AKTUÁLIS FELHÍVÁSOK: Fejlesztések civileknek & Önkéntes felhívás
AKTUÁLIS FELHÍVÁSOK: Fejlesztések civileknek & Önkéntes felhívás
When looking back at the milestones in SIMPACT’s life, we become encouraged ourselves. We are grateful for our partners, supporters, clients, volunteers, and team members, who made this all possible. Let’s continue writing this story together!
One of our co-funders, Csaba, joined international management consultancy IFUA Horváth & Partners after receiving his Masters Degree in Economics at the Corvinus University of Budapest - never knowing at this point that this company will open the door for him to start helping good causes full-time in just a few years.
With a bold innovation, IFUA Horváth & Partners establishes IFUA Nonprofit Partner Közhasznú Nonprofit Kft. Their goal is to contribute to the effectiveness and efficiency of the civil society by setting up a team of consultants who can leverage the extensive knowledge of IFUA while also adapting it to the needs of NGOs. They appoint Csaba to lead this new CSR initiative.
Csaba takes a three-months long break, spending this time in the UK at a London-based consultancy which focuses on helping nonprofit organizations (Action Planning, UK). He has the chance to get involved in projects and trainings, meet a lot of NGOs and umbrella organizations, and read a lot about nonprofit consultancy (and also take long walks in London). Later he will leverage a lot of the inspiration and experience he gained during this trip.
The first meeting with Erste Bank Hungary. János Czafrangó, a manager of good bee, tests the potential of nonprofit consultancy with a pilot project: Csaba and his team must help social enterprise Romani Design increase their revenues. This project lays the foundations for a close and multi-faceted cooperation that continues to this day.
In the framework of their Roma Partnership programme, ERSTE Foundation (Vienna, Austria) chose IFUA Nonprofit Partner to provide organizational development services to NGOs working with Roma people in four countries. Our team had the chance to work as the implementation partner of this programme up to its conclusion in 2021 (first as IFUA Nonprofit Partner, and then later as SIMPACT).
The above-mentioned Roma Partnership collaboration makes it possible for Gábor, another future SIMPACT co-founder, to join IFUA Nonprofit Partner full-time. Gábor quickly becomes a key team member, using his experience gained at prestigious consulting firms (Deloitte, EY - or, as called at that time, Ernst & Young) to help social purpose and church organizations increase their positive impact.
Under Csaba’s tenure as Managing Director, the team of IFUA Nonprofit Partner grows from 1.5 to 5 employees (FTE), made possible by more socially responsible firms and foundations realizing the value of IFUA’s model. Among others, ERSTE Foundation and the VELUX Foundations join as supporters, and the team’s operations are extended to other countries in the CEE region.
In the seven years between 2009 and 2016, IFUA Nonprofit Partner team members and volunteers from IFUA Horváth & Partners deliver more than 50 development projects to social purpose organizations, and also build a portfolio short and muiltiple-day trainings. The initiative of IFUA Horváth & Partners becomes more and more recognized and wins a CSR award as well.
SIMPACT IS OFFICIALLY ESTABLISHED
In agreement with IFUA’s management team, part of the team leaves and establishes an independent organization, led by Csaba and Gábor. SIMPACT is officially established in December 2016. It’s name comes from the main goal of its founders: Social IMPACT.
Greatly honored we welcome SIMPACT’s first official client, the MOL Foundation, who engages us to review and update their grant-giving strategy. For the assessment we collect international benchmarks and leading practices, interview stakeholders, and organize workshops. The strategic alternatives and their pros and cons we develop form the basis of new strategic directions.
Our first impact measurement project delivered as SIMPACT. Our client, again, is the MOL Foundation. For the first time in the 10 years since its start, the direct, program-specific impact of a 2 M EUR programme is thoroughly mapped, and its qualitative and quantitative results are articulated. Due to high client satisfaction with the usefulness of the evaluation, it is followed by further impact measurement projects in the coming years.
Together with IFUA Nonprofit Partner and Erste Bank Hungary, with support from the ERSTE Foundation and the EU we start the implementation of the largest, non-state funded social enterprise development programme up to that date. In the first iteration of Erste SEEDS, 67 social enterprises receive 9 days of training in social entrepreneurship and direct help from more then 90 pro bono mentors. 10 of the participants also receive non-refundable grants to develop their social business.
Our close cooperation with Badur Foundation (UK) starts. We deliver early-phase social enteprise development programme “Hatchery” three times in the coming years, focusing on social businesses aiming to alleviate extreme poverty. In the third year, on a scale of 1-10, participating organizations give an average of 9,6 for the programme.
We continue collaborating with the VELUX Foundations.In the coming years we deliver eight projects for them, including research, evaluation of closed projects and newly received applications. In 2018 we prepare a 167-pages long study about the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector in Hungary, helping VELUX making informed decisions as it is re-focusing some of its activities.
Another large, international programme starts with SIMPACT as a partner. co/rizom, supported by the ERSTE Foundation, aims to help artisans living in vulnerable communities develop their product portfolio and operations, and thus become prospective suppliers for premium retail shops and chains. Besides providing business development consultancy for artisans, SIMPACT supports programme management and administration for the first three years of the programme as well.
