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encourage personal connection and commitment to sustainability, helping students articulate their learning and plan actionable steps in their communities.

Personal Development-

Social-

SDG 4 (Quality Education)

Encourage participants to maintain a sustainability journal to track their learning and actions.

Community Impact -

Social -

SDG 11 -

Reflect on personal contributions to community projects and environmental initiatives.

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promote deeper understanding of complex sustainability dilemmas, fostering analytical skills relevant in environmental ethics and resource management.

Environmental Ethics -

Environmental/Social -

SDG 16 -

Engage in debates on ethical dilemmas in environmental policy and conservation.

Resource Management -

Economic/Environmental -

SDG 12 -

Analyze scenarios involving resource depletion and sustainability strategies.

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help convey global sustainability issues and local solutions, enriching students' perspectives on economic sustainability through diverse media formats.

Global Issues -

Social/Environmental -

SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) -

Present documentaries on climate change and its effects, followed by discussions.

Economic Sustainability -

Economic -

SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) -

Showcase successful sustainable businesses through case studies and presentations.

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bring theory into practice, enhancing understanding in environmental education and community engagement, providing firsthand experiences of sustainability efforts.

Environmental Education -

Environmental -

SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 15 -

Organize trips to nature reserves, recycling plants, or farms practicing sustainability.

Community Engagement -

Social -

SDG 11 -

Visit local initiatives, such as community gardens or eco-villages, to learn from examples.

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serves to humanize sustainability issues, especially in social justice and cultural heritage, helping youth connect emotionally with topics related to equity and conservation.

Social Justice -

Social -

SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) -

Share stories of marginalized communities affected by climate change.

Cultural Heritage -

Social/Environmental -

SDG 11 -

Use narratives of local traditions that promote sustainability and biodiversity.

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adds an engaging element for example to urban planning and water management education, making complex concepts accessible and fun through interactive challenges.

Urban Planning -

Economic/Social -

SDG 11 -

Create a simulation game to design a sustainable city, addressing various challenges.

Water Management -

Environmental -

SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) -

Develop a water conservation challenge or educational quiz game about water use.

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encourages critical thinking and research skills in fields like environmental policy and biodiversity conservation, essential for developing informed future leaders.

Environmental Policy -

Social -

SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) -

Research local environmental policies and propose improvements or alternatives.

Biodiversity Conservation -

Environmental -

SDG 14 (Life Below Water), SDG 15 -

Investigate local species and habitats, and analyze the impact of human activities.

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fosters teamwork in areas like sustainable agriculture and climate action, promoting social sustainability through community involvement and shared responsibility.

Sustainable Agriculture -

Environmental/Social -

SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 12 -

Group projects to create sustainable farming models or community gardens.

Climate Action -

Environmental -

SDG 13 -

Collaborate on climate action campaigns or local environmental advocacy.

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is suited for fields where tangible solutions are needed, such as renewable energy and waste management, empowering young people to engage with real-world challenges directly.

EXAMPLES

Renewable Energy -

Economic/Environmental -

SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) -

Develop projects to design solar-powered devices or analyze local energy consumption.

Waste Management -

Environmental/Social -

SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption) -

Create a recycling initiative or waste reduction plan for a school or community.

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is effective in fields that require hands-on involvement, particularly in environmental science and community development, helping youth understand practical implications of sustainability

EXAMPLES:

Environmental Science - SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 15 (Life on Land) - Hands-on activities such as tree planting, wildlife surveys, or urban gardening.

Community Development - SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) - Organizing community service projects like clean-up drives or food distribution.

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Save Your World, Build with Earth – Japan Style  | Emily Kaneko-Reynolds | TEDxKUFS

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earthLAB Ásgeir Sigurjónsson, David Martínez, and Shea Hagy, earthLAB Ásgeir Sigurjónsson, David Martínez, Shea Hagy

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earthLAB Ásgeir Sigurjónsson, David Martínez, and Shea Hagy, earthLAB Ásgeir Sigurjónsson, David Martínez, Shea Hagy: The Beauty of building with earth | TED Talk

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Imagine constructing whole buildings from the dirt beneath our feet. Sounds crazy, right? Well, this concept of “rammed earth” is far from new and has been used in constructions for centuries in buildings that are still standing strong today. In this talk, earthLAB members Ásgeir Sigurjónsson, David Martínez, and Shea Hagy not only enlighten audiences on the importance of using “rammed earth” as a more sustainable building material for the future, but also demonstrate how easy it is to make.

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Inforegio - Sustainable youth centre brings community together

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EuropeanCommission – Regional Policy - Inforegio

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Building with EARTH | Urban Agenda Platform

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Training local craftspeople in advanced earth construction in rural China People in rural China have lived in earthen homes for thousands of years. The country’s recent economic boom and rapid urbanisation, however, has led to a shift away from traditional construction techniques in favour of concrete and brick design. Earthen homes have become a symbol of rural poverty and earthen building expertise in these communities is slowly being lost.

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Youth Center In Niafourang – EARTH ARCHITECTURE

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social inclusion among youth with and without feweropportunities

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social inclusion among youth with and without feweropportunities

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SALTO Resource Centre supports organisations across Europe in implementation of Erasmus+ projects that focus on inclusion and diversity.

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The inclusive simulation game: ‘City within the City’

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The inclusive simulation game: ‘City within the City’

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4. The inclusive simulation game: 'City within the City'

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The inclusive simulation game called 'City in the City' creates a future model for a fair and ecological city. What will Leipzig look like in the future? What will Addis Ababa look like in the future? What kind of city do we want? Moreover, what can we contribute to this vision?

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Help us evaluate Erasmus+

How well is Erasmus+ reaching people with fewer opportunities? How simple is the programme? Is it relevant to today's needs?

We welcome your answers to these and other questions - the consultation runs until 8 December.

Answer the consultation on Erasmus+

Supporting Ukrainian students, young people, teachers and educators

Measures announced to support Erasmus+ participants and projects. The EU is also excluding Russia from public contracts and European money.

Read about support for Ukraine

How to take part in Erasmus+

The 2021-2027 Erasmus+ is more inclusive, more digital, and more green. It has opportunities for all ages, and more choice for organisations.

European Student Card Initiative

Simpler admin and more digital tools for students and higher education institutions on Erasmus+ exchanges.

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Erasmus+ is the EU's programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe.

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Are you between 18 and 30 and looking for an opportunity to help the wider community, in Europe and beyond?

You could do this with funding and support from the European Solidarity Corps, which helps young people take part in projects that benefit communities, either abroad or in their own country.

These projects offer an inspiring and empowering experience, as well as the chance to bring change while developing your skills and competences.

So what can you do?

Broadly, you can get involved in:

volunteering

traineeships (whereas traineeships can still run this year funded by the budget from the previous programme, please be aware that in the new programme 2021-2027 they are discontinued)

jobs (whereas jobs can still run this year funded by the budget from the previous programme, please be aware that in the new programme 2021-2027 they are discontinued)

local Solidarity Projects

These can be in a wide range of fields - education and training, citizenship and democratic participation, environment and natural protection, migration, culture, and many others.

How does it work?

The European Solidarity Corps funding is provided in the form of grants to organisations through call for proposals.

Young people wishing to engage in such activities need to register in the European Solidarity Corps portal. The European Solidarity Corps portal offers a place for those young people and organisations, holding a grant, to implement activities and to find each other.

Who runs the Corps?

The European Solidarity Corps is managed by the European Commission.

It is implemented on the ground by a variety of bodies:

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Are you between 18 and 30 and looking for an opportunity to help the wider community, in Europe and beyond? You could do this with funding and support from the European Solidarity Corps, which helps young people take part in projects that benefit communities, either abroad or in their own country.

