NEW EU FUNDED PROJECT: “Strengthening capacities of CSOs and creating supporting infrastructure to mobilize local resources and undertake economic activities”

On February 21, 2011 the representatives of the Delegation of the European Union, Mr Dieter Thiel, Head of Operations and the Center for Institutional Development-CIRa, Mr. Zoran Stojkovski, Executive Director signed the Grant Contract for implementation of the project “Strengthening capacities of CSOs and creating supporting infrastructure to mobilize local resources and undertake economic activities”. The goal of this project funded through IPA 2008 Operational Programme that CIRa is implementing in partnership with the EUCLID Network is to contribute towards efficiency and sustainability of the civil society in addressing key needs of citizens and local communities in Macedonia. The activities are structured in a way to contribute towards development and capacity building of CSOs to diversify their funding by organizing local fundraising activities and performing economic activities in order to ensure funds for a certain cause and be capable to provide social services. Namely, the project will develop skills to the CSO management, by organizing Academy for Organizational Sustainability, to strategically organize and implement fundraising actions by development of fundraising plans and to manage their organizations by involving volunteers within their activities and making partnerships with the local stakeholders, both the local government and the business sector.
Furthermore, considering that the fundraising actions are known as quite challenging and intensive, the project will promote and support establishment of a Network of local CSOs as a method for acquiring improved capacities to organize joint community based fundraising activities for provision of social services.