donateWe were looking forward to this meeting. 🤗 Jurģis Briedis, an expert on environmental accessibility of the association Apeirons, and Ināra Korņeva, the head of the employment service, also participated in the conversation together with Ivars Balodis. If at the first meeting, we had a lot of general questions, this time our questions were much more specific.
During the meeting, we discussed our experience in organizing a charity auction at the annual Ikšķile antiques market. Ivars shared his experience about the charity auction organized by the association Apeirons. Very valuable and very thought provoking. 🤔 If this conversation had happened before we organized our charity auction, maybe we would have done it differently...
Of course, like any NGO, the question of attracting funding is very important for us. We asked about Apeiron's experience and cooperation partners in Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland and taking over fundraising experience from NGOs in these countries. Ivars and Jurgis gladly shared their impressions of what they saw in Liechtenstein and Norway. During the conversation, we realized that the differences in the field of social care are too huge, not only in the services provided by the state and municipalities, but also in the attitude and values of the society. It is very likely that the experience gained in attracting donations in one of these countries would not be applicable to us, and it would not be possible to obtain the expected result. Ivars encouraged us to develop a donation program and approach local entrepreneurs and international charity funds, as well as develop economic activity and design services. Especially emphasizing - to diversify financial sources!
In general, during these two meetings, we have found out - the experience of the Apeirons association in the organization of work, building a structure, attracting financial resources in the long term, about the services provided, about cooperation with state institutions, municipalities and other NGOs, about attracting donations for the operation and activities of the organization, about current projects, about publicity, about realized projects, about attracting foreign cooperation partners, about the association's strategy, about internal documentation and record keeping. But more importantly - we have got a godfather! 💓
Of course, the experience of Association Apeirons and Ivars Balodis is huge and it is impossible to cover it in two meetings, so we really hope to meet again. Although we each have our own field of activity, we share the goal of creating a more inclusive and accepting society.
