The third cycle of the Yellow Dot Academy, which educates non-profit organizations and connects them with the business sector, has concluded

The third cycle of the Yellow Dot Academy was concluded on March 21, 2024, in Zagreb, with the presentation of donation campaigns to representatives of the business community, and the projects of the KroNland Association and the Association of Parents of Children with Developmental Difficulties ‘Pčelice’ were recognized as the most comprehensively designed and best-presented donation campaigns.

The company Wiener osiguranje will provide financial support in the amount of €2,500.00 to the KroNland Association from Sisak for the project of acquiring a machine for the production of a new construction assortment for building and renovating houses made of recycled cardboard. The KroNland Association aims to promote sustainable construction through the bio-resources sector, based on similar examples from the Netherlands, and the reason for this support was explained by Zvonimira Milevčić from the marketing and communications sector of Wiener osiguranje: “Supporting organizations and initiatives that actively contribute to the development of society has become part of the identity of Wiener osiguranje over the years. That is why we are happy to have been a partner of the Yellow Dot Academy almost from the beginning. Through this collaboration, we want to provide our expertise, resources, and as concrete help as possible because only through the joint efforts of the private sector and civil society organizations can we bring about positive changes to the entire community in the long term.”

The company PwC Croatia will support the Association of Parents of Children with Developmental Difficulties “Pčelice” from Gospić for the project of building a space for children with difficulties: SAĆE – Building Cells of Existence, since there is no place for children of all ages and difficulties in the city of Gospić and Lika-Senj County, and this will be the first such facility.

It is well known that non-profit organizations across Croatia, thanks to great effort and numerous volunteer hours, address various problems and unmet needs of individuals and communities. There are many needs, resources are always limited, and these organizations primarily need knowledge, mentoring, and financial support, as they do not lack genuine motivation.

Due to this recognized need and the strong desire to support them, the Yellow Dot Foundation, with the help of its partners, is organizing the educational-mentoring program of the Yellow Dot Academy for the third consecutive year, the first of its kind in Croatia, whose final activity is the presentation of donation campaigns of organizations that participated in the Academy – Fundraising pitch.

The Yellow Dot Academy has been supported from the very beginning by A1 Croatia, according to Iva Turčin, an expert in communications and corporate social responsibility at the company.

– Civil society plays an important role in the development and improvement of the quality of life in the communities we live in, and since this is a non-profit sector, without the systematic help of the public, private sectors, and donors, their operations are quite endangered. We often encounter situations where organizations are managed by individuals driven by altruism and personal stories without sufficient professional support in operational business, marketing, and other aspects of managing organizations. Therefore, we believe it is our role to help and empower them. Eight years ago, we launched the fundraising platform Do the Right Thing, which aims to connect those who want to help with those who need help the most in a simple way, allowing organizations to reach their donors faster and more easily and to be more successful in achieving their goals, “said Turčin.

In the Yellow Dot Academy in 2024, a total of 12 non-profit organizations participated, including, in addition to the KroNland and Pčelica associations: the Ignacije Center for Spirituality and Culture, the MURID Early Childhood Intervention Center, the City Red Cross Society of Zagreb, the Zagreb Film Club, the Karlovac Pensioners’ Club, the Entrepreneurs – Association of Croatian Entrepreneurs, the Autism Association Pogled, the Youth Association Krik Slatina, the Community of Amateur Cultural and Artistic Activities of Karlovac County, and the Anamarija Carević Foundation.

The third cycle of the Academy and the Yellow Dot competition were jointly supported by the Croatian Association of Counties, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, and Wiener osiguranje, sponsored by the Association of Cities, and donors included A1 Croatia, PwC Croatia, PBZ Card, Nexi Croatia, and Press Clipping.

The Yellow Dot Foundation was established with the aim of building a philanthropic and fundraising culture in Croatia through intersectoral cooperation – civil, public, and business sectors, and the active role of citizen-donors.

The purpose of the Foundation is to support non-profit organizations in philanthropic and fundraising activities and to strengthen individual and corporate philanthropy and social capital.

The first activities of the Yellow Dot Academy began at the end of 2021, and through three generations of the Academy, a total of 50 non-profit organizations from all over Croatia have been educated and mentored.

In 2023, the Foundation conducted research on the donation habits and attitudes towards philanthropy of Croatian citizens titled ‘Are Croatian citizens good people?’. The results of the research can be downloaded from the Foundation’s website.