A strong grassroots social sector is needed to help communities meet the challenges of today and prepare them for the needs of tomorrow. We believe the best way to do this is by listening to community leaders and funding local initiatives.
More and more CSR experts and philanthropists agree. Localized philanthropy is gaining traction among donors who encourage program ownership by empowering local actors.
This approach breaks the traditional framework of international development. And we think it’s cool.
Aid organizations are finding it difficult to make concepts like “community participation” and “local empowerment” a reality.
For this reason, we focus our efforts on raising funds for local NGOs by:
1. Social and systemic injustice
Aid organizations and social enterprises continue to struggle to implement concepts such as “community participation” and “local empowerment” in their interventions.
But even with the most comprehensive needs analysis or assessment, outsiders will never be able to fully grasp local relevant knowledge.
Small international donors are looking for committed and integrated local partners who are eager to understand and solve their problems. We believe that those whose lives are most affected by social problems are best placed to judge strategies.
2. The grassroots organizations are part of the social fabric of the community.
Effective local organizations are rooted in the communities they serve because of their spatial and social closeness to the local population. It is the institutions with local roots that experience the interpersonal and emotional connections in the daily lives of the people.
Less than 2% of humanitarian funding goes directly to local NGOs
When there is a storm, violence, or domestic violence, local groups take action to make sure people are safe and taken care of. As first responders in a community, local organizations are best placed to help those who need them most.
3. The larger the institution, the more resources are used to maintain its existence.
Complex and interconnected global issues such as poverty, climate change, and conflict pose a challenge to larger institutions that fear risk. Conversely, the lack of prescribed or rigid decision-making processes in local organizations helps them to better adapt to new needs and inherent complexities.
They can mobilize local resources and meet the needs of their communities.
Those who make changes no longer want to depend on international bureaucracies that force local leaders to constantly wait for funds to reach them, often resulting in excessive red tape, sanctions, and reporting.
4. Effective grassroots organizations have the power to persist at the local level.
Most development industries are driven by annual reports and three-year project cycles, which is very different from the time it takes to see transformational change. Unless organizations are externally catalyzed or run entirely by people from the same communities in which they operate, they are more likely to live and work on these issues in those communities, as long as international actors are gone.
As local organizations develop from existing, lasting, and interpersonal relationships, their employees and volunteers often get to know their people as individuals, which translates into a long-term commitment to the personal interest and success of their projects.
Attempt.
Smaller international donors may not have extensive third-party evaluations or randomized controlled trials as proofs of concept, but they can tell the achievements and success stories of their recipients. They are prepared to disregard the notion of “small” when the quality and integrity of work translates into local solutions with lasting impacts.
Of course, not all local NGOs are created equal, and neither are all donors. And grants of any size can build or strengthen dependency ties and maintain existing power structures rather than calling them into question.
However, the combined experience and knowledge of experienced small international donors is an untapped resource for international aid, philanthropy, and social enterprise learning to empower local leaders with the resources they need to fulfill their priorities. needs to be addressed. It is time for more local organizations to make room around the table that is promising and has great potential.
We have come to the end of reasons to Fund Local NGOs.
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