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Funding and grants Council of Europe EYF - European Youth Foundation - www.coe.int

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Can we live within the limits of the planet? We are using resources faster than the planet can replenish them, creating pollution, destroying nature, driving climate change and impacting people's health and well-being. A transition to a sustainable future will require a fundamental shift in production and consumption systems.

Sustainability is about meeting the world's needs of today and tomorrow by creating systems that allow us to live well and within the limits of our planet. Building a sustainable Europe isn't an easy task. Without a rapid and fundamental transformation of Europe's production and consumption systems, it will not be possible.

Europe needs to find ways to change the key systems of food, energy, mobility and buildings that drive environmental and climate pressures. This means rethinking technologies, production processes, consumption patterns and our way of life.

The EU has committed to ambitious, long-term environmental and climate goals. Despite some progress, much more needs to be done to achieve these. We must take immediate, decisive and coherent action across diverse policy areas and engage society to create the changes needed for a truly sustainable future.

Many aspects of our world - demographics, technology, economics - are changing rapidly. Global megatrends concerning social, technological, economic, and governance changes continue to intensify persistent environmental problems, and emerging trends are increasingly influential in shaping environmental outcomes. This creates both risks and opportunities for Europe and its environment.

Less plastic, less waste, less pollution

Consumption patterns significantly affect the amounts, types and characteristics of the products and services produced or offered - as well as how they are managed when they become or generate waste. They are therefore directly linked to production and waste management processes, which are primary sources of pollution within the EU and abroad.

Both the zero pollution action plan and the circular economy action plan contain objectives to reduce Europe's consumption. Our zero pollution report examines, among others, consumption patterns that can lead to pollution - from production processes to pollution-induced environmental impacts.

Europe's Environmental Action Programme to 2030

The 8th Environmental Action Programme (8EAP) reiterates the EU's long-term vision for 2050 of l iving well, within planetary boundaries. It sets out priority objectives for 2030 and the conditions needed to achieve these.

Building on the European Green Deal, it aims to speed up the transition to a climate-neutral, resource-efficient economy, recognising that human well-being and prosperity depend on healthy ecosystems. It identifies six main objectives, covering climate mitigation and adaptation, a regenerative well-being economy model, pursuing a zero pollution ambition while protecting health, protecting and restoring nature, and reducing environmental and climate pressures related to production and consumption.

Dive deeper

How did we get here?

The environmental and sustainability challenges that Europe faces today result from decisions and actions taken over decades. During this time, the so-called 'Great Acceleration' of social and economic activity transformed our relationship with the environment.

The Great Acceleration has undoubtedly delivered significant benefits. Technological advancements have helped people live longer, earn more money, and be healthier in many parts of the world. Yet, in many cases, these same developments also caused widespread damage to nature and the environment.

Our flagship report on the European environment - state and outlook 2020 (SOER 2020) provides an extensive analysis.

Horizon scanning tips and tricks

The future of Europe is shaped by developments of a societal, technological, economic, environmental and geopolitical nature that interact in complex and unpredictable ways. These wider developments might be relevant to the environment and environment policies.

Horizon scanning is one of the methods used in foresight to systematically scan or review various sources to detect early (or weak) signs of potentially important developments. It can support policymakers and other decision-makers in anticipating future developments, managing risks and pursuing opportunities to help build resilience to future shocks and reduce uncertainty.

Together with Eionet, the EEA published a practical guide, aimed to foster a culture of anticipation and preparedness by inspiring and equipping practitioners across Europe to explore the future using horizon scanning.

Towards global sustainability

The UN Sustainable Development Goals are part of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals are a call for action by all countries - poor, rich and middle-income - to promote prosperity while protecting the plane t. They recognise that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection.

The European Union and the European Environment Agency's 38 member and cooperating countries are committed to implementing the United Nations' Sustainability Development Goals, including those focused on climate action, water and sanitation, and affordable and clean energy.

More information

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Can we live within the limits of the planet? We are using resources faster than the planet can replenish them, creating pollution, destroying nature, driving climate change and impacting people's health and well-being. A transition to a sustainable future will require a fundamental shift in production and consumption systems.

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"Sustainable Green Future" is going to be a youth exchange organized in Garlstedt in Germany which will include 30 young people and 6 group leaders from 6 different European countries: Spain, North Macedonia, Romania, Greece, Czech Republic and Germany. "

Age of participants: 17-23 years old, group leader 18+

Country group size: 6 participants per country, including 1 group leader (5+1)

Place: Garlstedt , Osterholz Scharmbeck , Germany

Venue: KulturHaus , a group house

Days of activity: 10 days including traveling days

Dates: 2nd till 11th of September 2023

More details: infopack

This project wants to raise awareness about environmental protection, sustainability and the role of the youth in it. The young people in Europe are not aware about the importance of environmental protection, or they don't know what they can do to improve the situation. The goals of this project are to teach young people about different concepts connected with the protection of environment, such as guerilla gardening, planting trees and others; to show good examples of environmental protection and youth activism about environmental protection from the participating countries; to give tools to youth from 6 different countries, empowering them to make the change in their local community; to educate young people about sustainability and sustainable development goals.
Before applying you must finish some steps that are explained here.
If you have any questions or need help you can email us info@bidizelen.org 🙂

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Erasmus+ Youth Exchange "Sustainable Green Future"

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"Sustainable Green Future" is going to be a youth exchange organized in Garlstedt in Germany which will include 30 young people and 6 group leaders from 6 different European countries: ...

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Das Projekt

Junge Menschen sorgen sich um ihre Zukunft und streben Veränderungen an, wie man anhand der „Friday4Future" Bewegung sehen kann und der aktuellen Sinus-Studie 2020 „Wie ticken Jugendliche?". Den jungen Menschen ist bewusst, dass der Planet, auf dem wir leben, vielfältig ist, aber auch vor vielen Herausforderungen steht. Durch ihr Engagement wird deutlich, dass sie eine Gesellschaft sein wollen, die problembewusst orientiert und in der Lage ist, mit den Herausforderungen fertig zu werden, vor denen wir gerade jetzt stehen, wie z.B. Klimawandel, Rassismus oder gar die Covid-19-Pandemie - globale Probleme, die sich rasant beschleunigen.

Um die Komplexität des Klimawandels und einer nachhaltigen Gesellschaft zu verstehen, möchten wir in unserem Projekt einen Teilaspekt davon beleuchten: die Wichtigkeit Ozeane, Seen und Meere zu erhalten und nachhaltig zu nutzen. Denn gesunde Meeresökosysteme unterstützen den Klimaschutz und die Maßnahmen gegen den Klimawandel. Sie sind wichtig für die Lieferung natürlicher Ressourcen sowie der Zersetzung und Beseitigung von Müll und Verschmutzung. Darüber hinaus liefern sie Arbeit durch den Fischfang und tragen zu Gleichberechtigung und weniger Armut bei. Unsere Projektpartner aus Brest und Gydnia beruhen auf der Freundschaft und Partnerschaft, die unsere Städte seit mehr als 50 Jahren verbindet.

Mehr Informationen zur Projektförderung:
https://www.kiel.de/de/kiel_zukunft/kiel_international

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Projekte -mit Fokus auf interkulturelle Lernmöglichkeiten, um Bildungsangebote für unterschiedliche Zielgruppen zugänglich zu machen & Inklusion zu fördern.

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Learning Sustainability, youth exchange and a training course

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Learning Sustainability, youth exchange and a training course

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I am working a lot with volunteers in the sphere of sustainable living. This includes a lot of learning to learn not only for the main target group that we work with but as well for me as a youth worker. The project gave me a good overview of how sustainability can be enhanced as a topic in our daily life and which principles a youth worker should follow in order for her/him to lit the fire of more consciousness society in the young people's mind.

