Craig Pollard [00:00:00]:
Hello and welcome back to the Fundraising Radicals podcast. I'm your host, Craig Pollard. Today's fundraising leadership conversation comes from Cambodia and is with Sinketh Arun, co director of fundraising at the Angkor Hospital for Children in Siem Reap. We're going to be talking about corporate partnerships, about growing up in the shadow of the Pol Pot regime and lots, lots more. Welcome Arun.
Sinketh Arun [00:00:24]:
Thank you so much Craig, for giving me the opportunity to have joining the programme or podcast thing that you are having right now. I was born and grew up in the family that not really a rich family and we were from the rural area of Cambodia and I had to try so hard in studying because I was born right after the Popo regime. So everything was really like a lack of everything that time. And my family was really trying so hard to get rice, food and everything. And I remember that time I was not able to go to school until I was about eight. It seems like too long to take me to get into school. Yeah. Because of the poverty, I was not really able to get to the school easily until my father got a job with Medicine San Francisco. I had to try study so hard until I finished high school. But I got a lot of challenge along the way because that time my mother really wanted to focus on my brothers studying more than me because she thought that being a boy or men should have more education than a girl or woman. But actually my father said that should not be like that. So even boy or girl has to be the same. So I was really proud of them that they were agreeable and continue putting me in school until I finished high school. So when I finished high school, I got another challenge again because I couldn't go to university due to not having enough money. Plus my mother that time she has to move to live with my father far away from home because my father that time moved from Kampungjam town to another town to work with Medicine San Francisco. So then because like an older sister, so I have to take care the brother and sister at home, you've overcome.
Craig Pollard [00:02:43]:
You've had to face so many mean just growing up in those times in Cambodia. I can't even imagine how difficult that must have been. Following the Pol Pot regime and all of the devastation around that and following that and then sort of just having to fight for your education and relying on the advocacy of your father to get that opportunity. And then again those responsibilities to family, do you look back and just I don't know, how do you view that looking back now, those barriers?
Sinketh Arun [00:03:20]:
Every time that I remember about the life during that time, sometimes I felt I was not lucky that I was born in such a situation and also in the poor family. But then when I look into other people like at the same age as me that they got struggling the same as me as well and some people they may struggling more than me so then I started feeling that actually, I should be honoured especially should be honour to my parents that they have been trying so hard to raise me up until I finish school and until I got the job. Yeah, I feel very proud to be part of a recovering of the country from being so difficult after the war and then studying, learning even we don't have enough, but we still do whatever that we can in order to fulfil our knowledge and education and also getting the right job in order to improve our society.
Craig Pollard [00:04:38]:
Yeah, it's really interesting because in that sense the education a big part of the year zero was against education and against that sort of progress. So in some ways education was it an act of resistance and a sort of determination to break with that legacy in Cambodia.
Sinketh Arun [00:05:02]:
Actually, if talking about my generation education that time was not the same as right now. We had to learn it seems like more about yeah, more about what we call like a general. It's not us right now that we learn seems like similar to the modern country. But that time, whatever the basic knowledge or whatever that we should learn to build up our capacity like a basic capacity would be the best thing to do. Yeah, but comparing to now, we were so different. So the school that we attended, there was no wall. There was like a teacher but not really having enough material and so many students in the class, everybody had to struggle and at home we didn't have light and we had only like what we call a traditional light that we made from something that we got from wood in order to light our to read the book. And even we have pencil and pencil was really like an old thing and sometimes if we use what we call the small board that we can keep in our bag and when we take.
Craig Pollard [00:06:33]:
Like a slate yeah.
Sinketh Arun [00:06:35]:
And even that kind of stuff we had to make by our side. I remember that my father made like a simple, simple thing for me to do because we couldn't easy to buy it from the market and plus we didn't have money and using something to rye on it. Sometimes I use charcoal that time but it was really even though but it was really happy that everybody I look around that time, everybody the same. Yeah.
Craig Pollard [00:07:09]:
I'm fascinated by the situation just different experiences and different journeys into fundraising I think it's just really interesting. So tell me about so you were a nurse at the Angkor Hospital for Children and now you're co director of fundraising how did that transition take place? From nursing, being in the hospital working to becoming a co director of the fundraising team.
