For the first time this year, we decided to invite people from businesses and CSR experts from corporations to join our festival. We feel that their – sometimes different – point of view to this particular topic can be rather inspiring to all participants and vice versa. There is much to share and much to learn from each other.
The first and very special speaker from the “business world” who has already confirmed his participation is Mr. Andrej Kiska (Slovakia). Following 15 successful years in the business world, he decided to sell his companies. Since then, he has devoted all his attention entirely to the non-profit sector. Founder the most successful non-profit in Slovakia “Dobry Anjel” and extremely skilled manager will bring very challenging and innovative views to the NGO marketing, fundraising and transparency issues.
“Traditional advertisement and branding as we know it has been changing dramatically due to IT development, social networking and globalization. What clearly dominates the messy mass of products is TRUST to a brand. And trust is the often quoted magic formula of Corporate social responsibility (CSR) development. Only most managers have no clue how to go about building real, solid trust. What they do know is that trust cannot be developed through traditional product marketing. The International Fundraising Festival provides corporate managers with the unique opportunity to think through philanthropic issues together with people from non-profits, in order to master the idea that CSR is not about giving money. It is about transforming business and management experience and incorporating it with experiences that exist on the civil society side in order to achieve truly beneficial impact,” insists Mr. Kiska.