On November 20th, 2020, AmCham Communications and CSR working groups held a virtual meeting regarding the following topics:
- Charity in Crisis – the impact of the HelpKarma Fundrasing Case on the charity sector in Bulgaria
- Joint AmCham Bulgaria members charity project (Virtual Thanksgiving)
- Empowering employees to communicate better while WFH
Moderator and host was Daniel Kiryakov, Communications and Public Affairs Manager at AmCham Bulgaria.
Executive Director, Bulgarian Donors Forum
Krasimira Velichkova Executive Director at Bulgarian Donors Forum summarize the HelpKarma Fundrasing case which caused a charity crises because of the wide media coverage and the sensitivity of the topic. After a brief consideration and planning the Bulgarian Donors Forum published an official statement. They gathered the support of many organizations and participated with the statement in different media. Their main message was that this was just one case and it should be followed by the authorities and regulators and HelpKarma should take their responsibilities according to the law. But there are a lot of other charity cases that deserve to be supported. Krasimira explain how this case influenced the field.
“We have to big concerns. The people will donate less after this scandal. But if we continue to share good causes I hope that this crises will be overcome in a few months. The other concern is related with the regulations. We think that in every field there are different kind of misuses no matter how regulated is that sphere. If there are regulations what would be the intentions of the politicians – to help and organize or to limit?”
Krasimira believes that it is very important to create developing standards for good fundraising practices and a process for self-regulation in order to be effective in crises like this.
Elitsa Barakova, Executive Director, bCause Foundation shared with the participants his positive expectations that everything will improve and the donation sphere will be stable again, because despite the situation the flow of donations from their active campaigns is continuously growing.
“We are entering the philanthropy season and my team is preparing for #GivingTuesday celebration. It will take place on December 1st, 2020. It is a global day of giving, generosity, volunteering and sharing good. It started as a reaction to the Black Friday consumers behavior and it grew immensely.”
Elitsa presented the Get Ready for Success Scholarships cause that will be implemented digitally with AmCham members in the eve of Thanksgiving.
Download presentation of bCause Foundation.
Viktoria Blazheva, FVP, Identity and Communication, Social Impact Banking at UniCredit Bulbank, shared her recent experience and secrets how to nurture, support and empower C-level and senior management of Unicredit Bulbank in their daily and strategic online communications in Covid-19.
Viktoria summarize five communication lessons from the pandemic.
You can see the presentation and the five important lessons soon.
Corporate Affairs Manager, Kamenitza
Steliyana Kasabova, Corporate Affairs Manager, Kamenitza, a Molson Coors Beverage Company, emphasized on the increased role of the management and the trustworthy and timely communication that employees require.
“Always put people first. In situations like this communication is all and it must be clear, accurate, timely, regular. It is important to act as a team, because this is not an “individual” crisis. To give the necessary support and guidance to employees and to leaders because they need to cope both physically and mentally in this environment and to lead their teams. An interesting fact according to the Edelman’s research is that employees see their employer as the most reliable source of information, after the experts in the specific field. “
Download Steliyana Kasabova’s presentation.