Sinketh Arun [00:07:36]:
This is a really good question. Many people ask me about this question. So like becoming a nurse and then now becoming the fundraising carrier, which is completely separate. Actually, when I was a nurse, I got sex most of the time, especially every time that I work at night shift. They decided to recruit the secretary of the executive secretary. And then I was advised to be applying for that position, which is I don't understand why that I was a nurse, why I applied for that position while I don't really having any knowledge or experience in management or administration or something like that. After that I talked to my mom and then she said that you should apply. Even you couldn't get it, but at least you get some experience in applying, some sort of new thing and that's kind of thing. That really making me trying to find a way to move out from nursing area to be like in other area. After that I start seeing people who work in the office. They had very good like appearance, dress up, they work in the office with nice and cool hair cone.
Craig Pollard [00:09:05]:
Not working night shift.
Sinketh Arun [00:09:07]:
Yeah, not working night shift. And then it looked like they have more opportunity and then I decided to apply. So when I applied, there was about six staff members that applying that time. And we went through the testing interviewing and also there was one test that I had to take the hospital director and also management team that time on a tour of the hospital. So I did the tour as the best.
Craig Pollard [00:09:41]:
But did you feel like you had an advantage being a nurse in terms of that understanding of the hospital and being able to offer maybe something a little bit different?
Sinketh Arun [00:09:51]:
Yeah. So that's why when I made the tour and then I could understand more about what I was in nursing to do because I volunteer a lot when I was in nursing. Just not only in the hospital, but I went out to the countryside to meet with patients family to work with countryside healthcare worker or something like that. So that's why I could tell more about what I learned, what I experienced with. And then I got selected to be the executive secretary. So in that position, I have to be handling three main role, which is one is the secretary to the hospital director, another one is volunteer coordinator and the last one is a public relations officer.
Craig Pollard [00:10:40]:
That's three jobs. That's not just one job.
Sinketh Arun [00:10:44]:
Three jobs at the same time. So I have to learn a lot, which is really difficult for me because I came from nursing and I had only nursing background, but I didn't have really administration or management. So that's why I decided to go back to school. So I went back to school at the evening time in the city as well. So I decide to actually when I went back to school, I wanted to specialise in marketing because I really love meeting with people, talking with people, touring. And also I start seeing that getting money from supporter Visitor is something that, wow, why AHC doesn't do it, so I should do it. So I started little by little and then that time the school could not open the course marketing. So that's why I decided to take accounting and finance. And then I set up many system of getting donation from Visitor that came for the tour of the hospital.
Craig Pollard [00:11:56]:
Were they the first donations that the hospital secured?
Sinketh Arun [00:12:00]:
Yeah, not really. Actually the hospital got the donation from Friends Without Border that time, which is the main organisation that supported the hospital and opened the hospital from the beginning.
Craig Pollard [00:12:11]:
But locally.
Sinketh Arun [00:12:13]:
Yeah, local. That was the first time that I started to collect the donation from Visitor. And also I started to place the donation box at some places in the city.
Craig Pollard [00:12:25]:
Okay, so it went from Visitors to then donation boxes in the city. And I read that your aim now is for 50% of your fundraised income to come from within Cambodia.
Sinketh Arun [00:12:44]:
Yes.
Craig Pollard [00:12:45]:
That's a phenomenal growth.
Sinketh Arun [00:12:47]:
Yeah, actually it's been a long way and really taking long time. Comparing the time that I started the local fundraising, even I didn't really know that it was a fundraising.
Craig Pollard [00:13:02]:
What did you do? What were you doing? You were taking the boxes out. What other activities were you doing to get fundraising started?
Sinketh Arun [00:13:09]:
Yeah, so after doing some sort of those work, friends with our Border organisation took me to the US for three months. Yeah. So in the US I've learned about the fundraising event. I've learned about to manage visitor centre and also the gift shop. So then I was there to travelling and that's how my English starting improving as well. So it is more about a relationship building and also getting people to listen about my story about AHC. And then they made donation.
Craig Pollard [00:13:55]:
But you make it sound really easy getting them there in the first place, asking them, telling your story, what are the stories that you tell and how do you tell stories about the hospital to inspire donors?
Sinketh Arun [00:14:11]:
Mostly it's about talking about my personal. Mostly I talk about my education, how I grow and my family and about Cambodia, why I really involved with the hospital, why I love AHC.
Craig Pollard [00:14:28]:
Why are they why do you?