This project was very successful and exceeded expectations. Participants left with a feeling of success and connectedness, knowing they had learnt new skills and improved both confidence and clarity in the participation of future projects.

The project was composed of a Training Course and a Youth Exchange. The project was focusing on quality improvements in youth work and enhancing the capacity of youth workers and organisations in their support for young people.

This project helped me understand sustainability in ways that I had never considered before. It helped me to first identify the ways I already contribute towards sustainable methods and approaches to living, both personally and professionally and it also helped me comprehend new techniques for passing this understanding on to others that I work with. I have started planning a series of workshops which I will deliver to students at the university I teach at. By providing space for them to answer questions about their own individual journey, their place in society, their hopes for the future and an analysis of their current situations I hope to help them de-mist their transition for University into the industry of their choice, with confidence and a tool kit for sustainable progression.

Currently I am studying Civil Engineering so having the experience on the exchange was a perfect opportunity for me to get some hands on work revelent to my course. I found learning how to use materials like sand, earth and straw to make plaster specificly interesting as it's a more traditional material compared to what we use in today's construction. The knowledge and experience I've gained will definitely applied to my course and to further my work.

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I am working a lot with volunteers in the sphere of sustainable living. This includes a lot of learning to learn not only for the main target group that we work with but as well for me as a youth worker.

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What are the Three Pillars of Sustainability?

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What are the Three Pillars of Sustainability?

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Find Out How To Measure Your Company’s Carbon Footprint

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Positive Planet In this article, we delve into the three pillars of sustainability: economic, environmental, and social

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analysis of Erasmus+ projects - education for environmental sustainability

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analysis of Erasmus+ projects - education for environmental sustainability

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Avenue de l'Europe
F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex
Tel. +33 (0)3 88 41 20 00
www.coe.int

GOOD PRACTICES DATABASE

Good practices of youth centres holding the Council of Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres

BELGIUM

To reach out, the centre now brings their exhibition "Big and small heroes" by concert and portrait photographer Alex Vanhee to your living room through a digital package with some creative activities to do at home.

The exhibition is playful and interactive where both young and old can get acquainted with the work of the artist from different perspectives - e.g. show your stage performances as a real artist or take on the role of a concert photographer or sharpen your pen as a critical culture journalist.

The expo runs until 31 May 2020, learn more about Alex Vanhee and Destelheide's online exhibition here.

#museumathome #quarantineart #staysafe #stayhome #beahero

BULGARIA

The online training on emotional intelligence allows the participants to share their emotions about the current crisis in a creative way and through different forms of art (drawing, singing, dancing, telling funny stories...). Led by an professional psychologist, participants experience role plays through which they examine alternative models of behaviour and emotional reactions in a safe and secure environment, with the purpose to understand oneself and to be able to express empathy and solidarity towards others.

At the initiative of young people, the centre has also started "the Daily Sport Challenge" to nourish a healthy spirit in a healthy body throughout the confinement. Each day a new physical challenge is posted on the centre's Facebook page and youngsters can upload their individual video how they have fulfilled the task. The sharing of videos has set free a wave of creativity and ideas in solving the challenges, building a sense of an online community and the young people who are usually meeting in the centre are able to stay in regular touch.

The initiative has also inspired parents and children to take part in the daily activity for sport and exercise. More information about the initiative here

GERMANY

With considerable expertise in remembrance education, the wannseeFORUM youth centre has been actively participating in an international project to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

The wannseeFORUM youth centre is one of the Council of Europe Quality Labelled Youth Centres since 2019. The project ART WORKS! European Culture of Resistance and Liberation has been developed in cooperation with youth groups from the Centre of Contemporary History Melk Memorial, FH St. Pölten (Austria), the Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb (Croatia), the Museion Bolzano (Italy) and the Association HASENHERZ (Austria).

The project is located at the intersection of artistic, cultural and historical-political youth education.

As a response to the current crisis, project owners decided to publish a collection of these works online, with special focus on human rights and democracy, resistance against fascism and the question of its significance to Europe.

https://culture-of-resistance.eu/commemoration2020

PORTUGAL

In order to communicate with youth groups during the current Covid-19 crisis, the centre has through its own digital channels (Facebook, instagram, website and Newsletter), developed a campaign on rights: #DIREITOATERDIREITOS (#RIGHTTOHAVERIGHTS), and identified ways of sharing content in various online formats: videos, training offers, workshops, webinars, infographics, emphasizing the right to training, the right to information, the right to culture, the right to music, etc....

The webinars addresses issues such as: 'How the Sustainable Development Goals and Youth Goals complement and support the youth sector'; 'Social innovation in the youth sector - how to reinvent organizations' and 'Council of Europe Youth Strategy 2030'.

The centre also contributes to the campaign of the Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth #SERJOVEMEMCASA (#BEYOUNGATHOME) which takes place on social media (Facebook, Instagram...) and will provide information to the young population on a daily basis that can enrich their free time.

BULGARIA

The event, which is held annually in 17 different towns in Bulgaria, is dedicated to the healthy lifestyles. The participation of youth from Plovdiv was coordinated by the Youth Centre Plovdiv that holds the Council Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres since 2018.

The centre has a special focus on working with young people and healthy lifestyles.

This year's festival programme included a youth panel titled "No day without a night: what supports us and our opportunities in days of uncertainty" which was organised by youth workers from Youth Centre Plovdiv, who shared examples on how to spend time at home productively, discuss natural ways to restore health and prevent diseases and the use of healthy products with young people.

IRELAND

In responding to the Covid-19 crisis, the Eurog KDYS in Killarney - which holds the the Council Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres since 2017 - has been strategic in its reorganisation of vital services to respond to the evolving needs of young people and communities in Kerry County in Ireland. As a response to this new normal, recent initiatives of the centre have included:

Data gathering and analysis of the number of young people who are currently being supported in crisis; the geographical spread of the community based responses; and the exact amount of time given to initiatives responding to Covid-19. The data also provides knowledge on how the centre can support the young people on an innovative and up to date basis.

KDYS online: the centre has reconfigured its website so it reflects the organisation's work in the current climate. Recent initiatives uploaded have included KDYS Online Family Support Service, educational resources and KDYS' Online Club - a weekly positive activity programme for young people and their families.

Media Campaigns: the centre is enjoying unprecedented levels of engagement across all its platforms and KDYS young people collaborated with colleagues in Italy on a Facebook video campaign entitled #iminandimstayingin, detailing common realities being experienced across Europe. See more here

The centre is about to launch a second video campaign on European citizenship and solidarity based on the experiences of a French ESC volunteer and how Covid-19 had impacted on his placement in Killarney. This scope of this campaign is to be broadened in the coming weeks to encompass the similar experiences of other ESC volunteers currently stationed across Ireland.

LUXEMBOURG

The initiative " Keeping kids active " is a new website that provide ideas for activities for children of different ages during the confinement period. The website includes several categories of activities which are renewed daily: Use your Head, Be Creative, Caring for Others, Keep Moving, and Tinkering workshop. The website has been further developed with additional resources such as Links (virtual museum visits etc), Advice of the Day, Daily Motto, and Ideas for Keeping a Logbook - and even a magic activity offered by a Luxembourg magician performing on stage in Las Vegas. The website has been a collaboration of many people from the SNJ and with the involved the educational teams of Marienthal and Hollenfels youth centres. Up to date, the popular website has had 60.000 unique visitors.

