Trocaire hires US company to raise donations of £7m

TROCAIRE, the Catholic Third World relief agency, has hired an American fundraising company to raise £7 million over the next 17 months.

Under the agreement with Community Counselling Service Ireland, Trocaire will pay CCS almost £100,000 in fees over the first six months of the contract.

This is the first time Trocaire has employed professional fundraisers for such a large scale operation. The agency normally relies on its annual Lenten appeal to raise the bulk of its funds.

This year's appeal, which was announced earlier this week, is expected to raise more than £4 million. Collection boxes have been distributed through Catholic churches and schools to 1.1 million homes.

The new fund raising programme is designed to tie in with the agency's 25th anniversary next year. For the first time, Trocaire is targeting the corporate sector and other potential donors of large gifts.

Under the draft letter of agreement, CCS is to "identify, research, cultivate and recruit" a base of 100 major gift donors, that is, £10,000 and over. It will also determine which of these are "the most significant prospects and devise an individual strategy for the top 10 donor prospects".

The agreement aims to raise an additional £5 to £7 million in cash and pledges on behalf of Trocaire. During a six month first phase, CCS will have to approach one major donor and at least 10 other significant donors. "It would be the intention to have secured commitments or intentions of approximately £1 million at the conclusion of this phase," the agreement states.

Trocaire declined to comment on the agreement. However, sources pointed out that it contained an opt out clause which allowed either party to cancel the programme at short notice.

THE Western Health Board has advised the parents of children attending a Galway city national school to remain calm after two pupils from the same class were diagnosed as suffering from meningitis this week.

Both pupils of Bushy Park National School, who are suffering from a strain of meningococcal scepticaemia, are being successfully treated at the city's University College Hospital.

The WHB has issued circulars to the parents and advised them to remain calm.

According to medical experts, the chances of a third case turning up in the school are extremely small.