The Tuzla Community Foundation has strengthened the work of local associations through mentoring support, and this month it is starting a new cycle with twelve associations.
Eleven civil society organizations (CSOs) from the Tuzla Canton were included in the CSO Capacity Building Program, which the Tuzla Community Foundation is implementing in the Tuzla Canton area for the second consecutive year. The goal of the Program is to strengthen the capacities of civil society organizations during a one-year cycle so that their work is sustainable in the long term, transparent, recognizable in the local community and area of operation and, most importantly, multi-beneficial for their members and beneficiaries.
Upon completion of the 2023/2024 cycle, organizations received educational and mentoring and advisory support, strengthened their organizational capacities and improved their relationship with their beneficiaries, thus leaving a greater impact in the community and their area of operation.
Education according to priorities
Support was received from the Slovenian Origin Association from Tuzla, the Active Aging Network Association from Tuzla, the REVOLT Youth Movement Tuzla, the RE-SET Association from Tuzla, the Pčelica Association from Živinice, the Consumers’ Club Tuzla, the Rebirth of the Teočak Association, the Vidara Diving Club Gradačac Association, the Rebirth of the Kladanj Association, the Visually Impaired Citizens’ Association Tuzla, and the TRIK Youth Association from Kalesija.
During the one-year cycle, training was held for all eleven organizations in four areas, which the organizations determined as priorities for further development: Project Application Preparation, Promotion and Public Communication, Membership Management and Development, and Philanthropy and Fundraising.
Out of a total of eleven organizations that participated in the program, nine of them recorded significant progress in the areas that were the subject of measurement. And the measurement of progress included key aspects such as organizational development, membership development, improvement and work with users, as well as financial sustainability, and the visibility of associations, as well as their transparency in work.
Six CSOs received financial support in the amount of 6,000 to 8,000 KM during the program to implement projects that strengthened their own capacities. One of the organizations whose project was supported was the Association of the Visually Impaired Tuzla, whose project included the creation of a digital membership database and an invitation to new members to join. The result was at least fifteen new members, visually impaired people, who had never been members of this or any similar association, nor were they aware of the rights they have as people with this type of disability.
Experiences
“We have people who contact us who didn’t even know they had the right to someone else’s care, who didn’t know they had the right to some aids and the like. And we achieved all of this with a simple project in which we tried to strengthen our association, expand membership and reach as many people with visual impairments as possible,” said Tifa Tučić, director of the association. READ THE FULL STORY HERE .
The project “Green Classroom” of the Pčelica Community Association from Živinice was also supported. Thanks to the support provided through this program, it was able to equip a classroom for beekeeping education and strengthen its position in the community.
“Shortly after the finalization of the project, there was a partnership with the local school, where the beekeeping section now functions, as well as with the Faculty of Technology, whose students regularly come to education in the “Green Classroom”, but also visit the base apiary of the association,” said Salim Halilbašić, one of the founders of the association. READ THE WHOLE STORY HERE .
A new cycle of support through the Tuzla Community Foundation’s CSO Capacity Building Program begins in December when we sign contracts with twelve new organizations .
Source: fondacijatz.org
