Month: November 2017

Purpose

The New Zealand Embassy Fund (NZEF) in Mexico is a program that allows flexible support for projects that clearly and directly contribute to the elimination of poverty, and that have a high impact on the socioeconomic development of the community.

The projects must be in line with the mission of the New Zealand Embassy Fund that seeks “sustainable development in developing countries, in order to reduce poverty and contribute to a more secure, equitable and prosperous world”

For its 2017-2018 call, the New Zealand Embassy invites NGOs and community groups to present project proposals in the areas of:

• Education (particularly of women and indigenous communities)
• Climate change and resilience
• Food security
• Disaster Relief
• Community economic development
• Sustainable agricultural development

It’s essential that the projects are sustainable and that the beneficiaries are involved in their execution and maintenance.

The call is open for organizations in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and Dominican Republic.

(Organizations in Cuba and Venezuela are also eligible; buy must apply directly to the New Zealand Embassy in Mexico)

Applicants

Recipients will be non-governmental organizations and community groups committed to non-profit development activities. Funding will not be provided to individuals.

Support duration

Projects must be specific and have a duration of up to 6 months.

NON-fundable activities

• Political, religious or evangelical activities. Religious associations will not be excluded as long as the proposed project is consistent with the purpose of the New Zealand Embassy Fund, does not exclude followers of other religions and the funds are not used to support proselytizing activities.
• On-site visits
• Non-requested donations
• Student Scholarships
• International travels / participation in conferences abroad
• Sporting tours
• Financing of operational costs of the benefited association, such as wages and salaries, office supplies, and communications.

The maximum amount per project will be up to MXN $200,000 (NZD $15,000, approximately).

The selected projects must complete a partial progress report and a final report.

For projects that request more than the equivalent of NZD $12,000, the payment will be made in 3 (three) installments and on delivery of the partial and final reports:

For projects that request less than the equivalent of NZD $12,000, the payment will be made in 2 (two) installments and upon delivery of the partial progress report:

Those in charge of the accepted projects must commit to confirm that they have received the goods and/or services requested and that they were used as established in the application form. All funded projects must be available for monitoring by visiting members of the New Zealand Embassy.

Application Process

The Argentine Network for International Cooperation (RACI) will be responsible for receiving the applications. The Application Form (available at the end of this call for proposals) must be sent duly completed to fondoembajadaNZMexico@raci.org.ar before the deadline.

All applications must be submitted as follows:

• Clearly written on the application form; additional information can be attached.
• Accompanied by budgets and purchase orders from suppliers of good and services when necessary.
• The form must be signed by a member responsible for the applicant organization.
• Send it via email to: fondoembajadaNZMexico@raci.org.ar

Those applications sent after the deadline will be out of the selection process. Only one project per organization will be received.

The deadline to submit the projects is Friday, December 15, 2017 at 6pm (Mexico time).

For more information, contact: New Zealand Embassy Fund Manager in Mexico

Email: fondoembajadaNZMexico@raci.org.ar

Telephone: +54 11 4862-5447

DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION FORM HERE

DOWNLOAD THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS HERE

The Regional Center for Innovation, with the support of Tides Center, launches the call for proposals for Civil Society Organizations from Latin America and Caribbean countries that work to strengthen civil society through innovation. The fund will not be granted to individuals. The presentation of co-created ideas involving sinergy with other Civil Society Organizations or networks is encouraged.

In this opportunity, we will select projects that work on any of these two areas:

• Enabling environment.
• Transparency and accountability.

Projects must last no longer than 6 months, beginning on January 1, 2018.

A total of three (3) projects will be financed: 1 (one) project of up to USD 5,000 (five thousand US dollars) and 2 (two) projects of up to USD 2,500 (two thousand five hundred US dollars).

The selected projects must send a progress report and a final report in which proof is left that the received funds were used in the committed activities of the project.

Among non-fundable activities are:

-Travel and accommodation

-Proselytizing/Political activities

How to apply?

The Argentine Network for International Cooperation (RACI) will be in charge of receiving the applications. To apply, the Organizations must send a complete form, which is available here, before November 30 th, 2017.

Applications will be received in Spanish or English.

Applications must be sent via email to fondoinnovacionALC@raci.org.ar or by post to:

RACI

Sánchez de Bustamante 191 1° “G

(C 1173ABA) – Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina

The deadline to apply to the call is Thursday November 30th, 2017 at 6pm (Buenos Aires time). Projects received after that date and time will not be considered for evaluation.

For any doubt or query, you can send an email to: fondoinnovacionALC@raci.org.ar or by telephone to: +54 11 4862-5447.