Sinketh Arun [00:14:30]:
Yeah, AHC the reason that I told all of those because actually I don't really know, but I thought that it was something that I had in my experience, it had in my heart that I could tell to others. And in the beginning I don't really know that it really touched people's heart. But I think maybe because I am the Cambodian, like a young Cambodian girl and trying so hard, got raised up by the poor family and also grown up in a carrier from nursing and then now in the management or business administration or something like that, which is really like a struggling and commitment. That's what I'm thinking.
Craig Pollard [00:15:20]:
Determination.
Sinketh Arun [00:15:21]:
Yeah. And talking about AHC. AHC, it has something itself that mission and vision of the hospital is really keeping me staying and falling in love with the hospital. One is the kids. I really love children. I really like to work with the children because children, they are very clean, clear, and even they get sick, but they still smile, they still alert until they are unable to do it. And then it means that they have very serious condition. And when I work with them, when I lift them up and then I feel like they are my own, they are my own kids. They are my own child. And this is something that AAC really does and they have given to all staff members that working here to have the same as what I am feeling. And also we are not only like having the hospital or good hospital by ourselves but we also playing as a role model for other healthcare facility in Cambodia that to do the same thing with what we call reasonable cost with the amount of budget that not really high and no corruption but it's fulfilled of love and caring, supporting each other. So that's what I am seeing.
Craig Pollard [00:16:58]:
That's wonderful.
Sinketh Arun [00:16:59]:
Yeah. And also the last thing it is about the community activity that the hospital has, which is we really build up the capacity and knowledge of the healthcare worker who work in the countryside and also we build up the knowledge of the people living in the countryside to understand about how to take care themselves on the preventable disease, which is something that we really like connecting to each other. So we have a good hospital in the city. We have good doctor, good equipment and many things in the city. And we had the doctor, nurses, medical student, nursing student from around the country to learn more about our system. And then when they go back, they can really using what they have learned from us in their place, which is a very good thing. And the last thing is, while we have good facility of doctor, nurses, good hospital, so we have good doctor who work in the other places, but the villagers themselves should have knowledge of prevention in order to protect themselves from like a simple, simple disease. And then it really cut down. A lot of travelling, a lot of expense, a lot of time from them to come from their home to the hospital. And this is something that the hospital really doing and having all this kind of activity from the beginning until today. Yeah, this is how that I end up. I have feeling that AAC is like a very good model of the hospital. That other facility in Cambodia, I mean other health facility in Cambodia should be.
Craig Pollard [00:18:57]:
That is that reflected in your fundraising as well, in that how you work, how the hospital, I guess, has all of these linkages to other community health centres and is everyone sort of building up the healthcare infrastructure and taking that leadership role? Is that the same with fundraising as well? Do you work collaboratively in fundraising with other organisations in the health space?
Sinketh Arun [00:19:22]:
Yes, we do the same as well. So we seems like align. So in the fundraising area. So we started from like a small, small thing and we started in the Siem Reap first, like a Siem Reap city first, by placing donation park, getting visitors from other countries, because Siem Reap has Angkor Wat, they have many tourists.
Craig Pollard [00:19:47]:
Of course, tt's a phenomenal, Angkor Wat is such a spectacular place and it's a huge draw for tourists and the city has been built up around that, right?
Sinketh Arun [00:19:56]:
Yeah. So that's how our international supporter found about our hospital as well. So when they come by to Siem Reap to see the temples and other things in Cambodia, so then they start finding our hospital too. That's why we build up the visitor centre and then we educate them, we explain them, we show them around to see some activity that we have and then they joining us as a big donor or like a regular supporters. And some of them, they become our volunteer that they are coming back here to teach and to train and also to learn more from us as well. So that's how we exchange knowledge and experience in order to maintain our quality of care and treatment here.
Craig Pollard [00:20:48]:
It's really interesting that you sort of connected with such a major tourist attraction, global tourist attraction, and become affiliated with that and the people that are going to visit there are also coming to visit you. How did that happen? Is it that the tourists were looking for a cause and that there was a natural connection there? Or was there some really deliberate effort made to increase your visibility within Siem Reap and with tourists?
Sinketh Arun [00:21:22]:
Actually, there's many reasons. Maybe about 50% of our visitor that come by to our hospital, they come to Siem Reap and they found us through the community, I mean, through the hotel people, through tour guides, through the people live in the city and other half. They come here through our volunteer because they know about us through the volunteer that came here before and they know about us through our supporter, like a donor supporter. And some of them knows about us because we had friends with our border who based in America and Japan. So that's how we got the visitor and supporter from them as well.
