The „Capacity Development Forum” was organized by ISAR “Ednannia” organization of Kiev that supports NGOs and local development funds. The event was attended by representatives of almost a thousand non-governmental organizations of Ukraine.
The two-day conference included among other things, a debate on the role played by the local funds, a session on organizational development, workshops on building an endowment fund, a seminar on Ukrainian local funds, as well as the “Space for partnership building and networking”.
The achievements and best practices of the “Act Locally” Program implementation were presented by Iwona Olkowicz, Program Coordinator, and Tomasz Bruski, Member of the Management Board of the Academy for the Development of Philanthropy in Poland Association, which is the “Act Locally” Program Manager. “We presented Polish experiences in local fund development and the “Act Locally” Program as the excellent instrument for involving various communities in community work and building the dialogue with residents,” Iwona Olkowicz says.
“Act Locally” is the Polish-American Freedom Foundation’s Program, since 2000 implemented by the Academy for the Development of Philanthropy in Poland. The objective of the program is to activate local communities by supporting projects that initiate the residents’ cooperation in solving important local problems, increase their developmental aspirations and contribute to the building of social capital. The residents’ initiatives boosting the community activity are financed through the local grant competitions organized by the network of 60 Act Locally Centers operating at the area of almost 600 communes.
The “Act Locally” Program has attracted a lot of attention of Ukrainian NGOs, which are looking for inspiration in networking and establishing cooperation with various donors.
