EU-UN Spotlight Initiative CSO Capacity Building Workshop supports Trinidad and Tobago CSOs funding-readiness

How ready is your Civil Society organisation to receive and effectively implement funding? This was the crux of a recent EU-UN Spotlight Initiative capacity building workshop series for CSOs in Trinidad and Tobago.

The workshop series recognises that CSOs bring about positive change, have a significant impact on various social issues and are key proponents in supporting communities. The series aims to empower CSOs to improve their capacity to better serve their various and sometimes underserved communities.

CSOs rely on funding to carry out their work which includes advocating for change, delivering essential services to communities, and training their staff to enhance their value.

At the workshop, participants were told that it is not enough for a CSO to exist, they needed to be operating optimally. They explored means to being infrastructurally sound enough to qualify for funding including fund-raising strategies, multiyear goals and work plans. CSOs were also exposed to different types of fund-raising strategies such as crowdfunding, reaching to their communities for resource-support.

Participants at the workshop play “Mission”. The activity required participants to take a step forward if their respective CSOs were following various standard operating procedures. Photo compliments: Shelly Dolabaille

The interactive session explored standard operating procedures for approaching donors and monitoring and evaluation to ensure accountability to its members and donors.

One CSO representative said they struggled to secure funding and the experiences and lessons learned as shared by other organisations were eye opening and a learning moment.

CSO representatives engage in an exercise where they list gaps in their financial plans and possible solutions.

Facilitator Pearl Yatali-Gonzales, told the participants that being flexible and adapting to a situation is critical because there is always a work-around and financial planning is the starting point.

Participants from various CSOs gather for a photograph with facilitators after the day’s activities

This is session two of the capacity building workshop series, held at the Hilton Hotel and Conference Centre in Trinidad and Tobago. The upcoming workshop, which is the final in the series, will focus on project identification and proposal writing for CSOs.