A second website " Active at Home " was launched to provide ideas for families to keep active during the lockdown. It offers a series of easy physical activities than can be practiced indoors or outdoors, that include game elements for the younger users. The website has been set up in collaboration with the Ministry of Sports and another SNJ youth centre - the nautical base in Lultzhausen and their educational team. Up to this date the website has had 30.000 unique visitors.

Both websites are available in Luxembourgish and French.

ROMANIA

Based on the principles of participation and solidarity, the aim of the Youth Centres UP II is to bring together 270 young local and international volunteers and involve them in solidarity activities in Timisoara's community and to set up another 10 local youth centres through the city's neighbourhoods. Due to the current Covid-19 situation, the initial purpose of the project has been broadened, providing young people with the opportunity to take part in humanitarian actions.

The project takes up a wide range of activities as a response to Covid-19, such as providing support within the call centre of Timișoara's Social Assistance Directorate; delivering pharmaceuticals, food etc. provided by the authorities to the elderly and to people in need; conducting campaigns to raise funds for the people in need in Timisoara. The project is funded by the European Solidarity Corps and implemented with the institutional cooperation with The Directorate of Social Assistance of Timisoara.

Learn more about the project

SERBIA

As a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the centre initially focused on the local community and to shift their youth programme to online (youth) work. Regular online meetings have been organised with the aim to provide space to young people to stay informed, to share their experiences in an unprecedented situation and to meet their peers.

These meetings have also been a source of developing new online initiatives and to share volunteer stories. As a consequence, a digital youth club was recently created gathering young people from different local communities - for the purpose of organising game nights, cooking challenges etc. and compiling information on interesting and educational online activities. Further to this initiative, a national programme of youth clubs was recently launched together with the National Association of Youth Workers and other partners organisations in Serbia.

In addition, Eco Center Radulovački, organise webinars for other youth workers on how to use digital space to work with young people, with the focus on game platforms. Video tutorials have also been developed to explain how youth clubs work - these will soon be presented also on the website of the government as good practises.

SLOVENIA

One of the centre's main initiatives to respond to the crisis has been to coordinate the organisation of young volunteers who are supporting and helping the elderly population to go shop food, to pick up medicine from the pharmacies etc.

The centre has also organised actions where young people with their parents are sewing protection masks and then making sure that the mask are delivered to the Civil Protection Services in the region. The centre also continues to find innovative way to carry on the implementation of the regional project "Youth Incubator" that aims at ensuring a sustainable integration of young people into the labour market and enabling personal and professional development of young people.

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youth for democracy - european youth foundation - youth mobility through the youth card

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Good practices of youth centres holding the Council of Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres

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Destelheide Youth Centre BELGIUM Destelheide youth centre is a unique centre in Flanders, Belgium for youth, art and creativity. It holds the Council Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres...

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The issue of climate change and its impact on all of us has been discussed in many activities implemented both by the European Union and the Council of Europe. It also appears in many policy papers issued by both institutions. It is also present in many initiatives undertaken by youth organisations and youth movements. How can we, in the youth sector, be more environmentally conscious? How can we mainstream environmentally responsible practices? How can we make the youth sector greener?

Recently, the EU-CoE youth partnership, in cooperation with the Task Force on greening the youth sector, and in consultation with youth organisations has developed the sustainability checklist, which will serve as guidelines for youth initiatives across Europe.

In this episode, we are talking to two people this time: Pegah MOULANA and Neringa TUMĖNAITĖ.

Pegah is a human rights activist based in Europe, mostly focusing on mainstreaming and recognition of the impact that climate change will and already plays on young people. She started her lobbying work from the age of 11 and since then, has worked towards voicing the concerns of young people to decision-making bodies, including governmental authorities and institutions. She is the current Chairperson of the Climate Change task force at the Youth Department of Council of Europe. Her recent work focuses on the role the environment plays towards maintenance of peace and establishment of democracy; especially on introducing a sustainability framework which can be used by all sections of the institution. At the moment she is Chairperson of the Programming Committee on Youth, a section that is in charge of funding activities organised by youth organisations across Europe who have the aim of mobilising and educating young people on their access to rights.

Neringa is a Lithuanian Human Rights & Environmental activist, researcher and academic interested in development justice, youth empowerment and civic society cooperation. She is a member of the Pool of European Youth Researchers at the EU-Council of Europe Youth Partnership, an MPhil/PhD candidate at SOAS, University of London and the Director of Humanity Consulting. Neringa has led several forums in Asia, MENA and Eastern Africa, bringing together CSOs, entrepreneurs, activists and institutions (EU, AUC, UfM, ASEAN, Ministries) to facilitate youth-led policy recommendations (e.g. "Building Youth Partnership Opportunities to Advance UN Sustainable Development Goals for Education, Peace & Innovation.") She has also collaborated with the World Social Forum, where she co-facilitated discussions on Environmental action and global civic society cooperation. Neringa's most recent research paper "Greening the youth sector: checklist for youth activities" focuses on the role youth organisations can play in mitigating the Climate Change.

Hosts: Dariusz GRZEMNY and Lana PASIC.

The transcript of this episode is available HERE (https://eu-coe-youth-partnership.transistor.fm/episodes/greening-the-youth-sector/transcript)

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In this episode, we are talking with Pegah MOULANA and Neringa TUMĖNAITĖ about how to make the youth sector greener, more environmentally conscious. We are discussing the sustainability checklist developed by the EU-CoE youth partnership, in cooperation with the Task Force on greening the youth sector, and in consultation with youth organisations.

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Our Global Education Toolkit is an online educational resource that shares knowledge and practical educational tools on housing, land rights and sustainable urban development. It is divided into six chapters:

Each chapter includes a comprehensive theoretical background of the topic that does not require further research by the educator. Most importantly, the toolkit is primarily focused on practical and active ways of learning about the topics. Each chapter contains three lesson plans, three shorter exercises, a research project and an action project. This toolkit is adaptable to the needs of the educator, topics of interest, time constraints or group sizes. The aim is to educate and raise awareness about these issues among the youth (15-18 years old).

Feel free to download below our leaflet about the Education Toolkit (PDF).

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Our Global Education Toolkit is an online educational resource that shares knowledge and practical educational tools on housing, land rights and sustainable urban development. Find out more.

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There are many ways to manage a project. Some will definitely lead to a successful project, some may not, and some may, but with some detours.

For every successful project you need to look at four different factors:

1. Start from a need or problem

Projects work best when the people developing them know and understand the needs and problems they want to tackle. It is important to properly evaluate the need or problem before starting any project.

What causes this particular problem in our rural area?

What are the symptoms?

What is the scale of it?

For whom is it a problem?

Only for young people - or for the entire community?

2. See the opportunity for your project

Projects need to have, or to create, a space in which to operate. Projects need to be actively supported and backed with more than just money. There must be support for the project from key people and active participation from the target group.

Are your young people behind the project?

Do they have sufficient time to deal with it?

Which other actors need to be involved?

How will they support you/your project?

3. Create a vision

Projects need a vision to frame all the activities and efforts. It is from the vision that strategies, objectives and work plans flow. The big idea behind the project should be clear enough to show how the project will make a significant and sustainable difference to the needs or the problems.

Do all the rural young people involved in your project have the same vision?

Are you working towards a common goal?

Are you able to picture this vision together and be enthusiastic about it?

(only then will you be able to transmit it to other people in your community and get other key actors on board easily)

4. Gather skills and resources

Projects need the right balance of skills, energy, resources and organisation to get going and deliver results. They need to be designed so that they are able to make an impact and create results.

Do you have a capable and balanced team, with complementary skills and resources behind the project?

If there are some specific skills missing, who are you going to consult to get the necessary skills/knowledge/know-how on board?

Are the results, and the impact you are aiming for, clear to everyone? What is it for: you/your youth group/your community? Are your aims short or long term?

