PI “Goodwill projects (“Geros valios projektai“)” (hereinafter – the GWP), in cooperation with UAB ProBaltic Consulting, has successfully developed and implemented a project financed under the Lithuanian and Swiss Cooperation Programme.
Given the limited ability of NGO representatives to raise additional funds for their organisations, as well as weak traditions of civil society and not always favourable public attitude toward NGOs, the project aimed to encourage direct cooperation with NGOs, by building their financial management and social entrepreneurship skills, promoting fund raising of these organisations, while developing secondary methodological tools to enhance the NGO sector performance, by improving NGO’s funds management and, thus, ensuring better transparency and accountability.
Under the project, there were NGO sector training and performance improvement programmes developed, training for the NGO sector’ specialists / staff held, new financial autonomy related products created, such as e-volunteering fundraising tool, mobile version of aukok.lt, donation programme model, etc. Seeking to increase the financial autonomy, there were IT interfaces with 4 banks created, the NGO sector transparency study conducted, methodical material on improvement of NGO performance prepared, the NGO sector-relevant information disseminated, e.g., conferences, tenders in various social projects in marketing and publicity were organised.
The project has contributed to the strengthening of the NGO sector through improvement of employees’ skills, institutional capacity building, by enabling the organisations to clearly present themselves in the eyes of society, to demonstrate benefits of the use of funds attracted, as well as by encouraging the public to change its attitude to aid granting for the non-governmental sector. Strengthening of the NGO sector through additional funds has facilitated the development and implementation of direct activities of the above organisations. NGO sector publicity has changed the public opinion on NGOs, their activities and transparency.