2018 has been an interesting and active year for us and BBUN Nepal. Before anything: thanks for all of your support and your trust in us. And yes it was a year of new beginnings, new ways, new partnerships, new Buddys. It is fair to say, that we used the year to establish legal ground to set the foundation for our programs. You may wonder why we can not share more local work on the ground. Please keep in mind, that the funds we collect are linked to 2 major programs we are covering at the moment. And the Better Transit Home requires a certain amount of funding before we can actually launch it. Therefore as you can imagin we need your ongoing support and dedication.
LEGAL STATUS / REGISTRATION / CONTRACTS
- bbuildsupnepal e.V. got registered in Berlin beginning of 2018 (Eingetragener Verein).
- We were given the nonprofit status once we modified our statue – had to add 2 words 🙂 from May 2018 onwards we were officially nonprofit (gemeinnütziger Verein).
- A legal framework was created to ensure our collaboration with local NGO partner (B.B.U.N Nepal) was in place. Why you may ask? The reason is very simple: to ensure the intercultural work is in line with German law to ensure we don’t harm the charity status which would have legal consequences for bbuildsupnepal e.V. And we want to for sure avoid issues with German tax authorities. The contract was done in collaboration with a law firm in Berlin, translated, discussed with BBUN Nepal and signed. We also established workflow and processes between BBUN and bbuildsupnepal incl. funding requests and regular monthly reports to ensure all our donors will know where their money is used for.
- Legal check: website, agreement with Singer, general tax advise have been check by our lawyer.
- We installed betterplace.org as main fundraising platform.
- We opened a bank account and use GLS Bank as our bank.
- We got final go from Facebook to be listed as fundraising option as well which took a lot of effort.
Yes it seems like a lot of paperwork and admin that needs to be done, but ultimately it’s all very helpful because at the end of the day we all know that transparency and reliability are key ingredients and it’s what our donors demand.
CREATION OF LOGO /BRAND / COLLATERAL
We were super lucky to get bro bono support with logo (Creative Director Eike Wiemann), brand and communication material development (Agency Select Life Hamburg).
- We prepared flyers in two language (German and English), including who we are and concept of A Better Transit Home, introduction of us, vision and our responsibility. We also prepared a membership application form (both languages) to stimulate regular donations/support.
- We also finalized a slide show, and other great communication material thanks to the agency Select Life who works pro bono for us.
- We managed to have different roadshows in Germany with the support of Madan Magar, president of BBUN Nepal whom we had present in Germany (all the way from Kathmandu) for 2 weeks.
- Presentations:
- Hamburg: Presentation in Lions Club Hamburg.
- Berlin: Presentation in Soho House Berlin; in Dec. presentation in WeWork on how to create an NGO as well.
- Frankfurt: Stand and panel discussion at the Frankfurt Book Fair being sponsored by Frankfurter Buchmesse, which we are still very thankful for.
And we managed to activate a number of people and companies that supported us:
EVENTS
We spoke and presented who we are and what our plans are at:
- Lions Club: We had a meeting in Lions Club Hamburg Bellevue where we presented us: BBUN Nepal and bbuildsupnepal e.V., our concept and purpose, the planned project A Better Transit Home, facts about street children of Nepal, the problems and challenges street children of Nepal have to deal with. Pictures taken by the street children were presented, as well as explained where and why the picture were taken.
- Frankfurt: We had our own stand at the building (L) in second floor in Frankfurt Book Fair. Many visitors and new people from different corner of the globe were present and come by to learn about us, our program and Nepal. The visitors were very interested to hear and learn about what we do. Pictures taken by Street children were displayed at our stand which provided the visitor an idea on how they see their world: “Through our eyes.”
- A life concert was held at our stand by the German singer, Julia Kauz. She not only performed, but also shared her feelings and motivation on why she supports us to help create a better life for children in Nepal. She is helping our project by donating the download fee of her song: “Wieder Engel”.
- Panel: Birgit Baier, chairperson of bbuildsupnepal e.V. (Germany) and Madan Magar, president of BBUN (Nepal) were interviewed by the vice president of the Frankfurt Buchmesse. We displayed our pictures from the children and talked about the idea of of running an NGO, what it takes, why and our project A Better Transit Home.
- Berlin: In the Soho House our guests listened to our ideas, how to create an NGO, key facts of Nepal, problems Street children have and why we believe it makes sense to have a charity in Berlin and an NGO in Kathmandu, the challenges we faced and are still facing…..
WHERE TO FIND US
In addition to our flyers and physical presence we created other channels for people to find us to generate funds and create awareness about Street children in Nepal and our program:
- website (German/English)
- social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (BB private), youtube channel (videos)
- facebook fundraising option
- business portal: LinkedIn
- MeetUp group created
- betterplace.org (newsletter linked to proceeds and donor news)
- printed flyer (hand out, mailing, shops)
- betterplace poster in shops etc.
- donation box
- personal mailings
ACTIVITIES IN NEPAL
- We supported the school mate program 🙂
- BBUN placed Betterplace posters in various guesthouses in Kathmandu.
- Madan established contact with local press.
- Many meetings and trips took place to visit street children close to Pokhara, or in the country side.
- Over 5 locations and up to 10plus fiel trips took place to get in contact with street children, to learn about their situation and to engage with the kids.
TRIP TO NEPAL
In March Birgit went to Nepal (on her own expense) to meet with CNFN and BBUN to finalize the concept, budget calculation and collaboration between all involved parties including Nepali police (104).
- This meeting was super important as it formed the bases for the key program we are running now.
- Defined our collaboration model and
- a few other activities took place such as house scouting, meeting with landowners, construction companies etc. to gain local knowledge and to see what’s required in Kathmandu.
FINANCIALS / MEMBERS /ORGANIZATIONS
- So far we raised about 9.000€ in 2018 (exact number will be shared in our official annual report which will be ready in Q1 2019).
- We acquired some supporting members (exact number to be shared in our official annual report). But hey: you can join in any time just click here: Membership Application
- We started dialogue with Ein Herz für Kinder, GLS Treuhand to request funding support.
Thanks to you all for supporting us and believing that it is possible to help make a difference for children in Nepal. Hopefully we will be able soon to start getting active on the ground to help support children.