Craig Pollard [00:22:12]:
Can I just ask you a question about that? Because the volunteering is so important and there's a genuine exchange there in terms of it sounds like there's a genuine exchange between the volunteers who are adding value to the hospital. Are they all medical volunteers or do they have different skill sets. Do you have a criteria for volunteering?
Sinketh Arun [00:22:36]:
Yeah, actually, since we started the hospital, our hospital started by many experts, doctor and nurses from other country. And some of them, they were staff, but some of them, they were volunteer. And later many expert staff, they shift over their knowledge and experience to our Cambodian medical staff members. And then we still continue to keep having the volunteer medical people, majority our volunteer, they are medical like medical students, doctors, mostly paediatrician and specialists that they come here. Some of them, they return every year and some of them, they come like one, two, three times and they still connecting with the hospital. But majority, whoever that become our big supporter, they come back and forth, back and forth every year as well. And they just not only bringing their knowledge to teach to our nurses and doctors, also they bring the donation, they bring the donor supporter or other volunteer to come as well. And we had some relationship with institution outside the country like HBO. Yeah, some of the other organisation or hospital outside the country that people would send the volunteer to our hospital whenever that we need.
Craig Pollard [00:24:08]:
I see you've got a lot of sort of relationships with universities, Pittsburgh, Harvard, a whole range. Oxford, St. Jude's, all of these. Are these all founded on volunteers? These partnerships as well?
Sinketh Arun [00:24:24]:
Partnership? Some partnership, it's purely volunteer, like ascending volunteer expertise, but some partnership, not only volunteer, but sending the grant to support us as well. Support any specific project, for example, like Oxford, they really support our medical research and build up our microbiology facility here, which is really amazing because they bring expertise and also the resource of whatever that we need to establish for the hospital as well.
Craig Pollard [00:25:01]:
And that's the sort of the international side of your partnerships and fundraising. If you're enjoying this conversation and would like to hear other global perspectives on fundraising and leadership in the nonprofit sector, then please do subscribe using the links in the show Notes. If you want to find out more about our work, please do visit our website, fundraisingradicals.com. Now, back to the conversation. Tell me about local fundraising. Who do you work with and how will you reach your target of having 50% of your income from Cambodia, from within Cambodia?
Sinketh Arun [00:25:44]:
This is a really good question.
Craig Pollard [00:25:48]:
I try.
Sinketh Arun [00:25:50]:
Yeah, actually, the hospital has started the local fundraising properly that we start having the department of local fundraising called Public Relations Cambodia Department in 2017. But before that we had some activity already, but it was not really growing so much. People don't really know about us and people still confuse our hospital to another children hospital.
Craig Pollard [00:26:21]:
Was there any resource, was there any dedicated fundraising resource at that time? Staff, budget, et cetera?
Sinketh Arun [00:26:27]:
Or was it yeah, by the time that we started in 2017, I was the first person that asked to be the director and also form app the team and then I was asked to integrate. That time we had two team that we integrated. One was the event team and second one was the visitor centre team. So the team who worked to tour people around in the hospital and donation park and another team, they were responsible for event. So any third party or whatever, but majority that was a third party, not really our own event.
Craig Pollard [00:27:14]:
So they were the teams that were sort of outward facing and already sort of connecting with members of the public within the local community. So that makes sense as a place to start.
Sinketh Arun [00:27:28]:
Yeah. So after we form up the groups and then we started to integrate another not really integrate, but we add local individual and corporate. So step by step it was a lot of challenge to add local individual and corporate because we didn't really having the experience. So we had to drive from whatever that we had with AAC in order to move them into the Cambodian supporter as an individual.
Craig Pollard [00:28:03]:
And have you didn't have a foundation of corporate and sort of wealthy individuals supporting it. So how was the decision made to invest time and energy in local fundraising and how did you advocate for that?
