# Charity faces €5 million target in five months

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/01/19/charity-faces-e5-million-target-five-months/
- Published: 2009-01-19T16:45:08+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

The new chief executive of Special Olympics Ireland, Matt English, says he needs
to raise €5 million by May.

The charity last week launched its 2009 fundraising campaign, which runs until May
and has a target of raising €5 million through a programme of local and national
events. The tagline for the campaign is ‘change.’

“My priority is sustaining the current organisation and creating opportunities for
others,” English said. “We want to deliver on the promise of changing the lives 
of people, and there are still more than 24,000 people with intellectual disabilities
that we don’t have as members.”

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The fundraising campaign will support those goals, as well as the ongoing training
of existing Special Olympics athletes. English said it cost about €6 million annually
to run the organisation.

About 30 per cent of that comes from the government and the charity has also cultivated
valuable sponsorship deals, including a long-standing relationship with Eircom and
a more recent one with Kia Motors.

English said that Eircom was supporting the current fundraising campaign, with everything
from office space for regional volunteers to high speed internet facilities. The
campaign is structured from the ground up, with 39 regional offices run by voluntary
committees. Between now and May, those groups will run everything from cake sales
to race nights, while a national ad campaign covers bus shelters and the airwaves.
Forms to attract regular donors through standing orders have been drawn up – a first
for the charity.

The search for the 2009 Granny of the Year is already under way, and an all-Ireland
collection day is slated for Friday, April 24, under a committee headed by Jim Barry,
chief executive of utility firm NTR.

A church gate collection is also being considered for April 26. English is optimistic
that the charity will reach its €5 million target, despite the economic slowdown.’‘
There is evidence that some charities benefit in bad times because people reevaluate
their lives and see more value in being part of society,” he said.

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