What? Who? When? Where? hoW? & Why?

One of the most common ways to develop your project is to plan it according to the 6 Ws (adapted Laswell model):

What? Who? When? Where? hoW? & Why?

These are the questions that can help you in clarifying your project. They allow you to quickly check if you have thought of everything.

The first question, is the WHY? This question is linked to your analysis of the needs and problems that you want to address. The answers to this question are your aims and objectives:

What is needed from or wished for by the young people concerned?

Is it wanted by the community and the young people?

Why should everybody be interested in it?

What do you want to achieve?

What should be the impact or result of the project if it is successful?

How would the situation have changed?

How much of a priority does it represent?

Is your project trying to achieve something different from what is already being done?

Your aims and objectives (Why?) lead you to a decision on the WHAT? question. Depending on what you want to reach, there are different ways of getting there. The What? question refers to the type of project or activity you will be doing.

What activity is most adapted to the people you are working with?

What are your own preferences and previous experiences?

What resources do you have available for the project?

Do you have time or place constraints or opportunities?

The next question leads us to WHO? Who are you working with? Who has certain needs?

In more detail: Who would you like to involve and reach with your project?

What is the target group and who are the beneficiaries of your project?

Who are your partners? What can they bring to the project?

Who will co-ordinate the project?

Are participants involved in running and co-ordinating the project? If so, how?

What is the role of rural young people in the project?

The following step deals with: HOW? are we going about this? How are you going to put the project into practice?

What resources are available to you (time, money, young people, authorities, etc.)?

What do you need to do in order to make the project a success?

What methods will you use to reach the aims?

Describe your project's structure and activities. Why these activities?

How will you steer the process? (clear division of tasks)

What expertise do you need to look for externally (partners, funding...)? How are you going to get these?

The next question is WHERE? This question refers to the context and location in which you are going to carry out the project.

Are you going to go abroad with your group?

Are you hosting a group within your local community? Where are they going to stay?

Where are you going to work / enjoy the programme together?

Are there any place constraints? Or specific places you can or want to use?

Is there any link to be made between the activity and the place?

And to make our project sun complete, you also need to think about the WHEN? question. Are there any issues concerning the timing of your project?

What is the starting and closing date for the project? (a project has a beginning and an end)

Don't let the project go on forever! Stop it when it fails to deliver any further benefits

Did you agree on a time-line for your project? What are the different stages and deadlines? (e.g. applying for funds, contacting partners, meetings of young people, informing, booking a venue, etc.).

Are there any periods to avoid (exam periods, election periods, high season,...)? Or are there any periods that would be particularly beneficial for your project?

What comes after the completion of the activity? (e.g. accounts, thanking people, reports, evaluation, documentation, follow-up;)

Rural Tip
Don't underestimate the duration of your project, including all preparation, as well as follow-up at the end of the activity. Rather, overestimate the amount of time in your project- and activity plan! Most likely you will need it!

All 6 questions need to form a coherent picture. All parts of the project sun should be connected to the centre of the sun: the WHY? question. Be ready to give good reasons for choosing amongst alternatives.
E.g. why have you chosen to do a youth exchange rather than a youth initiative? Why do you want to involve both rural and urban young people in your project? Why are you involving the local authorities? Why would you do an exchange in winter rather than in summer? Etc...
For more about the project management of international youth activities, please refer to:

Get Active - Exercise
Aims & objectives
Think about the project you want to do: What vision do you have about the activity? Where do you want to get to at the end of it? What do you want to reach?

What are your aims and objectives?

The aim is what you see if you take binoculars and look into the future, the final result, where you want to get to.

The objectives are the smaller steps you need to take to get there

When defining those little steps, the objectives, make sure that they are ' SMART'. Formulate your objectives, in a way that they fit the SMART criteria:

S - Specific > do they clarify precisely what they are about?

M - Measurable > how will you know when they have been achieved?

A - Achievable > are they within the control of you and your project team?

R - Realistic > are they realistic and relevant within the frame of your project?

T - Timed > have you agreed over what period they should be achieved?

Rural Tip
You will have a better chance of succeeding if you know what you are aiming at. You will be able to avoid doing unnecessary and unwanted work.
If your project fits in with other projects or other work within the organisation, you need to ensure that there is no overlap and no gaps.

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Setting up a rural youth project? - Project management

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There is already a lot of material on project management in youth work. Here, we just want to remind you of some of the principles of setting up a project and point out the specifics of rural youth projects.

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This is the story of Sende...

How to do youth work and organize projects 365 days a year without funding?

I am María Rodriguez Gradin, I am a social educator and youth event organiser, I mostly work with children.

I am Edo Sadikovic, a youth work organiser and trainer of international training courses on conflict-transformation, peacebuilding and social entrepreneurship.

We wrote that question on a piece of paper before starting to build our project Sende.

Sende is a rural co-working and co-living space hidden in the Spanish mountains, on the border with Portugal. Inside this village of 20 inhabitants, we have rebuilt old houses and converted them into spaces where young creators, professionals and digital nomads come to stay and work on their projects.

We are just like a modern city based co-working space, except in this village the word coworking carries the accent on the letters "cow".

In the last 8 years more than 3000 young people from 50+ countries have visited and stayed in our village. Designers, writers, thinkers, illustrators, web developers, project writers and project evaluators, coders, entrepreneurs and makers, have all found their home for a month at a time in this tiny village.

When our guests are not working, we all cook and dine together, have long conversations, hike and enjoy the Galician rural countryside, small markets and nearby villages.

We both come from the world of youth work and non-formal education. Both of us have had experience in this youth NGO world as participants, facilitators, organisers and trainers.

We realised at one point that so much of our work was reliant on approved projects and receiving the funding. With no projects our work seemed to pause - except for the writing of new projects. So we started thinking about how we could run projects forever, without being dependent on project applications and successful funding bids.

Sara, a young youth worker from Spain and one of our participants back in 2012, while wiping off her goodbye tears said to us: "Hey when are you going to organise a training course that lasts one year or forever instead of 8 days only" - and that was the moment when the idea of Sende clicked.

We decided to see if we could build a (social) business. One where we could organise a concert, or a workshop, or a talk, or a training course... whenever we wanted and fund the project from the profit.

So we decided to build a world house, where our friends and people from all over the world could come, not only for tourism but to do creative work under the same roof, and so Sende was born in 2013.

Both of us are doers and proud imperfectionists, meaning we want to create, not perfection, just create, and let what will be will be. This approach is how we operate Sende, it is an ongoing creation and one that we are not looking to be perfect, we make mistakes, we learn and we move on to new mistakes.

Today Sende is a sustainable small business and right now (2021) we are building Sende Portugal, in a village near Setubal. We are funded by our clients who exchange their money for a work experience in our place. Sende also hosts and organises between four and eight Erasmus+ projects per year, but our goal from the start was to be able to run the space even if there are zero projects approved.

How we use youth work to run Sende

Whenever we have participated in training courses, we were always trying to understand how to transfer these skills for use in the world outside of the youth sector and to other aspects of our lives. Today we use so many of the skills we developed in our youth work learning experience to run our space during the whole year.

For example we use daily our skills from conflict transformation to handle real life situations. Dealing with people from different countries under the same roof means that intercultural learning is constantly happening. We utilise non-violent communication, active listening and understanding to create a space for a dialogue.

The development of the recognition of youth work comes in many forms.

The Sende project is in a tiny village. With only 20 neighbours living here, all our programmes have a big impact on the villagers and indeed on the entire mountain.