DOWNLOAD THE APPLICATION FORM HERE

The Regional Center for Innovation has been created by:

For more information, please visit: https://raci.org.ar/innovation-for-change/

On April 19, 2018, the Entrepreneur of the Year awards ceremony will be held. It recognizes and awards successful entrepreneurs, both in the business and social world, with 225,000 Argentine pesos.

EY Argentina joined the program in 2011, with the objective of contributing to the development of recognized entrepreneurs and social referents that contribute to the development of the country through the entrepreneurial culture.

Individuals or institutions whose activity is based in Argentina may participate. The participants’ work or project must have a minimum of 1 year of implementation. Candidatures may be presented by the participant directly, through a Foundation or CSO, or by third parties.

To apply, social entrepreneurs should be people committed to the development of projects that respond to social and environmental issues, as well as leaders and source of inspiration for others. The candidates will be evaluated based on the following criteria: commitment to solve pressing social and/or environmental issues; entrepreneurial spirit; integrity and social influence; generation of social and/or environmental value; innovation: anticipation of changes and generation of alternatives that help to tackle social problems; strategy: transformation of visions into realities; global impact: international expansion and scope of the initiative; financial performance and sustainability of the initiative; team management and leadership; potential replication of the initiative in other contexts.

In order for EY to take into account the candidacies and thus be considered part of the three people shortlist, it will be necessary to complete a dossier with information on the person or institution participating, and type, scope and impact of the project. After completing it, this documentation must be sent to the Social Responsibility Management, EY, 25de Mayo 487, Buenos Aires, telephone: 4318-1600, e-mail: rse.sustentabilidad@ar.ey.com.

The deadline for submission of applications is December 15, 2017. The organizers of the prize will contact the participants if they need additional information as well as to announce the EOY prize.

A winning shortlist, that will receive a prize of 225,000 Argentine pesos, will be selected from the presentations received. In turn, the shortlist will receive an exclusive design statuette of the EOY award worldwide at the annual awards gala.

On the other hand, the distinguished entrepreneur in the Master category of each country competes annually in Monte Carlo for the World Entrepreneur of the Year, a symbol of prestige for the entrepreneurs who lead top-level companies.

The award categories are as follows:

Lifetime Achievement: Tribute to an entrepreneur for his career and the recognition of the business community.

Emergent: Distinction to an entrepreneur with high growth potential.

Master: Distinction to the most outstanding entrepreneur who will represent the country at the Monaco gala.

Social Responsibility: Distinction to the entrepreneur whose social project contributes a significant amount to society.

Executive: Distinction to a company leader who, due to his entrepreneurial spirit, has contributed to the development and success of the business.

For more information, visit: http://www.ey.com/ar/es/about-us/entrepreneurship and

http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/ey-eoy-formulario-para-emprendedor-social-2018/$FILE/ey-eoy-formulario-para-emprendedor-social-2018.pdf

On November 10, 2017, at the Embassy of Canada in Buenos Aires, the Argentine Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEADS) and RACI, held a breakfast presentation of both platforms before journalists.

Both platforms aim to make visible the work of the Private Sector and the Civil Society in pursuit of compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The CEADS SDG Platform, developed by CEADS and EY Argentina, aims to publicize innovative experiences at the local level of companies that contribute to the SDGs. This Platform was presented in March and today has 101 initiatives, in which 46 companies participated, contributing to the work carried out around the 2030 Agenda.

On the other hand, RACI, with the support of Cablevisión Fibertel, launched an SDG platform in the month of August that has 138 projects from different CSOs in our country. This initiative aims to democratize the information on the work carried out by Civil Society Organizations in Argentina and make it visible in the eyes of key actors that will enhance them.

During the day, where Robert Fry, Ambassador of Canada to Argentina, acted as host, both organizations shared the results of their respective platforms to date.

We thank all those present for generating the space for dialogue to analyze the results and raise the next challenges in which we must work to strengthen both initiatives and disseminate the implementation of the SDGs in Argentina. We also thank the Embassy of Canada in Buenos Aires for granting the space so that we can carry out the event.

On Wednesday, November 1, the RACI Team, within its plan to get to know the Network’s Partners, met one of “Cosiendo Redes” offices.

During the visit, carried out at the office located at the Metropolitan Design Center (CMD), the members of Cosiendo Redes shared their work experience; we saw their workshops and shared part of the day with the students that participate in their courses.

Cosiendo Redes is a program that emerges and develops within the Peace Foundation for Non Family Violence. It aims to contribute to the social insertion of people, especially the most vulnerable sectors.