Following the success of the first iteration, Erste decides to cotinue its SEEDS programme, even with no further EU grant available in the immediate future. Since then we implement SEEDS together with IFUA Nonprofit Partner each year, with SEEDS 6 closing in 2024. The current iteration of SEEDS provides social purpose organizations with low bono consultancy services and trainings.
Start of our collaboration with Impact Academy (HU). After delivering training sessions in the first year, we also mentor four of the 10 participating organizations in the second year. Impact Academy is an intense course where NGOs learn about impact measurement and get help in its implementation as well.
No later than two weeks after COVID lockdowns start, we immediately publish a survey to understand its expected impact on the nonprofit sector in depth. We presented the main issues and expectations of NGOs, along with potential interventions in different forums, including corporate webinars as well as a presentation for a Secretary of State.
Swiss Church Aid engages our team for the third time to evaluate a three-years long project aiming for church and social inclusion of Roma people. After evaluating a project cycle in Hungary (2016), and then in Slovakia (2017), we focus on Hungary again, this time covering not just the work done by congregations of the Reformed Church of Hungary, but also an initiative to increase the inclusiveness of Reformed schools.
Start of our collaboration with the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta, starting with a nation-wide research identifying practical recommendations for the labour market integration of people living in disadvantaged areas, especially in the 300 most disadvantaged settlements covered by the “Emerging Settlements” programme. We interview 50 people (mostly from the corporate sector) and conduct a thorough desk research. We are glad that most of our recommendations have been implemented since then.
We continue to receive further assignments from the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta, contributing to the improvement of nation-wide intiatives. We believe that client satisfacion is a key to long-term collaboration - in this case, our first project received an unanonimous Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 10 out of 10 points from all three church aids involved (Order of Malta, Reformed Church Aid, and Hungarian Interchurch Aid).
We are selected on an open call from 12 applicants by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to conduct a research on the trafficking of human beings. During the assignment we evaluate the domestic services available for male victims, collect international good practices, and develop improvement recommendations. In the end, the Ministry decides to publish the study in print.
We start our next programme with the Badur Foundation. The three-years long Incubation programme provides financial and non-financial support for social purpose organizations to improve their operations, and thus increase their sustainability and social impact.
We welcome the opportunity to expand our group of beneficiaries further: we start a collaboration with a grant-giving foundation in Czechia that supports Christian organizations and initiatives. We implement two pilot development projects for two small Christian organizations in 2022, resulting in mutual satisfaction and commitment to a long-term strategic partnership with this foundation.
We publish two studies in the online journal Volunteering Review Önkéntes Szemle (“Volunteer Review”). In the first we describe the short- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on the nonprofit sector and volunteering. In the second, we give hands-on guidance for the implementation of impact measurement in practice, illustrated by examples from our real-life projects.
We conduct our largest scale programme evaluation project so far. The „Program to Combat Child Poverty”, coordinated by the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta, established 98 community centers and places for children Hungary-wide between 2018 and 2023. Among other activities we conduct 130 interviews during 18 field visit days for a thorough evaluation.
We evaluate the Erste SEEDS programme running since 2017. We are encouraged by the participants’ feedback - for many social entrepreneurs, SEEDS proved to be a milestone, helping them find and stay on the right course.
The skill-based volunteering model we develop becomes a “Certified social innovation” and is awarded as one of the top 10 Hungarian social innovations. During our pilot project, 70 volunteers working at 8 corporations (including Erste Bank Hungary, the Hungarian Oil Company MOL, and Pricewaterhouse Coopers Hungary) help 34 NGOs implement a financial and liquidity planning tool with our methodology support and coordination.
This same program is recognized with a first place at the EFFEKT 2030 award rewarding companies for their ESG solutions and practices. Our joint programme with Erste Bank Hungary is praised for its innovation, involvement of a wide range of stakeholders, long-term focus, and embedded impact measurement process.
The ERSTE Group selects the joint proposal of IFUA Nonprofit Partner and SIMPACT — out of 12 invited organizations and 6 actual bidders — to develop the framework and implement an international social enterprise development program called the Marc Impact Programme. The pilot phase of the program launches in three countries: Austria, Hungary, and Romania. The planned 5-year program will later expand to other ERSTE countries.
The first year of ERSTE Group's social enterprise development program, the Marc Impact Programme, concludes successfully. Building on the pilot's success, the project expands to 3 additional countries, and a Hungarian impact enterprise wins the final international pitch.
Forbes magazine also reports on the success of our skills-based volunteering program. The business journal's article confirms: channeling corporate expertise into the civil sector is not only from a CSR, but also from an HR perspective a nationally exemplary, innovative initiative.
Our skills-based volunteering program wins 1st place at the HRBest awards in the "Future Builders" category. In the program's third season, alongside Erste Bank, we provide targeted support to 65 NGOs with nearly 100 volunteers from 20+ additional companies.
Our initiative launched in 2016 is significantly renewed: it continues as a complex, 5-module organizational development program under the name SEEDS+. Supported by Erste Stiftung and Erste Social Banking Hungary, the two-year capacity-building process offers a tailored professional development path for NGOs, preparing them for more professional operations, long-term financial sustainability, and achieving an even greater social impact.
