How a tribal education NGO in Jharkhand grew from 80 to 340 regular donors in one year

Adivasi Shiksha Sansthan runs three residential schools for tribal children in Jharkhand, serving 450 students from Santhali, Ho, and Munda communities. The schools provide free education, meals, uniforms, and books. Annual operating costs are approximately Rs. 1.8 crore.

The organisation depended heavily on two major donors who together contributed 60% of the annual budget. The founder knew this concentration was risky but had no way to reach a broader donor base. The NGO had no website, no online donation option, and no systematic way to communicate with the 80 individual donors who gave sporadically through bank transfers.

When one of the two major donors reduced their contribution by 50% due to their own financial pressures, the NGO faced a Rs. 45 lakh shortfall with 6 months to cover it. The founder spent 3 months personally visiting potential donors in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, and Kolkata, collecting cheques and manually issuing receipts from a receipt book.

The organisation set up Donateazy with three priorities: (1) create an online donation page to accept UPI and card payments, (2) build a proper donor directory from their scattered records, and (3) launch a "Sponsor a Child" monthly donation campaign.

They imported their existing 80 donor records, added missing contact details and PAN numbers through a phone outreach drive, and created their first online fundraising campaign. The public NGO profile page gave them a credible web presence with 80G details, organisational information, and active campaigns visible to anyone.

The campaign writer tool helped them draft compelling emails and WhatsApp messages for their donor outreach, and automated receipts meant donors received 80G certificates within minutes instead of weeks.

Over 12 months, the donor base grew from 80 to 340 active donors. Monthly recurring donations from 95 donors now cover Rs. 3.2 lakh per month (Rs. 38.4 lakh annually), reducing dependence on any single donor. The "Sponsor a Child" campaign raised Rs. 22 lakh in its first 6 months. Total donations for the year increased by 35% despite the major donor reduction. The founder now spends time on programme quality instead of personal fundraising trips.