From September 17 to 19, the fourth ACT Days were held at the Tamiš Hotel in Pančevo, with this year’s focus on the theme of fundraising. The event brought together 69 participants, all representatives of ACT partner organizations.
The conference opened with speeches from Richard Koli, Director of SDC in Serbia at the Swiss Embassy, Gorana Radovanović, Team Leader of the ACT project at Helvetas Serbia, and Maja Stojanović, Director of Civic Initiatives. Each speaker emphasized the importance of flexibility in collaboration and highlighted the vital role partner organizations play in their respective communities.
The first panel discussion explored collaboration between companies and civil society organizations (OGDs). Teodora Kovačević from IKEA Serbia and Marija Vujković from the Hemofarm Foundation shared practical examples of successful partnerships, stressing the mutual benefits of companies being actively engaged in their local environments.
Following a short break, Konstantina Papadimitriou led a masterclass on fundraising. She kicked off the session by highlighting the importance of diversifying funding sources to avoid overreliance on a single donor. She also offered valuable tips on how to effectively organize and execute fundraising efforts.
The first day wrapped up with a lively pub quiz, where six teams tested their knowledge of general culture, history, geography, sports, and music. Although designed as a fun activity, the quiz also had a fundraising element: each participant contributed a donation, and the winning team chose a humanitarian cause to receive the collected funds.
The second day continued with Papadimitriou’s masterclass, this time focusing on the donor cycle—identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. Later, Dorothea Wawrinka from Helvetas held a session on fundraising from private donors, sharing insights and best practices from the perspective of a large international organization. The consensus among participants was that the day had hit the mark, equipping them with much-needed knowledge and practical tools.
The final day began with a panel on fundraising failures, based on the belief that the best lessons often come from setbacks. Partner organizations Zuko, Okular, and Labris shared their experiences, encouraging an open and honest discussion that was soon joined by other attendees. This was followed by a session featuring guest organizations Lice ulice, Birdlife Serbia, and Novo lice Ćele kule, who presented successful fundraising stories, offering motivation and insight.
To conclude the conference, participants took part in a brief evaluation via Mentimeter. The most frequently mentioned words in their feedback were: inspiring, engaging, valuable, educational, fun, and impactful.