Sinketh Arun [00:28:22]:
Because the reason that we decided to have it because actually we know that in Cambodia start changing, like start having more people that they have money, start having more people that they want to give and also company business, they want to be part of the charity as well. So by that time it seems like the country has been developing more and more, especially in Simria. And we're really getting the influence from tourists about fundraising, about sharing, about giving from the individual, like a high network or major value individual people or corporate. So that's why we start getting people to be involved with ASE as well. And at the same time, because even Tim, they establish our own event called Bonskapra, which is in English, we call it Flower Tree event, which is part of religious events that really drive local people to share whatever that they have. Especially they share the money like a lot of small amount, but really bringing a lot of people to be together. And then through that event, people really talk about the hospital sharing about our information. And then also we started having the what we call cycling in Simrip. Yeah, it's like a young generation that they love to do cycling and they love to do what we call society work. So then they got together and then they cycling and it turned out like a fundraising.
Craig Pollard [00:30:17]:
That's great, but that's a great opportunity.
Sinketh Arun [00:30:21]:
So that's how really driving us to become like a real fundraising event team that okay, we have to focus on those two things, which is one is about we focus on the audience who are like older but they are part of religion. And another event we focus on we target to the people who are young and also having weekend off and they want to be enjoying in the different way.
Craig Pollard [00:30:55]:
But it's interesting that you focused on those two audiences, the religion and young active people because how big a part does religion play in the donations that the hospital receives?
Sinketh Arun [00:31:13]:
Cambodian culture they believe that they donate the money to the pagoda or to the monks is really a good thing and really making them comma I can say like and then also they could go to the haven. That's an easy interpretation. And also it is something that we have done like that long time and we have that kind of culture and habit and tradition. So that's why we always give to the donation to the monks and to the pagoda. And the monks and the pagoda, they have the responsibility to what we call support the community to build up to fulfil whatever the community lack of. Because if you're talking about the French Colonised time only pagoda that could do many things not really in the public, but the pagoda were playing very important role to be helping a lot to.
Craig Pollard [00:32:20]:
The community in terms of social services and providing and helping people around. I'm just thinking about the work of equating a cause like a hospital and health, children's health. Not competing with, but equating it with donating to a pagoda or that making it. And the story about telling that this is as worthy of your cash and as good a thing as donating to a pagoda because that requires a cultural mindset shift.
Sinketh Arun [00:32:57]:
Yeah, because the same as I said that pagoda actually in the Cambodian I can say like in the religion, Buddhism religion, monks could not keep the money. So when they get the money from the giver they have to give the money to support the community, to build a bridge, to build school, to build pagoda, to build hospital or to help the poor people. So because of that concept that's why the monks at the pagoda they have to be helping AHC because AHC is a part of the community. Plus many children that live in the pagoda, they rely on our hospital as well. So they still come to our hospital until the age that they should not be coming here anymore and we are free hospital that we don't really charge the money. So that's why the Pakoda couldn't help. And it is part of the Buddha advice that sharing, caring, loving is a part of the karma, like good karma. So people really want to be part of good karma. So that's why that they give. And then when the monks doing it, so really driving attention of the public to donate to the monk. But they know clearly that it comes to the hospital because the hospital do so and so. And we all together know. It's kind of like what we call community fundraising.
Craig Pollard [00:34:41]:
It's like of really it's a really interesting dynamic in that I remember working in Myanmar a little while ago and how actually that flow of cash within Southeast Asia often isn't. The monks don't actually have a huge amount of say in where the money goes. It's very much the sponsors of the monks that determine where the funding goes. So do you work with those people as sort of high net worth individuals, wealthy individuals? Do you identify and work with those people and they give to the hospital directly or do they go via the pagodas?
Sinketh Arun [00:35:28]:
Actually, they give the money to the hospital directly because the pagoda don't really take the money. They host the event, but they do not really take the money. So AHC has to be managed in receiving the donation by ourselves. But we provide a report to the pagoda that okay, this is how much money that we raised from the whole day.
Craig Pollard [00:35:49]:
But it's really interesting that the role of the temples and the pagodas play within giving, though, because they're a real facilitator and those relationships and those connections and partnerships are so vital. They sound so vital.
Sinketh Arun [00:36:04]:
Yeah. And some pagoda, they could not do like that. They collect the money from their people and then they just send the money to us directly. Then they just say that okay, this is the amount of money that we raise from the people living their community and together, this is how much and then they send to us. But we have to show we actually receive it, this amount from so and so. And then we have to make it announced as public as well in order to keep the transparency that we don't really use the money in a different way. And plus, we are helping the monks of Pakoda that collect the donation for us as well.
