Saskatchewan Community Foundation: Friendraiser Event Posters
SDGs Aligned:
Background
The Saskatchewan Community Foundation hosts an annual event called the Friendraiser. The purpose of this event is not to “fundraise”, but rather to “friend raise”. During this event they bring together over a hundred different charities doing work within Saskatchewan, and hundreds of guests under the same roof. This gives the charities an opportunity to talk about the great work they do for the community, share stories about the wonderful impact they’ve made, and create new connections with other people. The guests also have an opportunity to learn about new charities, learn what some of the pressing needs are within the community, and learning more about how they can be more involved.
Incorporation Breakdown
As part of the event logistics, the Community Foundation creates poster boards that will be displayed at every charity table. This is so that the charities can attend without worrying about investing in larger posters, while also ensuring that the event remains equitable for the charities in attendance. As part of the design of the posters, the Community Foundation included space for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that the charity is working towards to be displayed. When the charities registered to be a part of the event, they were sent a form to fill out so they could provide some logistical information. Through that form, the Community Foundation included a section for the charities to provide the different SDGs that they were working towards, and were encouraged to learn about what the goals are in case they weren’t sure. This information was then worked into the designs of the poster boards.
This integration was an excellent way to bring awareness to the goals, to encourage people to talk about them, and allow them to think about how their work/impact is contributing to the goals on a local, provincial, national and global scale. The charities were able to consider their work in a potentially new way, while also providing them an opportunity to speak about what they do through a new lens. For the guests who attended, it was an engaging way for them to learn more about the emerging needs within their community while also bringing awareness to those same needs through a more global perspective.
How can this example be repurposed?
This example can be repurposed for a variety of gatherings: events where there are multiple charities/partners/organizations involved, presentations where there will be group sharing opportunities, or even tradeshow style events where more natural conversations occur, all of these can include SDG integration. Not everyone is going to be working towards the same goals, and that’s ok. You don’t need to be an expert on all of them, but you should have some background knowledge of all of them, and more in depth knowledge regarding the ones you are working closely with. When planning an event/meeting/ice breaker activity, do a little preparation work by reviewing what all of the goals are, and then dive a little deeper into the ones you work towards. If possible, try to gather the goals that each individual/organization representative in attendance is working towards. This will allow you to steer the conversation/activity a little easier and discuss more relevant examples. If there will be visual materials present at this event/activity (posters, pamphlets, presentation slide show, etc.), it might be beneficial for visual learners to be able to see the goals when you are speaking about them or leading the activity. Also, providing links to where they can learn more about the goals should be included (physically, digitally, or verbally) so that curious individuals know where to go once the event/activity is finished!
If you need help identifying the goals, you can use the quizzes within the Initiative Insights: SDG Navigator website, or you can reach out your local Community Foundation or academic institution for assistance. This could also open the door for future collaboration or partnership opportunities too!