What’s up, FFWU? Finishing the year with mixed feelings

Why it needs people like you and organizations like us more than ever

Dear Members, Supporters, and Friends of FFWU,

Christmas is traditionally a celebration of love and compassion. However, in light of current political and social developments, we must sadly acknowledge that we are living in a time where selfishness, individualism, xenophobia, racism, and a “me-first mentality” are once again on the rise—often with little regard for the fate and future of others.

This makes it all the more important to have people like you who stand up for others and are willing to give! At this point, I would like to take the opportunity to sincerely thank you for your loyal support and to share a brief review and outlook with you – let’s go!

Creating a paid position

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been able to organize fewer coaching courses in recent years than usual. Nevertheless, our income from donations, partnerships, and consulting services has remained steady. For the first time, this put us in a financial position to seriously consider hiring for a paid management role. We had long recognized the need for this and were further encouraged by external examples and a coaching program (“Hauptamt ready”). After all, through many years of purely volunteer work, we repeatedly realized that sustainable growth and long-term impact are only achievable with stable, professional structures.

At the beginning of the year, upon returning from parental leave following the birth of my first son, the perfect opportunity arose. With the green light from the general meeting earlier this year, and after 11 years of volunteer work, I took over the management of FFWU in March—it has truly been a dream come true!

However, initially, we only had the budget for a six-month full-time position, so we decided to create a half-time position for twelve months. Instead of investing all available funds into projects and the training of trainers, as we usually do, we chose to limit the use of our own funds this year. Instead, we focused primarily on securing funding and building corporate partnerships. This deliberate approach allowed us to prioritize strengthening our financial and personnel structures, paving the way for a future beyond purely volunteer work

We managed to accomplish many things

And we have achieved a lot in the past nine months:

• We submitted several funding applications to major foundations,
• became a founding member of the first German sport-for-development network,
• took part in the Sport-for-Sustainability-Summit in Berlin,
• successfully expanded our communication channels and follower numbers,
• further developed our Sharing Goals Coaching Manual (to be published soon!),
• developed a child protection guideline for the first time,
• extended our consultancy mandate with the Bavarian Football Association,
• worked together with marketing students from Austria,
• contacted many companies from the sports sector,
• and made exciting contacts with other community organisations and potential project partners.

The biggest achievement: a new team!

It took some time, but we are now thrilled and proud to welcome seven new volunteers to our team, who are supporting us in the areas of communication, fundraising, and evaluation! It’s inspiring to see how young and international our team has become and how many people are eager to get involved in organizations like ours, balancing their work, studies, and free time. This gives us both courage and hope for the future!

Where we have fallen short of our own expectations – and what that means

However, not everything went smoothly: building the team was challenging at first, with some surprising dropouts early on, which caused significant delays in several projects. Funding applications were rejected or went unanswered, and it remains difficult to engage companies in supporting our work in South Africa and Mozambique—many would rather focus on their local communities. As a result, we are still falling short of our goals, particularly in fundraising, which casts uncertainty on the continuation of our professionalization efforts.

We still have a few months to secure new partners and funding opportunities, but the outcome remains uncertain. Given the current political climate, public funding for development cooperation is likely to be increasingly reduced.

What happens now?

Of course, we’re not letting this set us back—we’re moving forward! We are currently in exciting discussions with potential cooperation partners and will soon be publishing our Sharing Goals Coaching Manual. Additionally, Sascha’s return to Germany and our Christmas campaign should provide us with further momentum!

Through all the ups and downs, it’s reassuring to know that we have you by our side. You—our members, supporters, families, and friends—are the foundation of our work, the backbone and safety net of FFWU.

Our Christmas Campaign 🎄🎁

To improve our financial situation in the long term, we’ve just launched a Christmas campaign with the goal of recruiting 100 new regular donors or members from our community! Are you in? 💪

Maybe you’d consider expanding your commitment and donating a small, monthly amount—something that won’t hurt your budget and that you won’t even notice by the end of the month?

Or perhaps you know someone in your circle who might be interested in supporting our work? This year, for the first time, you can give an FFWU membership or donation as a Christmas gift—simply select it in the donation form! 🧑‍🎄🎁🫴⚽️🎄