Craig Pollard [00:36:51]:
Of course. But that's really interesting. That public recognition because I guess there's the recognition in terms of transparency, but there's also the public recognition of karma and being seen to be contributing to a cause like the Anko Hospital for Children. How important is the public recognition of donors?
Sinketh Arun [00:37:17]:
In Cambodia, before, people didn't really care, but now people really care about it because there was many people that they made a trick and then they cheat as well. So that's why that the hospital, our hospital. We had the system of acknowledging anyone that collecting fund for the hospital, instead of us giving them actually, they have to complete the third party fundraising form for us and we have to issue the endorsement letter to support or to.
Craig Pollard [00:37:59]:
Make sure, because there were people so people were fundraising, saying they're fundraising for the Angkor Hospital for Children, but they weren't.
Sinketh Arun [00:38:07]:
Yeah, but actually before we didn't really have it and when we did not have it so many times that people that wanted to donate to our hospital. But through the third party, they usually ask us, does it real? Does it the. Event for AAC or not? Does it activity for AAC or not? So they kept asking that question.
Craig Pollard [00:38:31]:
Yeah. And that sort of issue really dense confidence in organisations.
Sinketh Arun [00:38:38]:
So that's why that we have to create a system of transparency and acknowledging and also supporting in order to protect our supporter, protect our fundraiser and whoever.
Craig Pollard [00:38:53]:
That and yourselves as an yeah, yeah.
Sinketh Arun [00:38:55]:
And ourselves as well. So then when we receive, we have to announce whatever that we receive. Mostly we use our Facebook page to be the main social media or main channel that we share to the public, especially for the local. Because maybe I can say, like a 95% of our followers are kept voting. Yeah. And then that's why we don't really keep close or secret. So we had to open. And even the events that we create by ourselves, we have to open publicly as well. That how much that we raise and what we are doing and you talked.
Craig Pollard [00:39:38]:
You mentioned relationships and partnerships, funding partnerships with companies how do they come about and how are they managed? Are they sponsorship quite transactional or are they deeper partnerships or are they a mixture?
Sinketh Arun [00:39:53]:
I can say like corporate fundraising I mean talking about local, right? You would like to know about local? Yeah yes so local I started from placing donation box at the hotels restaurant so I call them as business I don't really call them corporate but I call them as business, like a business support. So they place our donation box and collect the donation from their guests or their client and then they donate to our hospital. So after we did that we had event so when we had event montgapra when we had event of cycling that's.
Craig Pollard [00:40:38]:
The flower tree event yeah and then.
Sinketh Arun [00:40:40]:
That'S how company that they start knowing about us and they want to be part especially cycling event really is the event that really bring corporate to know about the hospital. In the beginning they support in a small, small amount like $100, $200 in the event. But together maybe about 30 businesses and later we try to change a little bit by bit by having the main sponsor could sponsor with a big amount of money. So those events and activities really bringing corporates more and more that want to compete to donate to other hospital and to be part of the sponsor that's why some of them, they don't want to be part of our event but they raise the money by themselves and also they collect the money by themselves and donate to us. And some of them, they just decide to make donation from their own company to us.
Craig Pollard [00:41:45]:
But this is really interesting because challenge events, those sort of physical events, really capture the imagination of companies because it's a great way for them, for their employees, their customers, their people, in all of their different communities to come together into one occasion. And that element of competition as well between businesses is always quite a good catalyst for getting more involved. And I think it's often a temptation for many fundraisers to think about events. But having such a purposeful event also consolidates and reinforces corporate partnerships because suddenly you don't just have a business, you have 50 or 60 employees who have interacted with the hospital at that event, found out about it and worked hard and fundraised, et cetera, and then they're going back into the company. So this is sort of a long term building up of the partnership and deepening of the partnership, right?
Sinketh Arun [00:42:52]:
Yeah, actually the company, when they become the part of our supporter, when they become our donor, of course, many times they educate their staff members to be involving as well. But not many companies are like that. The company that really doing such a way, mostly the owner is the donor of the hospital. So the owner is really driving the interest of the staff in the whole company to be like a part of the hospital family, part of the supporters family.
Craig Pollard [00:43:33]:
But this is very common. This is one of the most common I think themes in terms of the relationship between wealthy individuals and corporate partnerships. I find that more commonly it is these owners and the wealthy people who have influence and impact within their companies and within companies who then drive corporate partnerships. So it's almost the strategy if you want to build a portfolio of businesses supporting is to engage this group of wealthy individuals who are connected and who own companies because that's often the starting point for a lot of these bigger events and downstream income streams.