Building recognition through support to local business

A large part of the development of the recognition of youth work is indirect. We are witnessing how this project is helping struggling local small businesses. There are 2 restaurants / cafes, one shop, one bakery and local construction companies. Our project is their frequent client and just by using local products, we help these businesses to work better, even to survive. For example, we buy the produce we need for ourselves and our guests in the local shop and from the neighbours. During the summer Sende triples their monthly income.

Building recognition through social interaction

Most of our neighbours are aged between 65 and 90 years of age. Most of them are retired and often lonely. We make sure to invite all the neighbours to attend events we hold, for example an expo, or a concert, or to model for the Bosquexo - a festival of illustrators. Every Sunday we co-organise a vermouth session with our neighbour Antonio. Five to ten neighbours gather for an hour to chat while sipping vermouth.

When younger villagers attend our youth work activities, for example a training on peacebuilding where we use concepts of non-violent communication and dialogue, they get immersed for the first time in non-formal education. Rural areas lack information, opportunities and possibilities for young people, and youth work and non-formal education are very difficult to access for these young people living in such marginalised areas.

By engaging with young people from the villages we are able to show them online all the international opportunities that they can access. In total we have sent around 100 young people from the region to training courses and youth exchanges all over the world. Many of these young Spaniards have never left the country before these travels.

One young person, Lucas, travelled for the first time abroad on a trip to Croatia to attend an Erasmus+ training course on human rights. Lucas has since had further opportunities through the Erasmus+ programme and is now organising and facilitating small workshops in villages around Galicia.

In Sende we do many collaborative projects which often include a municipality as well as our neighbours.

Two years ago we joined with the people of one village to make a petition to the municipal authorities to fix the village swimming pool. The village got the pool repaired and it is crowded each summer. The pool is maintained by the villagers and by our guests.

The project of Sende is very important for the local municipality because it brings freshness, innovation and cultural exchange to the local area. The municipality supports our numerous projects as the local partner when it is needed.

In Lobeira the city council has brand new spaces and infrastructure but there is a lack of cultural programmes. We organised the first illustration gallery and exhibition there. Since that first exhibition Sende has provided numerous programmes and brings an international youth work dimension to the collaboration with the local municipality.

Building recognition through tourism

Because we attract young people to our project, these same young people are in essence tourists to this zone where tourism is not popular, it benefits the cultural enrichment of the whole area.

Sende collaborates with a nearby school. During a conflict transformation event, co-organised with the Youth Peace Ambassadors Network, participants from 18 countries visited the local school and made 4 workshops with the students. This was the first international and culturally diverse encounter in this school. Since that event we now have a regular collaboration with this school.

Website

Instagram

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Rural Youth Workers - Youth Partnership - pjp-eu.coe.int

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How to do youth work and organize projects 365 days a year without funding? I am María Rodriguez Gradin, I am a social educator and youth event organiser, I mostly work with children. I am Edo Sadikovic, a youth work organiser and trainer of international training courses on conflict-transformation, peacebuilding and social entrepreneurship.

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There are a lot of options out there when it comes time to look for a fundraising site. And I mean a lot. Because there are so many choices, it can feel dizzying to try to choose the right one for your nonprofit or your fundraising goals as an individual.

Whether you're trying to launch a new funding campaign for your organization, trying to gain support for a new product, or simply looking for community support for a personal expense, there is a fundraising site that is a good fit for your needs. Your fundraising requirements and goals are unique, so it's important to take the time to find the fundraising website that's the best fit for you.

In this article, we hope to take some of the work out of making this decision for you by listing some of the best fundraising sites, their features, and who they work best for.

12 of the Best Fundraising Websites for Nonprofits and Individuals

Whether you're looking for a fundraising site for your organization, a platform for your individual needs, or even a way to gain equity funding for your startup, there is a wide range of sites and platforms built for a range of use cases.

Read on to learn who uses each site, what qualities each has to offer, and how much each will cost you or your nonprofit.

1. Donorbox

Who's it for?

Donorbox is ideal for charities, social impact groups, faith-based organizations, and more who need powerful fundraising and donor management tools to increase their contributed income. Over 50,000 organizations across 96 countries trust Donorbox with their fundraising needs.

Overview

Donorbox offers a fast, optimized donation platform that includes an online donation form that easily integrates into your website and securely collects donations with your preferred payment processor. It takes four simple steps to get started - just in 15 minutes!

Sign up for free.

Create a campaign donation form.

Copy-paste the code in your website editor to embed the form or use it as pop-up, or simply use the Donorbox-hosted campaign page.

Connect your payment processors - Stripe, PayPal - and you're done!

Here's what an on-brand donation page hosted on Donorbox looks like -
Get Started With Donorbox
Let's have a look at the key features of Donorbox -

Key features

Customizable online donation forms. You can change the donation form appearance to match your branding and customize the information you request from donors to make your donation form as streamlined as possible.

Easily embed your donation form and donation buttons into your content management system (CMS). With Donorbox, your donation form can blend in seamlessly to your website. And it's easy to do!

Easy donation pages hosted on Donorbox. You can easily create branded and customized donation pages with no coding knowledge.

Fast checkout for your donors with UltraSwift Pay™. Your donors can use their preferred online payment services like Google Pay, Apple Pay, Venmo, or PayPal for quick and secure checkout.

Ability to offer recurring donations. You can give your donors the option to select daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly recurring donations so their giving can do the most good. Your donors can change their recurring intervals on their own at any time.

Advanced fundraising methods. Donorbox offers advanced features like Crowdfunding, Peer-to-Peer, Text-to-Give, Event-ticketing forms, Memberships, QuickDonate, etc. to help organizations raise more money with their fundraising efforts.

Ability to ask donors to cover fees. Donors will feel good knowing they can help your organization with administrative fees and you get the added bonus of their full donation!

Powerful donor management software. Keep track of all of your donor information and get notifications for moments like the anniversary of their first gift and any changes to their recurring donation schedule. Segment your donor list to target specific kinds of donors so your team can stay on top of managing your relationships with your donors.

Use social proof to garner new donations. Through an automated donor wall and easy-to-use social media links, your donors can feel proud to share their status as a supporter of your work. This helps potential donors feel more compelled to step in and help out!

If you are getting started with Donorbox, watch this video to get going in four quick steps -

Pricing

Donorbox doesn't charge anything to get started. Once you start receiving donations, you'll be charged a 1.75% fee. That means if you get $500 in donations, your nominal platform fee will be $8.75. And features like Peer-t0-Peer, Events, Memberships, etc. come with a platform fee of 2.95% which is one of the lowest and most affordable in the industry. However, if you upgrade to Donorbox Pro at just $139/month, the platform fee for everything - all the tools including Peer-to-Peer, Events, and Memberships - will be cut down to a flat rate of 1.5%.

Donorbox works with Stripe and PayPal as payment processors, which have their own fees. Both offer nonprofits special payment processing fee discounts. Plus, Donorbox gives you the option to ask donors to cover the processing fees.

2. Kickstarter

Who's it for?

Kickstarter is for creators who want support for a new project in the following categories: art, comics, crafts, dance, design, fashion, film & video, food, games, journalism, music, photography, publishing, technology, and theater. The goal of Kickstarter is to empower creators to get funding without changing their vision for their project. In other words, it's a great way to get the funds to do something creative without worrying about the constraints of a grant or another kind of investing body.

Overview

Kickstarter hosts your project on their website, making it visible to everyone who visits their site. Project pages include information about projects and the people behind them, FAQs about the project, updates, and space for your supporters to leave comments. You can set incentives for different levels of support to help encourage giving.

Kickstarter has an all-or-nothing strategy that requires you to set a goal and a timeline so you aren't left without the funds you need and your donors are even more incentivized to support your project.

Pricing

You only pay if your project is successfully funded within your set timeline. Kickstarter charges 5% of total funds raised, not counting payment processing fees.

