Last year we were honoured to be asked by ARC to deliver a Mobilisation Masterclass to over 70 Romanian charity and campaign group staff. And just before Christmas we were asked to contribute to their 2025 NGO Handbook.
We said yes. What we said in response to their questions appears below.
Before you read that, we should say that although everything can feel a little dark right now. There is a lot of inspiration to be found in Central and Eastern Europe. Our top tip for today is to start networking and seeking inspiration way beyond the usual places.
One place to start is Paul’s ‘Do Something. Anything.’ newsletter - which increasingly includes content from Central and Eastern Europe.
Our contribution to the 2025 ARC handbook for our Romanian friends follows…
Why is mobilisation necessary for an NGO entering 2025?
At Rally we have the central belief that the public can do more to help you achieve your goals than simply fund you to do the work.
Fundraising is very important, it’s central to the sector’s ability to do the work needed to change society. However, we believe that the public can play a much bigger role in your organisation's vision.
We believe that inspiring people to give you a share of their time, money and voice is a route to achieving your goals and vision more quickly and more efficiently.
The Mobilisation model is the way to bring this theory to life.
Mobilisation is the action of organising & encouraging groups of people to take collective action in pursuit of a particular objective.
The mobilisation models we promote fuse fundraising, communications, brand activation, campaigning and advocacy offers and create opportunities for the public to engage in a way that suits their own circumstances and energy at the time we reach them.
Put simply, the goal of mobilisation is to inspire the public to take action alongside your NGO to achieve the goals you and they as individuals have for society.
Effective public mobilisation will be important to organisations who need to attract the public at scale and inspire them to take action in 2025 and beyond.
VUCA times call for VUCA mobilisation? How do you keep on track with your mobilization strategy in an ever changing and sometimes scary world?
With any mobilisation strategy it’s important to react to events in the wider world.
This means your strategy needs to be flexible and able to adapt as the situation changes, you’ll need systems and processes that enable you to change direction at speed.
It’s also really important to have a really clear sense of your values, so that your core values can be central to your strategy, your decision making and your efforts to inspire the public to support you.
An unpredictable world makes it essential to attract the public at scale, communicate with them clearly and often about successes and set backs and always offer them impactful things to do to help deliver to the mission.
We live in a divided society - the recent elections showed us that. How can we use mobilisation to unite people for the greater good?
Mobilisation can be a very powerful tool in the effort to unite people around your vision for society.
You can demonstrate to the opposition that there is widespread public support for your view by asking the public to stand with you.
You can provide your supporters with the resources and confidence needed to take impactful actions, amplify your narratives and even talk to people in their communities about the issues and help change minds.
And most importantly, you can demonstrate to the public who support your view that they are not alone, that there is a large number who all want to take the action needed to change things for the better.
In Romania, many organisations say they are apolitical. We at ARC believe that you have to be political, but unbiased towards one party or another. What are the consequences for NGOs who do not have an active position on changes (often bad ones) made by the political class?
In a turbulent world we think all NGOs need to have a very clear point of view on the issues that impact their cause. Which means we need to be political, at its core, politics refers to the way a country is governed and how laws and rules are made. If we want impact we need to be political, although not partisan or party political.
If we don’t take an active role in the politics of our issue we risk having a reduced impact on the causes and solutions of our issue, we could lose relevance with the public as an important voice on the issue and our silence could be used by politicians to demonstrate our approval on approaches we think are wrong.
It’s important we campaign based on our values, that we are a voice for those we are here to support and that we actively engage in the political conversations about the things that can impact the work we do.
Many Gen Z-ers may not have the financial means to make regular donations but possess the passion and the willingness to invest their energy into causes they care about. How can NGOs channel this passion into meaningful contributions beyond money, such as amplifying causes on social media (without putting pressure)?/ Ways to make engaging with NGOs a desirable thing to them.
By adopting a public mobilisation approach and thinking about how we inspire people to take non financial as well as financial actions we can help attract younger supporters.
They may not have disposable income right now, but we inspire them, help them have impact on the issues they care about and keep them engaged with the vision, we create the conditions to inspire them to give money in the future.
And any action is better than no action.
A wish you have for NGOs in Romania, entering 2025?
As we enter 2025 I wish Romania NGOs well. It looks like it could be a difficult year, but you're the voice for millions of people who want a better future. Channel the energy of the public, give them a role in the struggle and I am sure you will be successful in confronting all the challenges you face.
