Strategic planning and project proposal writing focus of OSCE Mission to Montenegro training course for NGO Bona Fide
Strategic planning and quality written project proposals enable NGOs to access European Union and other important donors’ funds. With that in mind, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro provided a series of training courses during October 2018 to the NGO Bona Fide from Pljevlja, Montenegro.
The director of Bona Fide, Sabina Talović, said that the courses, for nine members of the NGO, were far more useful than any grant, donation or one-off assistance. The trainees were organized into two groups: one group concentrated on economic empowerment issues, and the other on gender-based violence.
“When one receives a donation, a grant or some other tangible asset, although useful especially when one struggles to cover the utility costs, it is still a short-term solution. The OSCE Mission gave us the opportunity to learn how to approach large donors and access funds, which are the skills we truly need,” said Talović.
Talovic said that the capacity of the NGO has increased and its mindset regarding fundraising changed as a result of the training: “We now understand how to prepare a project and report on project results. We have the skills to expand funding initiatives and this process will result in enhancing our capacity to lobby and advocate on behalf of our clients.”
Open Center Bona Fide in Pljevlja is an organization that offers shelter to the victims of domestic violence in the northern part of Montenegro and supports the economic empowerment of women (entrepreneurship, handcrafts, and agricultural activities).
The Mission has a long-term dedication to the promotion of gender equality principles and socio-economic empowerment of women in Montenegro. This exercise is part of these efforts and was tailor-made to support Bona Fide in developing strategic documents. Ultimately, this should enable them to access new donors and funds, creating more opportunities to implement new project ideas and serve a wider group of the NGO’s beneficiaries.