3. GoFundMe

Who's it for?

GoFundMe works for both individuals with personal expenses like medical bills or college tuition and nonprofits looking to fund a specific initiative.

Overview

GoFundMe lets you create your own fundraiser that's hosted on their website. You make your fundraiser, share it with friends, and then manage donations as they come in. You can make a fundraiser in the following categories: medical, emergency, memorial, education, and nonprofit fundraising.

Pricing

GoFundMe charges a 0% platform fee, but users still have to pay payment processing fees of 2.9% plus thirty cents per donation.

4. Crowdfunder

Who's it for?

Crowdfunder serves individuals, organizations, and businesses who are looking to use the community around them for support.

Overview

Based in the U.K., Crowdfunder offers a platform for securing funding. Using Crowdfunder's platform, you can create a unique page for your project with information about you, the idea, and your needs. Similar to Kickstarter, you can create incentives for your donors that act as rewards for giving at a certain level. It's then up to you to share your page with your network to begin fundraising.

Pricing

Crowdfunder's fees depend on what you're fundraising for. They don't charge a platform fee for charity fundraisers or personal causes, but they charge a 3% fee for standard projects. They also charge payment processing fees. Donors can choose to cover these fees.

5. Indiegogo

Who's it for?

Indiegogo works best for entrepreneurs with a new product or creators with a new project. They have a focus on new technology and innovative products designed to be the next big thing.

Overview

Founded in 2008, Indiegogo provides a platform for entrepreneurs to get funding for their new, innovative ideas. They also connect entrepreneurs with experts in various areas to help get their business off the ground and help guide them through the crowdfunding process with guides, tutorials, and suggestions.

Indiegogo lets you build your own fundraising page to host on their website. Pages include specific information about your product, usually including your story, FAQs, updates, and comments.

Pricing

Indiegogo charges a 5% platform fee on all funds raised. Payment processing fees vary depending on your location and your currency. For USD with a U.S. bank account, the fees are 3% + 20¢.

6. Patreon

Who's it for?

Patreon is best for artists and other creatives who are looking for a steady income to support their creative endeavors.

Overview

Founded by a musician in 2013, Patreon allows fans to directly support the content their favorite artists make through monthly subscriptions. Incentives like subscriber-only content and merchandise encourage more subscriptions. Artists get to connect with their audience and learn more about what they're looking for while gaining a steady income.

Pricing

Patreon pricing depends on the level you choose. The fee for the Pro plan level is 8% of the income you earn on Patreon while the Premium plan is 12%. There's a new Commerce plan that charges you 5% of your income. Users will also need to cover payment processing and currency conversion fees as well as any applicable taxes.

7. Fundly

Who's it for?

Individuals and nonprofits use Fundly to raise money for campaigns with specific goals.

Overview

Fundly offers crowdfunding tools that help fundraisers tell their fundraising stories and share their campaigns on Facebook. Individuals make their campaigns directly on Facebook, while nonprofits get started on Fundly's website.

Pricing

Fundly does not charge a platform fee. Users only have to pay payment processing fees for Stripe, which are 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction.

8. PayPal

Who's it for?

PayPal has fundraising functionality for both 501(c)(3) nonprofits and other nonprofit organizations. It's not as good of an option for individuals seeking funding for a project or personal cause and works better for smaller organizations.

Overview

PayPal's tools for online fundraising include a donation button that you can embed in your website that leads donors to give to your organization through PayPal. They also have special PayPal card readers that nonprofits can use to take donations in person at events or around your facilities.

Pricing

Nonprofit business accounts will be charged the standard PayPal fees of 2.89% plus a fixed fee depending on the type of currency the transaction is using. You can quickly check the processing fees for specific donation amounts in this handy CheckYa PayPal Fee Calculator. 501(c)(3) nonprofits can apply for a special charity discount.

9. *spotfund

Who's it for?

*spotfund is best for individuals looking to raise money to support medical, emergency, memorial, educational, and personal expenses. Individuals also use *spotfund to raise funds for charity, but few nonprofits use *spotfund for their main fundraising needs.

Overview

Rated 4.8 stars on Trustpilot, *spotfund offers tools to help users build their crowdfunding pages with text, pictures, and video. They offer responsive customer service and boast a quick payout schedule of the next business day.

Pricing

*spotfund doesn't charge a platform fee, but users are responsible for paying the 2.9% + 30¢ Stripe payment processing fee.

10. 360MatchPro

Who's it for?

360MatchPro is best for nonprofits and individuals who are interested in increasing their matching donations. However, most companies with matching donation programs do require the recipient to be an established nonprofit, so this may not work as efficiently for individuals.

Overview

360MatchPro automates the process of following up with donors to find and confirm that their companies offer gift matching as a perk. Donors have the option of initiating the process on their own when they give through your online donation platform. 360MatchPro also has the ability to check for eligibility based on users' email addresses, and they work to track the gift matching until the additional gift is completed. If donors do not initiate the process on their own, 360MatchPro can reach out to them to ensure there isn't a matching gift option for that particular donor.

Donorbox has a powerful integration with 360MatchPro to make the gift matching process even smoother. Learn more about that integration here!

Pricing

360MatchPro charges based on your total amount of donations. For smaller organizations or individuals, there is an annual fee of $999 a year for the Small Nonprofit Plan. The Standard Plan is $1,500 a year. The Enterprise plan offers custom pricing based on your needs.

11. Bonfire

Who's it for?

Bonfire is great for nonprofits of any size and/or individuals who want to try their hand at apparel fundraising to boost their campaign success. Individuals can even launch a campaign on behalf of a nonprofit with their own design.

Overview

Bonfire gives you the tools to design custom apparel for your campaign. Once your design is live, you can share the design page which includes details about your campaign. Bonfire also handles all logistics like money collection, printing the apparel, and shipping it. All you do is design and share on your various channels! They also have a special suite of fundraising materials if you verify your nonprofit status which includes perks like reduced donation fees and customizable organization pages.

Pricing

Bonfire doesn't charge you anything directly. Once the base cost of the apparel is covered, your organization receives all the profits and you can price your items however you'd like (although they recommend using the suggested pricing). If your organization wants to take donations through Bonfire, there is an 8% fee to help cover credit card fees and administrative expenses.

12. Kiva

Who's it for?

Kiva is best for individuals or nonprofits who are looking for a loan for a specific need, project, or idea.

Overview

Founded in 2005, Kiva provides users with a platform to ask for micro-lending loans that are fulfilled by individuals or some monitored lending institutions. You'll pay back your loan over time, which provides a great incentive for people to help fund your loan - they'll get their money back and help you out in the meantime!

Pricing

Kiva charges interest on each loan you apply for, but the interest varies based on your specific project or needs.

What to Look for in a Fundraising Site

Now that you have a better idea of the best fundraising sites for nonprofits and individuals, you might be wondering: what qualities should I look for in a site? What priorities should I consider? Which fundraising tools do I need?

While priorities will change depending on your specific fundraising needs, here are three key qualities to consider when choosing a fundraising site for you or your organization.

1. Easy setup

Chances are, you're ready to get started. Like, yesterday. So choosing a fundraising site with an easy setup is important to get you on the road toward bringing in donations as quickly and easily as possible.

With Donorbox, all you have to do to get started is sign up for a free account and begin to build your first campaign, which then allows you to start building your online donation form.

Once your form is built, you can add your preferred payment processor - either Stripe or PayPal. From there, you can embed your donation form in your website or host it on Donorbox and start collecting donations right away!

2. Low fees

This one may seem obvious, but it's important to mention. The higher the fees, the less impact each individual donation has, the less good your donations can do toward supporting your mission.

