Country: Brazil

Organization: ASSOCIAýýO SAýDE CRIANýA RENASCER

3) Strategy Summary:
We asked our collaborators (volunteers, members, and sponsors) for donations of clothes in good condition, so that we could sell them and collect money for food and medicine.

Then we found out that some of them owned stores or produced clothing articles.

A bag factory owner decided to donate items that failed the quality control tests or that were sitting in stock for too long.

The word spread to other collaborators, who saw that the initiative was generating a significant amount of cash that was being used for buying food and medicine.

The collaborator’s involvement is rather important, because it increases the individual’s commitment to the institution and makes him/her increasingly responsible for its success.

The producers of clothing articles are able to move their stock, improve their image in the consumers’ eyes, and help the institution.

4) How the Strategy Works:
Step 1
Gather the most active collaborators and spread the word. It is important to show that their involvement will be crucial for the success of the initiative, and that their participation is a way to invite others.

Step 2
Ask each one of them to make a list of storeowners and clothing articles producers they know. They should be responsible for making contact with them, present the institution’s work, and ask for the donation of articles for sale. The items must be in good conditions, so that they can be sold. They should also ask for any suggestions of other stores that could be interested in helping. The more, the better.

Step 3
Choose the place, the date and the volunteers who will be involved of the organization of the event. The sale should last no more than a day. In longer sales, those who come last will find only items that no one bought; as a result, they will certainly not come to the next sale. If the number of items is reduced, the sale should last only half a day; however, if there are many items, make it last the whole day.

Step 4
Collect and price the items. Organize the pieces in a nice, orderly way, in order to make a good impression on your potential customers. Spread the word that a sale is being organized. Everyone should cooperate in this phase. The Internet can be a great tool for that. Post your ads in the neighborhood. Everyone should invite as many people as possible.

Step 5
During the sale, the volunteers must keep the place orderly and clean, and the articles must be in the proper place. Price tags must be visible, and people should feel comfortable. Now is a good time for distributing folders on the work of the institution.

Step 6
When the sale is over, arrange the items that can be sold in the next event. Those items that can’t be reasonably priced should be sold for a symbolic price. Donate any remaining items after the sale is over, in order to make space for new items from future donations.

Step 7
Publicize the results and send a Thank You note to the volunteers who helped organize the event. It is important that they are aware of the initiative’s success. Take this opportunity to ask the participants to spread the word so that, in the future, others can help.

5) Key Strategy Elements:

i. Mobilizing Citizen Support:
Mobilizing volunteers is crucial, for they will represent the institution and spread the word. The volunteers can only join an institution they trust.

Donors cooperate with the institution. They know those who are asking for their help, trust them and, as a result, trust the institution.

When volunteers are involved in a successful initiative, they feel rewarded, and their level of commitment increases. They realize it is possible to mobilize people for a cause and are encouraged to go on, and to contribute with new ideas for fund raising.

iv. Engaging and Managing Volunteers:
Besides involving volunteers and uncovering their individual skills, one of them should be assigned the role of project coordinator and planner.

Assigning tasks to different individuals facilitates and encourages the process. It is important to show that the institution values their work and their involvement, as if they were regular employees of a company.

The coordinator must be willing to hear any suggestions and doubts, and should organize problem-solution meetings.

v. Developing Information and Spreading the Message:
Publicizing events is a most needed task. Success is directly related to the number of donors and buyers of the items that have been donated.

The use of the Internet and printed material in churches, schools and companies will certainly bring a larger number of consumers to the event.

The results of the event should be publicized as a means to attract new donors and keep the collaborators up-to-date with the latest news.

Don’t forget to thank people – this is a very important step of the process.

6) Increasing Self-sufficiency and Social Impact:
The products are sold as a way of generating income to Support Renascer; More people come to visit and help us;Help to Know us better; Volunteers become more involved;

8) Organization Mission and Vision:
Mission - Provide assistance to children from Lagoa Hospital and their families,with the objective of breaking the cicle of misery/illness/inpatient- admission/release/readmission/death, and to create conditions to improve their health and well-being, including promoting families self-support

Contact Information:
Manuela Sollero  Paulo
Operating Manager
ASSOCIAýýO SAýDE CRIANýA RENASCER
Rua Jardim Botýnico 86 , Jardim Botýnico , Rio de
Brazil
Tel: 55 21 2266-1446
Fax: 55 21 2266-1446
Email: manuela@saude-crianca.org.br
Website: www.saude-crianca.org.br