Local causes, powered by local resources – Collaboration-based capacity development for civil society organisations

The project is not aimed at the entire civil society sector, but at a specific group of organisations open to development. Although there are tens of thousands of civil society organisations operating in Hungary, only a small proportion of these possess the kind of local roots and social capital upon which a cooperation-based development process can be built. As a supporting organisation, the Roots and Wings Foundation works with these initiatives: actors who are capable of initiating action within their own communities and involving others.
In recent years, community foundations and other community-based philanthropic initiatives in particular have grown in strength. These models demonstrate that lasting local impact is achieved when different stakeholders (civil society organisations, institutions, entrepreneurs and private individuals) come together around shared causes, and not only take action but also make joint decisions, mobilise and utilise resources collectively.
The project is based on this operational logic, but does not work exclusively with community foundations. Its aim is to make this approach accessible to organisations that may be able to initiate similar processes, based on cooperation and trust, within their own communities.

The short-term aim of the project is to enable 12 civil society organisations, primarily in rural areas, to establish multi-stakeholder partnerships centred on local issues and, in connection with these, to mobilise local resources.

As a result of the process, the participating organisations:
* to be able to engage relevant local stakeholders,
* gain practical experience in establishing and managing partnerships,
* carry out joint actions,
* and test the local resource mobilisation model.

The long-term aim of the project is to strengthen those forms of operation based on local cooperation which make the organisations’ functioning more stable and sustainable. As a result, isolation and dependence on projects will be reduced, trust and cooperation will be strengthened, and models based on local resources will become more widespread.

The aim of the project is to enable 12 civil society organisations, primarily based in rural areas, to engage other stakeholders – such as companies, institutions, entrepreneurs, private individuals and informal communities – in their own communities around local issues, to establish partnerships with them, and to mobilise local resources. The Roots and Wings Foundation implements a practice-based process: participants do not attend training courses, but work on their own local issues: they identify local stakeholders, plan engagement strategies, carry out joint actions and campaigns, and, where possible, establish joint operational and decision-making frameworks and community funding schemes to provide sustainable support for issues important to the community.
The project is based on tried-and-tested methods; throughout the process, we provide professional guidance, facilitated group sessions, site visits, and support with communication and fundraising.
As a result of the project, the organisational and human capacity of the participating organisations will be strengthened, particularly in terms of cooperation based on shared responsibility, engagement and the mobilisation of local resources. In the longer term, the project will contribute to a more collaborative, participatory civil society that builds on local resources.