Crowdfunding support to local communities
According to Catalyst Balkans, 21.6 million euros was donated last year through 1,554 charitable actions in the fight against COVID 19.
Socially responsible companies donated almost 70% of the total figure, and the greatest needs were for medical and IT equipment (47.3%), as well as consumables, that is masks, gloves and disinfectants (37%).
In order to stand with its members from the ranks of local governments, at the beginning of April, NALED launched a platform for donations, in order to raise funds for socially endangered families and medical staff from cities and municipalities that applied for help.
In just over a month, more than 250,000 euros have been donated through the platform. 52 tons of food were provided and delivered to 11,000 households, as well as 67 computers for schools and municipal services and 140,000 euros for medical and protective equipment, as support to 41 municipalities and cities in combating the negative consequences of the pandemic.
The results of the campaign and the potential of crowdfunding financing were presented today at a Webinar on donation platforms and policies in Serbia, which was held within the project "Alternative financing and donations for local governments" implemented by NALED and funded by German Development Cooperation.
On this occasion, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola HBC, MK Group and Lidl agreed that the NALED platform provided them with a simple overview of the identified needs of local communities and enabled them to help those who needed help, in a transparent way.
The second part of the workshop was dedicated to identifying legal issues that make the existing donation system more difficult.
One of the priorities was the regulation of food donations, especially when it comes to the expiration date. The law stipulates that food should be discarded after the expiration date, although it is still correct and usable, which is not a practical solution. In that sense, Serbia could use the example of Germany, which allows such food to be donated to public kitchens.
Also, Serbia and Albania are the only countries in Europe that do not have any tax relief for individuals who donate, which is necessary to work on in the next 3 to 5 years.
