The Swiss news portal of the Reformed Church, ref.ch, asked three Christian aid organizations about the willingness of the Swiss to donate. The special nature of Mission 21 in contrast to other aid organizations becomes clear.
Donations to Christian aid organizations are declining. This shows ref.chThe portal presents the figures for the past four years from Heks, Caritas and Mission 21.
On the contrary: many areas of the world are affected by war, natural disasters, political and social conflicts or poverty and are dependent on support.
Despite this, Heks and Caritas are more positive in their assessment of ref.ch - they received above-average donations in 2022. This was mainly due to the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, reports ref.ch.
Moderate decline in Mission 21
Mission 21 is not active in these areas, nor is it involved in supporting refugees in Switzerland. This is noticeable in the donations. Gaby Ullrich, Head of Marketing and Communication at Mission 21, says: "Unfortunately, our income decreases every year and we are fighting for donors with all our fundraising and communication measures". Mission 21 focuses on topics such as education and health, support for sustainable agriculture for food sovereignty and peacebuilding - all topics that are more difficult to communicate.
All three aid organizations perceive the increasing competition as a challenge. For Mission 21 in particular, this means that donation sources need to be managed more diversely and intensively. Cooperation with churches and parishes in particular is to be intensified. In addition, more intensive relationships with donors are to be established and fundraising abroad is becoming increasingly important.
