Financing the freshwater paradox

Abstract

This report offers an answer to the problem of developing an all-round financial strategy for Shoal, a young fresh water species and ecosystems conservation organisation, which aims to solve the fresh paradox. Freshwater species and their ecosystems are currently threatened with extinction, although they are one of the most neglected conservation projects, there exists a large group of potential supporters who have affinity with these ecosystems. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, this research focuses on creating awareness about the challenges the freshwater ecosystems are facing, together with how this awareness can best be translated into support on both a financial and nonfinancial level by approaching both companies and individuals. This way Shoal can continue to allow freshwater fish and other freshwater species to flourish in nature. To uncover the basic elements of a successful fundraising strategy for a young environmental conservation organisation, the literature research examined these elements. First, the reasons behind supporting an environmental organisation followed by focusing on creating a strong brand perception, essentially credibility, for such supporters. Then, the most efficient communication channels towards potential and existing supporters must be applied. Furthermore, the most important sources of financial support were identified within the literature study while focusing on corporate collaborations, since these are an important objective for this study to develop. The different stages, success factors, benefits and drawbacks of corporate partnerships which Shoal has to monitor will also be discussed in this chapter. The methodology used to gather the relevant information to develop a financial strategy for Shoal was an in-depth case study of 16 environmental conservation organisations. The organisations were examined with the self-developed VMVT-framework which revealed the various tactics these organisations apply to make their fundraising a success. Moreover, several interviews with experts in fundraising were conducted as certain essential information to build an all-round financial strategy cannot be found completely in secondary resources. Results of this research demonstrated that many organisations use common tactics such as using volunteers and ambassadors to make supporters aware of their vision. Moreover, collaboration with experts and universities also proved to be very important in order to achieve transparency and credibility. Furthermore, the investigated cases also focus on transforming their corporate partners' business practices towards a more sustainable way of working. Most organisations used both standardised and tailor-made corporate offerings to obtain funding. Overall, social media and creating the right content was an important focus within the researched cases. After having researched the case study and received input from experts on fundraising strategies, together with creative input from own initiative, an advice was formed to solve the problem on how to build a successful financial strategy for Shoal. The focus of this strategy is on creation of the Shoal Community that will allow all stakeholders who feel some affinity with Shoal's mission to merge and engage together to enable the conservation of freshwater species and their ecosystems. The Shoal Community consists firstly of corporate partners who become involved in the Shoal community in order to support the organisation both financially and non-financially by becoming corporate partners or impact partners. Secondly, shoal supporters in general must also be involved in the shoal community. This group consists primarily of individuals committed to spreading the Shoal message and also providing financial support. A third group consists of strategic partners, these are universities and other NGOs that Shoal works with to receive expertise, help with the implementation of projects and the collective distribution of each other's message to improve the environment. The Shoal Community is kept together by implementing two unique ideas. First, the Blue Innovation Fund will evoke an excitement by supporting new innovative ideas to conserve fresh water species and their ecosystems. Secondly, by further developing Shoal's website into a Shoal online platform where all stakeholders can interact, ensuring that all stakeholders feel part of the community and develop it into a group of committed people who want to make Shoal's mission a success. The second major area of concern when providing advice for the development of the financial strategy for Shoal is the focus on corporate and impact partners. The development of unique and detailed corporate offerings is an important aspect for attracting corporations to collaborate with Shoal and making the Shoal Initiative a success. In the construction of these offerings, unique aspects were integrated, such as the Shoal Regeneration Programme, advisory on business practice transformation into more sustainable operations and the development of the Shoal Certification Seal. Additionally, traditional benefits used by many organisations in the case study were also incorporated into the offerings. With the help of attractive offerings, Shoal should be able to approach partners in the right manner and build long-term financial partnerships. Finally, a recommendation was also made that Shoal should focus strongly on being transparent about their actions to all stakeholders in order to safeguard the creditworthiness of their name. By researching best practices within environmental organisations by means of a case studies, expert insights and personal creativity, an all-round financial strategy has been formulated for Shoal to succeed in their mission and thus save and recover populations of the most threatened freshwater species.