst affected. Not only has the crisis taken away livelihoods, but it has also intensified the hunger situation. It is estimated that - COVID-19 pandemic could put over 130 million more people into the chronic hunger bracket by the end of 2020.

Many NGOs are already responding to the woes of the needy by providing relief in various forms – food, shelter, safety kits, clothes, and the like. To aid the relief services, generous donors, corporates and volunteers have joined hands with these NGOs. Supporters have also stepped in to conduct fundraising campaigns to garner support for the on-going relief activities.

Triple benefits of a fundraiser

A fundraiser has a positive impact on 3 groups – The creator of campaign, the beneficiary, and the NGO. The campaigner becomes an inspiration for others to join a good cause. The NGO receives necessary funds to continue and or expand its service, and the beneficiaries receive ample support to overcome any lack. For example, if you ...
... have conducted a fundraising campaign for a mid-day meal NGO, you become the source of knowledge and inspiration for those in your network. The NGO receives fund to sustain the meal programme and also expand its service to benefit more children. The beneficiaries, i.e. the children receive their share of regular nutritious meals resulting in their overall growth and development, both cognitive and physical.

Steps to create a fundraiser

To reach a larger section of the audience, creating a fundraiser solves the purpose. There are various fundraising ideas that one can come up with. You can create a fundraiser as part of your birthday celebration, wedding, housewarming ceremony, to honour a loved one, or as a goodwill gesture during festivals and days of national and international importance such as Diwali, New Year, Independence Day, World Wildlife Day and many more.

To create a basic online fundraising campaign, here are a few steps:
• Choose the NGO you want to support
• Create a title for your fundraiser
• Fix a fundraising goal
• Promote your campaign across various digital platforms
• Thank your donors for helping in achieving the target

Fundraise to support COVID-19 relief services

Among the many NGOs that are striving to help the needy, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, an Indian mid-day meal NGO is one that has been providing relief in the form of food. To address hunger of people coming from challenging backgrounds and low-income sections of the society, Akshaya Patra began its COVID-19 Food Relief Service on 25 March 2020. The Foundation is serving cooked meals and distributing grocery kits across 19 states of India. The NGO also initiated the Happiness Kits Programme to support nutrition, hygiene, and education needs of its mid-day meal beneficiaries.

Akshaya Patra’s service addressed the woes of many people in need
When the lockdown was announced, three sisters from Guwahati, Assam had lost their parents and did not have access to the basic necessities and food. They were minors who neither had any money nor were they able to work. The Akshaya Patra Foundation came to rescue them from their misery. Grocery kits were distributed to them with dry ration that could last for a few days.

42-year old Ramprakash, living in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh found it very difficult to feed his family of six members. Though he was not the only bread-winner in the family, their earning was hampered due to the lockdown. Their financial difficulty makes them worried about spending even a single rupee. Akshaya Patra feeds cooked meals in the form of nutritious khichdi to people in need.

Jila is a parent of a son and two daughters who are mid-day meal beneficiaries in Bengaluru. After the lockdown, their earnings were reduced by half and they struggled to make their ends meet. As a part of Akshaya Patra’s Happiness Kits initiative, MDM beneficiaries received these kits that support nutrition, hygiene and education.

Create fundraising campaigns to support Akshaya Patra’s service during these testing times.

I'm a social volunteer, lives in Bengaluru. I do work for NGOs to make society better. Currently I'm working for The Akshaya Patra Foundation. It's an NGO in India which provides wholesome nutritious mid-day meals to government school children to end classroom hunger. https://www.akshayapatra.org/