Sinketh Arun [00:44:15]:
Yeah, so that's why that right now majority of our corporate, especially the high Network Value Corporate usually come from the individual as well. I mean like from the owner. I do not know what to call them but I usually call them individual corporate, high Value Network Donor. That's what I call them. Combination like that. Because they are a role model for their staff member to do the charity work. They educate their staff that charity work is very good and they do a lot of work and sometimes they have got our hospital staff to give some sort of more of the education, training in simple health prevention, like a first aid, hand washing, something that really need for their staff member to know more. Just not only bringing their kids to be here, but they have to know and taking care themselves and also taking care of their kids and family as well. So those are the connection that we usually having the relationship with the owner and owner really making the way how to get company to support us. So this is what we do every year. And at the moment there's about I can say about more than ten donors like that in Cambodia that they are really involving with the hospital for many years already.
Craig Pollard [00:45:59]:
That's a phenomenal journey from putting those donation boxes to having that group of people who have been associated with the hospital for such a long time and who sound like a really solid community of donors that are providing. Significant amount of resource, financial resource, but also connecting with the hospital's wider purpose as well in terms of the community health piece as well.
Sinketh Arun [00:46:28]:
Yeah. And one more thing. When I started the local fundraising department, we also create a group or local supporter called AAC Advisory.
Craig Pollard [00:46:41]:
Okay, so you had an advisory board, you set up an advisory group.
Sinketh Arun [00:46:44]:
Yeah, they are from different sources of business. And also they are the people who has a lot of experience in business, marketing, leadership, management, and also they have very good hearts. They volunteer to group together and to support us. So they do not only bringing us the connection, but they also train to our Cambodian staff to do the work. Yeah, we don't really having any specialty, but we learn from them.
Craig Pollard [00:47:24]:
But that's the role, I guess, of an advisory board. The challenge is always, where does fundraising fit with an advisory board? Because that's always a challenging balance. Do they donate or the members of the board donate?
Sinketh Arun [00:47:43]:
Actually, they donate very little, but their time and effort to bring the connection of wealthy people to us, even local or international.
Craig Pollard [00:47:57]:
But that's just a different role. They are donating because they're connecting you into the community. They're donating their time and advice and guidance expertise. So it's really thinking with these people going beyond the idea of a cash donation because their value to you is so much greater if they're introducing other people who can bring that cash and other connections as well. And having that sort of holistic approach and not just going in with the sort of yeah.
Sinketh Arun [00:48:28]:
Personal relationship.
Craig Pollard [00:48:30]:
Yeah. Not going in with the dollar signs in your eyes.
Sinketh Arun [00:48:32]:
Right. Yeah. So to have them in order to maintain them, to be supporting us in the advisory board, we have to keep the personal relationship with them, just not only about the hospital work, but personal connection. We try to help each other, but however, the group or the advisory that we have, they are very selective. Mostly they are having the similar heart and concept and mindset, the same as our hospital.
Craig Pollard [00:49:08]:
Yeah. It's a phenomenal story. It's an incredible journey you've been on. Thank you so much for your time today, Arun. I really appreciate it. It's been wonderful to meet you and have this conversation. I really appreciate it.
Sinketh Arun [00:49:20]:
Thank you so much too for giving the opportunity. And this is my first time and I hope that whatever that I share today is something that can be shared to the outside world. To hear that Cambodia is even like, we are small and we are far away from others, but actually we are doing something as well that the other country that they are doing and we have learned a lot from them and they are really helping us to make us growing as well.
Craig Pollard [00:50:02]:
It's fantastic because I think a lot of people might be surprised by what's going in Cambodia. But I see this all the time, and it's so wonderful just to be able to share successful fundraising from places that often are deeply underestimated. Because I think everyone looks to the United States, North America, and Europe for fundraising inspiration. But I feel like there is much across Asia, Africa, Middle East, and Latin America as well. And so that's a big part of what we're trying to do here. Thank you so much for joining us.
Sinketh Arun [00:50:34]:
Thank you so much.
Craig Pollard [00:50:35]:
Take care. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and meeting Arun. If you'd like to find out more about us and our work, please do visit fundraisingradicals.com. Thanks for listening and until next time, it's goodbye from me.
