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Description
The project "Today small NGOs, tomorrow sustainable NGOs" aims to address the problem of lack of financial sustainability of small NGOs in Romania. The project will address the issue through the activities carried out in 21 months, they are meant to improve the competencies for promoting and developing the financial sustainability of the NGOs. The project will start with a study visit to Norway, which will be attended by 3 experts from the promoter. The visit aims to improve the skills of development and implementation of strategies and fundraising campaigns for these experts. The acquired knowledge will be adapted and transposed in a course support and other tools for increasing the capacity of the NGOs, on which the Romanian and Donor State experts will work. All tools will be used and disseminated in a course given for 15 NGOs. Following the course, 15 NGOs’ representatives will acquire basic knowledge in: effective communication and promotion, fundraising strategy, development of crowdfunding campaigns. At the end of the course they will have the ability to use the tools received to increase the capacity of their own NGO. The acquired knowledge will be put into practice by implementing 2 fundraising campaigns each. In order to carry out these campaigns, the NGOs will participate in mentoring sessions offered by the promoter, who will follow and guide NGOs in carrying out successful campaigns. Meanwhile, within the project, a sub-page, dedicated to NGOs, is being developed and tested on the applicant''s crowdfunding platform. After the implementation of this sub-page, 15 crowdfunding campaigns will be created and run on the platform. An important component of the project is the sustainability activity. Within that activity, the applicant wants to carry out an impact assessment of the project and also to encourage the implementation of a strategic partnership between the beneficiary NGOs.
Summary of project results
The project "Today small NGOs, tomorrow sustainable NGOs" was created to address the financial sustainability challenges faced by non-governmental organizations, aiming to diversify funding sources and improve the communication of small NGOs in Romania.
Throughout the project, activities focused on enhancing NGOs'' capacity in fundraising and communication were carried out. The project began with an online conference on the impact of NGOs, fundraising, and crowdfunding, attended by 57 participants from the sector. This was followed by a study visit of the applicant''s experts to the partner in Oslo, resulting in the development of a course material and tools designed to help NGOs improve their financial capacity. As part of the project, 15 small NGOs participated in courses and workshops organized by the Civitas Foundation for Civil Society and Norsensus Mediaforum, aimed at developing their skills to implement strategies and run fundraising campaigns. To facilitate the execution of their own crowdfunding campaigns, a dedicated subpage for NGOs was created on the Creștem Idei crowdfunding platform. In the end, sustainability was assessed, and the closing conference of the project brought together 20 participants.
As a result, the 15 NGOs improved their fundraising capacity and communication skills. Following the courses and the 139 mentoring sessions with experts in fundraising and communication, the organizations ran 49 fundraising campaigns and 15 crowdfunding campaigns, 12 of which were successful. The 15 NGOs managed to diversify their funding sources, securing two distinct funding streams.
Summary of bilateral results
The partnership established with Norsensus Mediaforum, a media organization from Oslo, brought significant benefits to the project. First and foremost, added value came from the knowledge and expertise of the two expert trainers (who were involved on behalf of the Partner) in preparing and conducting the project’s activities. These two experts led an in-person training session for the Promoter’s team, focusing on topics such as storytelling in fundraising campaigns (methods and techniques), campaign strategy development, and design thinking in fundraising campaigns. The visit made by the Promoter’s team to Norway in March 2022 contributed to strengthening the relationship with the partner, transferring know-how, and fostering a better mutual understanding between the two organizations.Additionally, the partner contributed to the development of course support and guide materials designed to help NGOs on their path toward financial sustainability. Another joint activity was the courses and workshops held for the beneficiary NGOs, where, over two consecutive days, the partner shared its experience in fundraising, crowdfunding, and communication during online sessions.