School of Professional Development - 2025
From January 27 to 31, 2025, Kherson State University hosted the winter session of the School of Professional Development. Among the programs offered was “Fundraising in an Educational Institution: How to Attract Resources for Development?” prepared by the KSU Fundraising Department.
On January 27, 2025, the active week of the School of Professional Development began, opened by the head of the department, Tamara Mandych, and leading specialist Anastasia Babich with a lecture titled "The Fundraising Potential of an Educational Institution." What is fundraising? What successful fundraising campaigns have been implemented in Ukrainian higher education institutions? What strategic and technological solutions does the KSU Fundraising Department propose? These questions formed the foundation for our joint reflections on development directions and discussions about potential projects.
The second day's program began with Maksym Poltoratskyi, who discussed the types of fundraising and modern crowdfunding platforms—an effective tool for raising funds. Tamara Mandych and Anastasia Babich presented best practices in collaboration between higher education institutions, NGOs, and charitable foundations, provided examples of websites featuring current opportunities, and focused on several specific grant programs for educational and social initiatives. As we delved into the topic of startups and hackathons, it was fitting to discuss pitching as one of the key stages in securing funding. In her report, Tamara Mandych outlined the content, structural, and technical features of project presentations. Throughout the day, participants exchanged ideas for projects that could bridge scientific interests and contemporary needs. A detailed discussion of these initiatives is planned as part of the practical work.
The midpoint of the School of Professional Development was marked by a session with Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor Oleksandr Khodosovtsev. The discussion focused on funding research projects: where to start, which details to prioritize, and where to seek support. The Q&A session was particularly engaging, and we are especially grateful to the lecturer for sharing his expertise, specific case studies, and valuable advice. The second half of the session was dedicated to practical training—by discussing project formats, goals, target audiences, and required resources, participants gained a clearer vision of their future fundraising campaigns.
As the winter session neared its end, the School of Professional Development hosted two more learning activities. Andriy Drygval delivered a lecture on the technical implementation and functionality of fundraising websites. He highlighted key aspects such as structure, design, content, and usability, which we will consider when developing our own digital platform. In preparation for the program's final meeting, participants continued their practical work on potential fundraising campaigns.During the final meeting, participants presented their fundraising campaign concepts. We extended our gratitude to all participants, speakers, and organizers for an insightful and productive week! Through this program, we aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of fundraising campaigns in higher education, explore different types of fundraising and financial support for educational and research projects, define priority goals, and model potential fundraising strategies.
The Fundraising Department plans to continue organizing training sessions, diving deeper into strategic, financial, and communication aspects of fundraising, analyzing its experiences, and scaling its efforts. We hope that the 2025 Winter Session of the School of Professional Development has guided participants toward best practices, outlined future plans, and inspired new initiatives that will come to life in the near future.
KSU Fundraising Department