Recommendations for creating organizational development programs for local NGOs
When we wrote the first open letter "If not now, when?" in August 2022, it was the first year of the full-scale invasion. The letter's last paragraph was "Stop teaching us" because we simply did not have time to learn. Later, we slightly softened this message to "Start learning from us" with a call to recognize local expertise and mutual learning. There is a demand from local organizations for development, and donors also provide funds to implement organizational development programs. However, there is a problem with this money being allocated to international organizations, which begin to teach local organizations, often according to their vision.
Organizations engaged in strictly humanitarian projects are starting to provide capacity-building training. These programs should support local organizations to the level where they can directly receive donor funding.
But I have two questions:
1. What is this level, and what indicators should we move towards? In this case, will the funding really be transferred?
2. Do the programs aim to develop organizations to this level?
Accordingly, there should be a connection between international organizations now implementing organizational development programs and donor requirements - what the local organization needs to learn to receive funding directly from the donor. However, it is essential to ask for the opinion of regional/national organizations on organizational development needs.
The National Network of Local Philanthropy Development does not provide capacity-building services to a wide range of NGOs; it only provides to our network members. However, since we are currently working with NGOs from different parts of the country and with varying levels of development, we have several recommendations for those who want to implement organizational development programs.
Whom to teach?
We need to understand that Ukrainian civil society is quite different. Not everyone needs organizational development to become a professional public activist. After all, there are various forms of participation, such as volunteer work or free time, without professional responsibilities. Many civic initiatives aim to solve local problems and do not require a complex organizational structure.
Also, people may have limited time, resources, or other responsibilities that prevent them from doing this professionally.
Some organizations want to grow professionally as CSOs and are ready to invest their efforts and resources in the organization's and its projects' sustainability. They should be supported and developed.
There are organizations created by professionals in a particular field—a group of psychologists, for example. These organizations can help people well, but they don't have the time and resources to deal with the bureaucratic processes of CSO management. They need to be given space to develop as professionals and supported to do what they do best—help people.
Many organizations started their work long before the full-scale invasion, and they attended many trainings on how to implement projects, how to raise money, etc. They have many skills and knowledge, but they are not involved in the humanitarian system and do not have the appropriate policies and procedures often required by the international system.
It is also necessary to distinguish between those teams that just want to implement an idea and those that are ready to move strategically toward their solution.
Those who come up with a solution/project instead of a problem they want to solve are unlikely to choose strategic development.
How to teach?
Online training takes place several times every day, covering various topics for numerous organizations. Often, the value of training is lost because it is usually superficial and does not go deeper into practice. The training format has lost its trust and value.
Another approach is when INGOs try to transfer all their policies and processes to make a "local department of their organization," killing the local organization's identity. This is when organizations are told how to do things without the opportunity to find their own optimal way and process. It is also when training is directive, not mentoring and supporting.
So what can work? Mentoring, suggestions, and coaching. Training should be supportive, suggesting what can be optimized, what risks to pay attention to, and how to overcome them. That is, there should be long-term cooperation and support based on the local organization's current work and plans. Organizational development plans created jointly can help.
Fundraising is the biggest demand, and the second demand is policies.
I often hear from local organizations that we don't know where to get money. I hear from international organizations that local ones are so small that they don't have a fundraiser on staff. Then the question arises: who is on the staff, and how is the structure built? Why doesn't the team have a separate person who will be in charge of fundraising? Does the team understand why having an individual position for a fundraiser is important?
Therefore, before teaching fundraising to an organization, it is necessary to help them understand how to build a team structure, how to work and manage people, how to distribute roles in the group, and how to motivate and support the team. This training should be provided to every organization's leader.
At the same time, there should be an understanding of where and how this structure can move—an organization's strategy and operational plan should appear. Often, some "high" strategies are made about dreams of a better society, values, analyses, etc.
It is necessary to develop a strategy that is realistic for the organization and its team and will help achieve the team's individual goals and ambitions.
In addition to the person in the team who will be engaged in fundraising, there is another thing: fundraising is impossible without sustainable communications. People pay little attention to this because they believe PR only needs to highlight "how good we are" and that good things should be done quietly. However, this is an essential stage of accountability to donors and the public, building new connections, and motivating others to get involved and make changes. It is important to teach and help local organizations to have a working bilingual website and social media, to have their design, to present the organization well, and to have a person who can speak publicly about the organization's activities and best practices. Invest in content creation: beneficiary stories, project materials, and information about the team. Make high-quality reports on projects and the organization's work. Open communications make the organization visible to the public and help build trust.
After that, you can teach and help shape the fundraising strategy. Training should be relevant to the group's level and not superficial. Fundraising involves many mechanisms, tools, and different actors. It is important to emphasize the diversification of mechanisms and sources.
Forming policies and procedures is an important process at the stage when the local team has already tried to implement some processes and understands what works for them and how. The problem with policies and procedures is also the difference in approaches. In Ukraine, organizations' policies must be in line with the laws of Ukraine, so not everything that works at the international level can be simply transferred to local organizations.
What kind of experts are there not enough in Ukraine?
Various organizations have developed a system of organizational development providers over the years. One of the largest is the Civil Society home platform, which was created by ІСАР Ednannia. There are also other sustainable projects and organizations, such as Zrozumilo, Curly Management, Social Change Platform, and Diia.Osvita, and many others.
Many experts work in fundraising, project management, organization management, communications, etc.
From our personal experience, we have not found experts in Ukraine to build links for nonprofit organizations and risk management.
Study the expertise available at the local level and engage them in program development.
So, if you decide to create organizational development programs, we ask you to follow the important rule "Do not harm." One-size-fits-all training without considering the context, history, and background of the organization is more likely to create similar organizations that are unable to innovate, test new methods, and close the gaps that the state often can't due to bureaucratic complexity.
Local CSOs should not be bureaucratic mechanisms; they should be capable and sustainable in their work. Listen to and support your beneficiaries, not demand that they follow your structure.
If you are interested in our expertise, we are ready to allocate time and people to provide you and your project with consulting services under a private contract.
Author Daria Rybalchenko