Blog

Financing for the future

March 17, 2017
Staff from a LINKAGES community-based organization during a capacity development workshop.

The best way to ensure sustainable impact is by developing the capacity of local organizations and communities to solve local problems. It is why all Pact projects include developing local capacity.

Pact’s brand of capacity development puts the power of international best practices in service provision, management, monitoring and evaluation in the hands of people who have a vested interest in the development of their community and who will be there to resolve new challenges as they arise.

Through the USAID-funded LINKAGES project, Pact is supporting community-based organizations to tackle HIV and AIDS among the most vulnerable groups. LINKAGES, PEPFAR and USAID’s first global project dedicated to key populations and their sexual partners, is working in countries around the world to help governments, key-population organizations and private-sector providers to collaboratively plan, deliver and optimize services to reduce HIV transmission among vulnerable groups and extend life for people who are HIV-positive. Pact is a member of the global consortium implementing the project worldwide.

Financial management is a vital component of our organizational capacity development work. Fostering their ability to secure funds is key to linking local organizations with resources that secure their continued work beyond LINKAGES.

Flexing their newfound capacity, several LINKAGES community-based organizations are securing additional funding that will increase their financial security. With support from Pact, the organizations have joined GlobalGiving, an online crowdfunding platform that promotes a more entrepreneurial approach to fundraising. The platform eliminates the need for local organizations to liaise with international organizations, like Pact and our LINKAGES partners, and the complexity of donor rules and regulations.

After some additional training from GlobalGiving, seven organizations are participating in the GlobalGiving Accelerator, an opportunity to build skills and increase support through a crowdfunding campaign. The challenge is to raise $5,000 from 40 unique donors over the course of three weeks.

According to GlobalGiving, not all community-based organizations meet the goal. It isn’t easy for many smaller organizations. But, whatever they raise, they keep. If they meet the goal, they receive permanent membership in the GlobalGiving community, promotion through GlobalGiving’s communications channels and matching funds and bonus prizes.

But one of the most exciting benefits is the new skills they acquire, such as how to develop a campaign plan, tell their story and map their networks. Because as Pact knows, that’s how real changes happens.

Explore LINKAGES partners’ campaigns on GlobalGiving: