What is World NGO Day and How Charities Can Celebrate It

The 27th of February, also known as World NGO Day, holds a significant meaning for non-profit organisations globally. On this day, charities take the opportunity to showcase their successes and raise awareness for their causes. 

World NGO Day has been celebrated since 2014 when it was officially marked by the United Nations, EU leaders, and international organisations. Today, it’s celebrated in 96 countries around the globe. The special day is dedicated to celebrating and honouring all non-governmental and non-profit organisations and the people behind them that dedicate themselves to the good cause all year round. 

According to the official World NGO Day website, there are more than 10 million NGOs and non-profits in the world, with more than 50 million workers! These numbers greatly indicate the significance of the event. 

Celebrate, Commemorate and Collaborate and the three pillars of each World NGO Day celebration. However, there are a few more things that non-profit organisations focus on on this special day:

• Share knowledge, expertise, and experiences with other charitable organisations
• Raise awareness about charities’ impact on society 
• Present the NGOs’ achievements and efforts
• Inspire people interested in building a career within the non-profit sector
• Generate visibility for people involved in non-profit projects
• Form new partnerships and find new supporters

As you can see, World NGO Day brings many growth opportunities to non-governmental organisations that want to participate in the event. So now, we will take a look at all the different ways you can celebrate World NGO Day with!

How charities can celebrate World NGO Day

Overall, World NGO Day is an opportunity for charities to share their stories and raise awareness for their causes. NGOs can also use this day to generate visibility and funds for their good causes. Let’s take a look at all the different ideas for celebrating World NGO Day!

1. Host World NGO Day events to generate visibility for your non-profit

Fundraisers are particularly popular within the non-profit sector as they’re an effective way of generating visibility and raising funds for good causes. These interactive events bring together local supporters, creating a sense of community and belonging as people come together to support the same cause. Apart from spending quality time with like-minded people, donors also get to see the impact of all the work done by the charity, and therefore how their financial support helps NGOs in making good. 

There are many different types of fundraising that non-profit organisations can host. Our favourites are:

• Charity runs or walks: 5k or 10k distances are as popular as marathons that attract impressive numbers of people. Participants raise money within their social circles and donate it to the organising charity.
• Raffles: everyone likes to win, and even more if it’s for a good cause! Reach out to local businesses and ask them to donate their best-selling products to your charity’s raffle. Then, sell raffle tickets to your local community! Apart from raising funds and giving back to your community, you also help to promote local businesses. It’s a win-win!
• Charity bake-offs: chocolate brownies, cheesecakes, banana bread or carrot cakes. We all have our favourite dessert. Involve your local community and volunteers in a charity bake sale, in which volunteers sell their homemade delicious treats to donate all the money to the charity. 

2. Run World NGO Day social media campaigns to generate visibility for your non-profit

We recently spoke about how charities can convert social media followers into new donors. World NGO Day is an opportunity for charities to showcase their successes to a wider audience, raise awareness for their causes, and generate visibility and funds. Social media plays a powerful role in this and is the perfect medium for non-profit organisations to put a spotlight on their mission and projects. But apart from putting your charity out there, you can take advantage of World NGO Day and:

• Share the impact of your work by sharing images, videos, infographics, and graphs showing your work in numbers, or publish stories about the people you’ve already helped or projects you’ve worked on. 
• Ask people to share why they support your organisation. You can publish a post on your feed and ask your supporters to comment on the post to explain why they support your NGO. You can also use a specific hashtag, for example, #WhyWeCare to generate further visibility for your work. 
• Thank your donors for their continued support to show your appreciation.
• Livestream your World NGO Day event if you’re running one for further exposure.
• Collaborate with other organisations or local influencers to generate more visibility for your cause.
• Promote upcoming events and campaigns to stand a chance of attracting more participants.

3. Networking and partnership building: a great tactic for World NGO Day

Generating visibility among your target audience and the general public is a crucial marketing aspect for any non-profit. Luckily, charities receive support not only from individuals but also from like-minded organisations and businesses. As it happens, World NGO Day is the perfect occasion to engage in various networking and partnership-building activities to help advance the cause and reach more people, as well as share ideas and learn from each other. 

Social media, especially LinkedIn, is also a great place to connect with people with similar interests and organisations. By working together, charities can pool resources and expertise to achieve more than they could on their own. Building relationships with corporate partners can also provide valuable funding, in-kind donations, and other resources to support the charity’s work. These partnerships can also help charities to expand their reach and impact by leveraging the resources and networks of the corporate partners. Many organisations navigate extremely busy schedules all year-round, which sometimes makes it challenging to find a good time to start an ongoing dialogue. Yet, many corporations and partners like to acknowledge World NGO Day and that’s what makes it the perfect occasion for NGOs to go after new partnerships. 

4. How charities can celebrate World NGO Day: give recognition to your volunteers

We celebrate Volunteer Day on the 5th of December, however, any day is a good day to recognise your volunteers, especially on World NGO Day! Take a moment to thank all your team for their support, help, and precious time and energy devoted to your organisation and its mission. Here are a few ideas for recognising your volunteers on this special day:

• Personalised Thank You notes in which you can express your gratitude for their help.
• Social media posts to publicly give them recognition.
• Show them the impact of their work, how it’s changing the world and how it’s been helping the charity achieve its goals.

5. Share the impact of your work with the public

If you run a non-profit organisation, chances are you have helped many different people, communities or animals. World NGO Day is the perfect opportunity to share all your achievements with the general public, donors, partners and supporters. Here are a few ideas to do it:

• Prepare social media posts showcasing the impact of your work
• Send an email to your database to thank them for their support and present the impact of your projects
• Update your website with a visible banner showcasing all the important numbers
• Publish a press release with all your results. You will get more visibility and can get air time from local media! 

Do you have questions about World NGO Day? Or maybe you’re looking for a reliable and secure payment solution for your charity? Make sure to contact us and we’ll provide answers to all your questions!