Choosing a site with low fees, like Donorbox, means you keep more of each donation. With Donorbox, you can also let donors elect to cover the cost of fees (see the image below). This means that they get to help you keep their full donation!

Pro tip: It's also important to note that each payment processor has its own processing fee, so choosing the right one for your organization will help keep your overall fees low.

3. Social proof

Social proof refers to the idea that people will do what other people are doing. To fit in, of course, but also because people trust things that other people trust. This means that people who are on the fence about donating to your cause or organization might be more willing to give if they see that a lot of others have given or even that someone they know has given.

With Donorbox, you can use social proof to your advantage in the following ways:

3.1 Social media shares. With your Donorbox donation form, you can include easy share links so your donors can share that they donated with their various networks. This also gets the word out about your campaign and encourages others to learn more about you.

Check out how Just Answer used Donorbox to raise over $3.5 million. They made it super easy for supporters to share their campaign and follow their social channels.

3.2 Automated donor wall. When someone donates through your Donorbox donation form, their name can automatically be added to your online donor wall along with any comments they leave (if you enable comments). This is both a way to show your donors some immediate appreciation and a keen way to generate social proof.

We love how Project Hiu uses their Donorbox donor wall to showcase all of their amazing donors!
Get Started With Donorbox
Which Fundraising Site are You Going to Use?

At the end of the day, the best fundraising site is the one that serves all of your fundraising needs. Whether you're looking for something for a huge campaign your nonprofit is about to launch or something to help support a personal project or expense, there's a site that will work hard to bring you the donations you need.

With its low fee structure, social proof ability, and easy setup, Donorbox works for all kinds of fundraisers and all kinds of campaigns. To get started, sign up for a free account here.

Looking for more fundraising advice? Check out the rest of our Nonprofit Blog. Subscribe to our newsletter for to receive curated blog content to your inbox every month!

Lindsey Baker Bower
Lindsey Baker Bower is a writer, educator, and nonprofit professional. She has years of experience helping arts nonprofits with their fundraising messaging and strategy. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.

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12 of the Best Fundraising Websites for Nonprofits and Individuals

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A list of the best fundraising sites for nonprofits & individuals, such as Indiegogo, GoFundMe, Donorbox, and others, with pricing & features.

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03.06.2021

The pandemic has pushed people all over the world outdoors, a trend particularly visible in cities: more and more people have explored urban forests, met friends on park benches or finally taken up urban gardening.

At the same time, the past year has highlighted how unequal the access to outdoors spaces can be. On the most basic level, this could mean the often-unequal distribution of green spaces between wealthy and poor neighbourhoods, but it is also linked to more complicated questions of social inclusion and exclusion, such as who the spaces are designed for, who feels like they can use them and who gets a say in developing them?

This is something that Anders Hagedorn and Martin Rosenkreutz Madsen have observed close up in Copenhagen, Denmark, where they are a part of Supertanker, a group developing opportunities for social, cultural and urban participation. One of their biggest projects has taken place in Charlottekvarteret, a social housing neighbourhood with the majority of its residents from immigrant backgrounds.

For years, Charlottekvarteret has had a "bad reputation" and the people living there have suffered stigmatisation. Supertanker's work here has focused on facilitating projects to support community development and a collective identity. Creating shared outdoors spaces in collaboration with the residents is a big part of it.

In early 2020, just before the pandemic hit, the group started a community garden project, which has already become hugely popular.

"Most people here live in small flats and cannot afford a summer house outside the city. The community garden provides them with a little bit of their own space, as well as an opportunity to work on the land and produce something," Anders Hagedorn explains.

This is particularly significant in a neighbourhood which, just like many social housing areas, is heavily regulated - people living here have traditionally not have much say in shaping their surroundings.

"This creates a strong contrast with history, as many residents have moved here from areas with a high level of autonomy, such as rural parts of Turkey. So, we want to develop ways for them to get involved in creating the spaces they are using."

Martin Rosenkreutz believes that the need for accessible and participatory outdoor spaces in cities will keep increasing, as many people have now discovered the joys of outdoor activities.

At the same time, global urbanisation means that, in the future, more and more people will live in cities. The big question is, Rosenkreutz continues, how cities can provide access to different forms of outdoor learning.

"Learning in an experiential and autonomous way, such as learning about gardening with your own family, should not be the luxury it has become. Our utopia is to turn areas such as Charlottekvarteret into learning laboratories."

Barriers to participation can be invisible

Kim Weger works for the Norwegian think-and-do tank Nabolagshager on its Edible Cities Network project in Oslo. She has also spent a lot of time thinking about the connection between urban outdoor spaces and social inclusion.

The physical site for Weger's project activities is the historical Linderund farm, which has recently been opened to the local community with one part of the farm turned into an open access community garden and event space.

Weger's main task is to engage people who might not otherwise engage in using and further developing the space.

"We have seen an explosion in urban gardening, which is great. But typically, people who show up to these events are white, Norwegian women of a certain age. Almost 50 percent of the residents in this area are from immigrant backgrounds, and we want them involved as well."

During the project, which started in the spring 2020, Weger has explored the often-invisible barriers that might stop people from participating. For example, when asked their reasons for not using the farm gardens, many people from immigrant families explained they thought the space was not for them, as there was a gate on the entrance.

"In Norway people are used to the idea that public space is there for them to use, but this is not the case in some other countries. We need to actively invite people to use the space and its opportunities."

One way to reach out to more people has been working closely together with the District Mothers -an organisation of immigrant women helping local families in their own languages.

The project group also applied for funding to work with local schools and, with sponsorship from a local company, were able to hire 25 young people to work on the farm for the summer.

"It was great to see how they really started to take ownership of developing this place, and how important it was for them to have a safe place to spend time with their peers and meet new people with similar interests."

From being included to including others

Someone with a slightly different perspective on the issue is Akane Bessho, who is completing her PhD at the Department of Urban Engineering at the University of Tokyo. Her research entitled "theorizing social inclusion through urban agriculture: through the lens of immigrants and people with disabilities" explores the topic Bessho has been interested in for most of her life.

"I moved to the US with my family when I was 13. Being a newcomer there, I became fascinated by how people try to belong to a place. What is the actual process of making a place your own?" she explains.

Urban agriculture is a particularly interesting subject, Bessho continues, since it has so many benefits for people: one can connect with nature, have access to fresh produce and boost both physical and mental wellbeing.

"For immigrants in particular, community gardens are great, as you can start by just having your own space and some peace, but then slowly open up to other people and learn about the local community and the wider society around you."

As part of her research, Bessho observed the Black Creek Community farm in Toronto, Canada, where people from local immigrant communities are heavily involved in managing the farm space, proposing new projects and inviting more people to join.

During the life-story interviews Bessho conducted with some of the participants, she was particularly interested in the "role shift" the immigrants experienced during their involvement with the farm. The big change for many people was going from being the one to be included to the one including others in the local community, Bessho argues.

These findings, Bessho believes, highlight the need to see social inclusion as something dynamic, "a never-ending process of finding out what has not yet been fully addressed."

"I think it's important not to label people, as this easily creates a division into "us and them". People want to be seen as part of the community, not as recipients of help or protection. Community gardens offer a great playground for this."

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Community gardens as a playground for social inclusion

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Feature. Urban gardening has exploded in popularity during the past year. Particularly for people from immigrant backgrounds, community gardens can offer an important space for participation.

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Diverse approaches to working methods in youth work and the development of new approaches are covered in this collection. The approaches are focused on the application and development of participatory and empowering approaches to work with young people.

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Approaches and working methods in youth work

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Mainly approaches working methods, more trends in youth work

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Gardening👩‍🌾For All: An Inclusive Community