Committed to the mission of eliminating the pervasive and systemic exploitation of migrant workers globally, Migrasia has helped recover over HK$280,880,000 for migrant workers throughout the world since its founding in 2018, and its important work in combating the predatory practices of employment agencies is featured in the Guardian as well as an in-depth article by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
However, like many small social impact organizations, the Migrasia team is preoccupied with its work in migration support, enforcement and remediation, research, education and community engagement, leaving little capacity to raise funds essential to the continuity of its important work.
That changed when Erica Lamson, an experienced fundraising professional, was connected to Migrasia through Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI)’s Community Connections Program.
Read our interview with Erica and Paras Kalura, Operations Manager at Migrasia, to find out how Erica has been helping the social impact organization increase its visibility through a series of creative fundraising events.
Interviewees
EL Erica Lamson
PK Paras Kalura
Erica, can you tell us how you got to know about Migrasia?
EL My professional background is in fundraising for private schools. Since 2005, I’ve been doing that for private schools in the US and academy schools in the UK.
Most recently, since moving to Hong Kong, I was the Vice Chair of the PTA at my children’s school. When COVID hit, my family and I went back to the US for a while, and I had the opportunity to really think about what I wanted to do in my next professional pursuit. It was important to me to dedicate my energy towards something that was going to be helpful on a global scale.
A friend of mine connected me to two different friends, and it was through one of those connections that I was connected to David Bishop, Co-founder and Director of Migrasia. I had a great chat with David about what Migrasia does, and I left feeling so inspired – it was what I was envisioning for my next pursuit.
We understand that you have helped Migrasia with several grant applications, impact reporting, and host fundraising events. Can you share with us some of the more memorable experiences?
EL Neither Mirgrasia or EmpowerU were known within my social circles and I knew that would be the best place for me to start. We really needed to do some work on community awareness – it was very important to get the word out about the amazing work that Migrasia and EmpowerU are both doing on a daily basis.
Soon after joining Migrasia, we did the Swim Challenge. I took an analytical eye to the marketing materials and the website, and helped with some of our stewardship activities around that event.
The largest event I’ve done for Migrasia and EmpowerU has been the celebration event. HULA was super happy to host us in their space and cover the entire overhead cost of the event, so all money raised through ticket sales went directly to Migrasia and EmpowerU. It’s been amazing working with Migrasia and EmpowerU and Paras.
How are Erica’s fundraising endeavours received by the Migrasia team, Paras?
Erica has been super helpful in enabling us to get the word out, sharing our work, why we do what we do, and the kind of great impact the team is making every day.
The fundraising events have been great specifically for the purpose of generating awareness. Of course, there’s the added aspect of getting some funds raised, which is obviously useful for a nonprofit. But there’s also the aspect around reaching out to more corporates, so that we can build those important relationships and nurture them over a longer period of time. This can have larger implications, not just for the day-to-day work we do for migrants in the Asian region, but also looking at corporate supply chains and how they should be managing these aspects.
What are your thoughts on this engagement so far?
EL When Paras and I were preparing for and going to one of our partner law firms to meet with the person who heads up their social impact arm, we really complemented each other well. It was awesome to have a technical side and a selling side. It was very energizing to do that together. I’ve been happy to help Migrasia and EmpowerU where I can and happy to continue doing so as they need assistance.
PK Our partnership has been proving fruitful. We have been working on numerous projects this year, and hopefully we can continue to do so.