The organization emerged with the objective of training its students so that they can join the textile industry market through excellence training, according to their particular skills and interests. At the same time, they offer job placement workshops and follow-ups for their students through tutoring so that they achieve a successful integration.

We thank all the Cosiendo Redes Team that received us so warmly in their place. We also thank all the Members who have opened their doors for us in 2017. We look forward to retaking our visits in 2018!

If you want to know more of Cosiendo Redes, enter here: http://cosiendoredes.org

Most Civil Society Organizations collect only a fraction of what they could, at least according to Ron Schiller, a seasoned US fundraiser with vast experience in the area. The reasons why this happens are varied and usually related to the ignorance of proven practices.

According to Schiller, one of the most common mistakes when raising funds is focusing only on the organization itself, its needs, goals, and timelines. Those who work in Civil Society tend to talk about themselves all the time and what they need, oblivious to the fact that donors have their own objectives and interests, and are more interested in knowing how the needs of the organization articulate with their own.

Recent studies support this approach. A survey conducted in 2016 by US Trust and Lilly Family School of Philanthropy * found that when choosing who to support, 78% of large donors rely on their own values, while only 6% do so because a presentation or speech “convinced them”. However, few organizations take the trouble to ask about donors: What are their objectives? What do they want to achieve? The most successful organizations, according to Schiller, are those that offer donors the opportunity to achieve what they set out to do.

As a fundraiser for the University of Chicago, Schiller obtained eight figure funds because he took the time to learn what a donor partner wanted. Knowing this, the university formulated an adequate project according to their needs.

The error that Schiller considers the most serious is related to the above: considering donors as simple money givers. Organizations, he explains, often don’t allow donors to become true allies of their work, afraid to give them too much influence. And so they see the fundraiser as a solicitor and not as a facilitator, someone who allows donors to give with confidence so that both can jointly achieve something that none could on their own.

*http://www.ustrust.com/publish/content/application/pdf/GWMOL/USTp_ARMCGDN7_oct_2017.pdf

Source: bit.ly/2ApehkG

In recent decades, non-profit organizations have been going through a transformation: they have more and more business characteristics. According to Lester Salamon, of the Center for Civil Society Studies of the John Hopkins University, this change is global and has been more vigorous in developed countries, where the sector of the Civil Society has a greater participation in the economy. In this sense, it is not uncommon for a CSO to sell products or services to raise funds.

This trend seems to go hand in hand with the change in government funding, which since the 1980s has been financing the Third Sector, increasingly, through contracts. According to the National Council for Voluntary Organizations (NCVO), the percentage of this type of funding by the UK government went from 49% to 81%. This caused many CSOs to seek to stabilize their income, now less predictable, through the sale of goods and services, for example Sue Ryder, an organization that helps fund their hospices with thrift stores.

This business-like professionalization of the CSOs began to attract more young people, who began to look for qualifications tailored to the new organizations. Universities started to make available more courses and careers related to philanthropy and CSO management (in the United States, the number of university careers related to the civil society sector grew from 284 in 1986 to 651 in 2016), and work in the sector became more attractive to graduates of other careers. In the same way, the sector began to attract donors and financiers who wanted to be more involved and to be part of the boards.

Professionalization is also seen in the demand for experienced fundraisers, which according to Michael Nilsen, of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, has grown rapidly. This has resulted in a greater number of studies and fundraising techniques, from the effect that different marketing materials have on donor satisfaction and future giving, to better ways of attracting large donors.

One of the biggest differences that still persists between companies and civil society organizations is access to capital. Unlike companies, a CSO cannot sell shares, as it cannot generate profits to pay its shareholders. But new types of practices are trying to fill the gap left by that impossibility. One is the “impact investment”, which has been growing in recent years, in which a philanthropic return is expected instead of, or in addition to, a financial one. Another is the possibility of a third party (a foundation or government) being a guarantor of loans to civil society organizations, so that it takes the risk if the CSO cannot pay it back.

But of course, the transformation towards organizations with business characteristics also has its critics. Fund-raising practices, specifically the exchange of data between collectors, were called into question in the United Kingdom in 2015, when the bombardment of letters begging for donations to a donor could have played some role in her suicide. Some organizations also received criticism regarding the increasing salaries that CSO executives have, which are already close to those paid to business executives.

Some fear that if the line separating companies and CSOs continues to be erased, donors and volunteers will have less incentive to donate their time and money. On the other hand, there are also those who think that CSOs with business characteristics would be better equipped to survive and grow, and therefore to have a greater capacity to impact.

Source: http://econ.st/2jSGVmZ