Students from Wels Develop Creative Ideas to Raise Funds for Measures Against Sexualized Violence

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Sexualized violence affects people of all ages, genders, and social backgrounds. Its consequences can be severe, often requiring long-term support, counselling, and therapeutic care. At the same time, the need for low-threshold support services continues to grow, increasing the demand for financial resources to sustain and expand such offerings.

PIA, a non-profit association based in Linz, supports people affected by sexualized violence and is dedicated to prevention, counselling, and therapy. To strengthen the long-term funding of these important services, PIA commissioned students from the Bachelor's degree program Innovation, Product & Engineering Management (IPEM) at FH Upper Austria's Wels Campus to develop innovative fundraising concepts. The first outcome of the project will already be implemented this autumn: the PIA Award, which recognizes individuals who have supported the association over many years.

Motivation is a powerful driver, especially when applying scientific methods to real-world challenges. Lisa Maier, who played a leading role within the student team, describes both PIA's work and its mission as highly important. “We wanted to make a meaningful contribution to supporting PIA and its work.”

PIA's services range from prevention workshops and educational programs to free and confidential counselling as well as psychotherapy for women affected by violence.
“The IPEM students analyzed donation behavior among different target groups, examined national and international fundraising best practices in the NGO sector, and developed a well-founded fundraising strategy for PIA,” says FH Assistant Professor Dr. Kristiana Roth, who supervised the project.

Tailoring Communication to Different Donor Groups
One of the key findings for the students was that private donors and major donors often contribute for different reasons and therefore require different approaches.

According to Lisa Maier, successful fundraising strategies must reflect these differences in communication. In addition, donation processes should be as simple and convenient as possible to minimize barriers to giving.

For Kristiana Roth, the project demonstrates the broad scope of innovation management: “The students further developed a fundraising concept, created new approaches to financing and stakeholder communication, and applied innovation management methods throughout the design process, from idea generation and initial sketches to concept development, prototyping, and considerations regarding production. This allowed them to strengthen both strategic and creative competencies.”

PIA Award to Be Presented for the First Time in October
One of the project's most tangible outcomes is the PIA Award.

According to Lisa Maier, the award serves a dual purpose: “The award represents PIA and the work of the organization, while also conveying appreciation and recognition to the people receiving it.”

The student team designed and developed the award independently, from the initial concept to the final production process. Seeing the finished piece, a hand holding a butterfly, was a particularly rewarding conclusion to the project.

The award will be presented for the first time to long-standing supporters of PIA at the event “30 Years of PIA – Charity Fashion Show” on 9 October 2026 at the Spinnerei in Traun.

Helping Reduce Waiting Times for Counselling and Therapy
Mag. Viktoria Grünberger, Chairwoman of PIA and Head of Finance at FH Upper Austria, emphasizes the value of the students' work for the volunteer-led organization: “Such an in-depth fundraising project would simply not have been possible for us as board members due to time constraints. We are therefore especially grateful for the students' professional and sensitive engagement with PIA's work. For us, fundraising is not an end in itself. It is a key prerequisite for securing and expanding counselling, prevention, and therapy services over the long term. Our goal is clear: people in need of support should gain access to confidential counselling and professional assistance as quickly as possible, without long waiting times.”

For PIA Managing Director Barbara Niedermayer, the benefits are equally clear: “Thanks to this student project, we now have a practical roadmap for developing our fundraising activities in a professional manner. This helps us use our limited time resources much more efficiently.”

About PIA
PIA – Sexual Education and Prevention, Psychotherapy for Survivors of Sexualized Violence was founded in Linz in 1996 and operates as a non-profit organization.

PIA provides services in the areas of prevention, sexual education, counselling, and therapy. Its programs are aimed at children and young people, adults, parents, educators, professionals, and institutions throughout Upper Austria.

Services include:

• Prevention workshops starting from fourth grade in primary school
• Workshops and lectures for young people and adults
• Free and confidential counselling
• Psychotherapy services

The organization currently consists of: 

• 12 volunteer board members
• 18 therapists
• 5 social workers and sexual education professionals

30 Years of PIA: Impact up to and Including 2026

• Approximately 39,500 therapy sessions
• Approximately 9,500 counselling sessions and telephone consultations
• Approximately 1,550 online counselling sessions
• Approximately 2,800 workshops
• Approximately 50,000 people reached overall
  • Around 36,700 children and young people
  • Around 13,200 parents and adults
• Approximately €6.7 million in total income and expenditure
  • Including approximately €2.4 million in donations