It’s all about creating a high level of public involvement – while at the same time being economical.
“It’s important that everyone who makes a donation sees and understands that we spend their money wisely,” she says.
At the same time it’s important for SOS Children’s Villages to give something back.
“We don’t just want to ask for support, but we like to send out something useful, something that people remember and use.”
Sunflower seeds
One popular gift last year was the packet of sunflower seeds that was included as an enclosure. Another was the specially designed address labels for suitcases.
SOS Children’s Villages collects more than anyone else in Norway, and the head office in Oslo has around 50 employees.
“We have about 550 volunteers who both make the work of SOS Children’s Villages visible and collect money for SOS Children’s Village’s projects,” explains Cecilie Huse.
She estimates that the number of sponsors in Norway is around 100,000 and the number of donors 150,000.
“Norwegians enjoy giving, and the number of people involved in SOS Children’s Villages is rising with every year that passes.”
A partnership
Stralfors supplies the printing solutions for large-scale mailings, and has done so since autumn 2009.
“We have a fairly clear idea about what we want to buy, but work on such large assignments is of course a partnership. Sometimes we’re given suggestions for new solutions, other times we’re the ones asking for them.”
Mailings are also needed for collection campaigns in connection with major disasters, although SOS Children’s Villages does not work primarily in the field of emergency aid.
“But if we’re already on site, we can help. Then it’s all about helping the children, in the first instance those who have lost their parents or become separated from their family, as was the case recently in Haiti, where we have two children’s villages.”
Cecilie Huse explains that there are plenty of creative ideas for regular mailings, but that the obstacle at the moment is the technical limitations at SOS Children’s Villages.
“It’s something we’re working on right now. We want to adapt the information more, but we have to expand our own system first to make any progress,” she says.