UMCOR Bosnia and Herzegovina

BiH News

"Towards a Sustainable Tomorrow -Partnership, Participation and Inclusion"

USAID lifted up UMCOR Bosnia and Herzegovina’s good work in this project by including it on their website www.usaid.ba, saying:

"In November 2003 USAID awarded UMCOR a grant to implement a two-year project titled “Towards a Sustainable Tomorrow – Partnership, Participation and Inclusion” to support and develop fundraising practices of Selected CSOs, particularly from domestic sources; to improve the public perception of the non-governmental sector and generally to encourage development of a culture of philanthropy and altruism in BiH. The purpose of the Fundraising Guide is to give suggestions and relate experiences during the program and hopefully to inspire other civil society organizations in BiH to explore domestic non-grant funding opportunities in order to build a healthy mix of funding sources for future sustainability."

You can download the fundraising guide here [Download here].

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

In 2003, UMCOR received funding from the United States Agency for International Development for the implementation of a program which is timely within the fields of civil society and capacity building in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The overall goal of the project is to ensure the continuing viability of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in BiH by assisting local NGOs to develop strategies and determine methods and practices that will further strengthen their long-term sustainability. It also attempts to address the decline of international funding for BiH NGOs by promoting domestic fundraising opportunities and philanthropy. The program is a two-year endeavour.

Click here for the USAID website

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is responsible for the administration and management of the official U.S. bilateral foreign assistance program. USAID has a total annual budget of approximately US$ 6 billion and has programs in over 75 countries in Europe, Asia, the Near East, Latin America and Africa. USAID's principal goals are to promote broad-based economic growth, protect human health, encourage sound environmental management and provide emergency humanitarian assistance to countries in transition. The Agency works in partnership with host governments, other U.S. government agencies, other international donors, U.S. and local businesses and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Although the BiH NGO sector achieved significant development during the last decade, one of its key weaknesses is financial sustainability as dependency on international funds has built up in the last decade. Local Non-Governmental Organizations (LNGOs) are vital for the creation of a strong civil society, without which a democratic society cannot function. In order to ensure long-tern sustainability, it is of vital importance that LNGOs are able to raise money within BiH, rather than continuing to depend on international funding, which is vulnerable to fluctuations and has been consistently declining in recent years.

The main program interventions are:

Technical assistance for selected NGOs in order to assist them to create or improve their fundraising strategies and public relations through formal training programs, the provision of external expertise and informal in-situ training
Financial assistance to NGOs to implement their fundraising strategies or specific fundraising events over Year I
Public awareness campaign(s) regarding the issues addressed by the NGOs, their missions and accomplishmentsso as to build and increase trust between NGOs and their constituencies

The anticipated results of the program are:

Improved fundraising practices and financial sustainability of the selected LNGOs
Increased culture of philanthropy and altruism within the local communities and business in BiH
Improved external relations and public image of the selected LNGOs

Contact Andrea Zeravcic or Ranko Milanovic-Blank for more information regarding this program.

Updated January 2005

Program Information

Year I applicants

List of Year I Applicants (72 KB)

12 applicants shortlisted (60 KB)

Increasing Fundraising Capacities Training Program

Selected Year I Partners (76 KB)

FR Events and Activities

Educational Forum