Civil Society Organizations developed sustainable financing strategies

What does sustainability of civil society organizations mean? How does one think visionary? How to assess sustainability? What are the good practices in this field? These were some of the questions discussed by participants at the workshop “Good Practices for Civil Society Organizations’ Sustainability” led by Simon Forester, Civica Mobilitas’ international expert, held on October 24-25, 2024, in Berovo.

Jasmina Golubovska from “Legis” and Angela Zdravkovska from “Krik” spoke about their organizations’ good practices in this area. They emphasized the importance of partnerships, credibility, and securing mission-aligned revenues. “Every opportunity to upgrade our knowledge and share experiences is welcome for strengthening cooperation between civil society organizations. Civica Mobilitas enables exactly that,” said Golubovska.

Participants discussed the concept of sustainability in their organizations. “Our vision of sustainability includes developing educational resources that empower youth through debating skills and critical thinking,” said Risto Saveski from the Youth Educational Forum (MOF). For Kalina Lechevska from the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities (ISSHS), sustainability means securing grants to support ongoing research in cultural, political, and gender studies, to continue promoting democratic values.

Forester encouraged participants to try the “blue sky thinking” concept, which helps with visionary and unconstrained thinking. This method helped civil society organizations step away from daily operational challenges and think about their long-term goals. The three-circle sustainability model was also presented, helping civil organizations assess their sustainability in terms of mission, activities, and external relations. Forester emphasized that cross-sector collaboration can increase resilience and strengthen collective impact.

“An excellent lecturer who managed to transfer knowledge in a very easy way. At the same time, such meetings are significant because experiences from other organizations are openly shared, which further encourage different initiatives,” stated Bistra Georgieva from Forum for Reasoned Politics.

Participants analyzed good practices and development of social marketing strategies to increase awareness of private sector engagement. They worked on developing audience-focused messages, impact storytelling, and targeted campaigns.

Finally, Forester presented innovative international funding models from Great Britain, India, and South Africa. These examples could inspire Macedonian civil society organizations to explore new sources of revenue, including social enterprises and local partnerships.