The power of local organizations. Shift The Power movement
Residents of a small town united and rebuilt a dormitory for IDPs. A woman from a village in the Kirovohrad region opened her production of food kits for the military, which was joined by dozens of volunteers. A cultural public organization collects money for military first aid kits by organizing the concerts. Local initiatives, which often develop into local NGOs, instantly respond to the needs of society, because they are part of it.
Shift The Power is a movement that seeks to give local organizations more power in the international aid delivery system. Their goal is to shift the levers of influence in such a way that communities and local associations decide how much, where and how aid should be provided in the territory where they work.
The National Network for the Development of Local Philanthropy has been cooperating with Shift The Power for more than a year. Their Manifesto for Change (now the text is also available in Ukrainian) inspired our team to create an open letter If Not Now, When?, which became the beginning of an advocacy direction.
In 2014, when Russian troops attacked the eastern borders of Ukraine, international donors increased the amount of funding and a large number of local organizations began to implement projects with their funds. At that time, nobody paid much attention to the specifics of relations between donors and local organizations.
The outbreak of full-scale war opened the localisation debate on a new scale. The first months of the war strongly shook the authority of international organizations in Ukraine. The UN, the Red Cross and many others became the heroes of negative articles in the media and memes on Twitter. Ukrainian society was outraged by the belated reaction, the ambiguous statements of the leaders of the organizations about "we wish everyone peace" and sometimes ineffective humanitarian missions.
Gradually, this discussion acquired a more constructive character. Today, Ukrainian NGOs cooperate in order to increase their influence on donors. Among challenges of promoting localization is defining a single desired outcome. According to the ACAPS Analysis Hub survey, no two organizations gave the same definition.
Today, the National Network for the Development of Local Philanthropy is part of the national working group on localization led by Caritas. Cooperation with Shift The Power provides an opportunity to learn from the experience of local organizations around the world.
In May 2023, the Global Fund for Community Foundations held a workshop for Shift The Power participants in Eastern Europe. The two-day program was built around group discussions moderated by the seminar participants themselves.
Here is a brief overview of the discussions held during the event:
How do we create and own our stories?
Very few local organizations have enough resources to provide high-quality coverage of stories from everyday work. However, the lack of volume greatly slows down the process of implementing changes, because it is difficult for people to imagine what the everyday life of working in the non-profit sector looks like outside the Brussels offices.
Building bridges between local and international actors. What are the means of influence?
Local organizations need to unite by region and advance their demands to international actors operating in this region. Many such regional movements will help show that some problems can be solved with already proven solutions.
Proving the importance of allocating funds for institutional expenses
A case study of institutional support that has led to the rapid growth of a local organization with quantitative and qualitative organizations needs to be demonstrated. These cases should be publicly available material on the official website, which organizations can use as material for advocating their interests in private dialogues with donors.
How to fight discrimination against small NGOs?
Small NGOs can use the services of networks and consultants in the public sector to support communication of their needs with donors. We need creativity and evidence of how discrimination affects small NGOs to pay attention.
Technical and psychological competencies in the process of providing grant assistance
Develop a list of tips for foundations on how to achieve sustainable partnerships based on trust. Talk about the risks co-investors face in the process and establish rules for regular feedback.
Strengthening the voice of local organizations
The problem becomes particularly critical in places where donors have their local offices. Local actors need to clearly define their vision and role in the community. When interacting with donors, the local team must set boundaries, identify unacceptable rules, and learn to say "no."
Localization indices
Financial investment in local communities should be measured not only by quantity, but also by quality. Local organizations can, for their part, give an overview of the work with donors and also present in their annual reports the amount of resources they have received and the positive practices that have been applied.
Changing the influence in the sector is a long process with many ups and downs. The team of the National Network of Development Local Philanthropy Development managed to find support in the form of members of the Shift The Power movement. More information about activities, events and goals can be found on their website.