CSJ Staffs Complete USAID Certificate Course on Resource Mobilisation

Two staff members of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) have passed out from a resource mobilization course organized by the USAID-funded Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) project in Abuja.
The SCALE project aims to strengthen the financial, management, and advocacy capacity of CSOs and BMOs to create a more accountable and democratic Nigeria with more efficient public service delivery.
The Palladium Group serves as the implementer for SCALE in partnership with strong local organizations such as the Centre for Social Justice and other Nigerian Non-Governmental Organizations.
The training which was facilitated by Widows and Orphans Empowerment Organization (WEWE) is anchored on the fact that traditional funding sources for CSOs and NGOs are often insufficient to meet growing needs and rising costs. In addition, restrictions imposed on many grants and donations, along with the uncertainty of these funds over time, make it difficult for NGOs to do long-term planning, improve their services or reach their full potential.
It was gathered that NGOs can obtain funds to run their programmes from interested third parties, who give to the NGO in return, primarily, for the personal satisfaction derived from doing good (grants and donations); beneficiaries of the NGOs programmes, who value their participation more than the cost of participating (cost recovery); and unrelated third parties, who will pay the NGO in return for something of value that the NGO can make or do for them (commercial ventures).
Facilitators said all NGOs are different in terms of their missions, philosophies, client bases, skills and experience but increasing financial security is an important part of planning for all NGOs.  Hence, becoming completely independent of donors may be a realistic goal for some NGOs, while trying to self-generate funds just to cover overhead costs may be more suitable to others. Still others may legitimately determine that relying on grants and donations, at least for now, is the best approach. There is no right answer. It is up to each NGO and its managers to consider all the funding options available and to choose the most appropriate mix, just as they must determine which core activities and implementation strategies are most appropriate to their mission and goals.
Part of activities at the training involved CSJ’s participants drawing up a resource mobilization plan to help the Centre for Social Justice to fully maximise all available funding options open to it.