(status end of 2006)

Background

Although the legal framework has been rather favorable for NGOs and the associative sector has been growing steadily for the last few years, the civil society in the Republic of Moldova is still in its incipient stage. According to the data from the Ministry of Justice (Dec. 20, 2005), 5’395 NGOs have been registered by the end of 2005. The range of their fields of activity is rather large: culture, education, economic and social development, health, human rights, etc.

However, the Moldovan NGOs (especially in rural areas) face a lot of challenges and problems. Most of them are related to organizational capacity, financial viability and public image (often NGOs are not viewed as important partners by other stakeholders). Moreover, the context of a weak economy, the limited number of foreign donors present in Moldova, the lack of financial management skills, and the poor access to information regarding funding opportunities make it even harder for NGOs to exist and operate. The SDC NGO Small Grants Program was launched as a pilot project in 2001. It was set up to respond to the specific needs of NGOs that contribute directly to the improvement of the living conditions of society’s most vulnerable segments. Since September 2001, the program has been implemented in cooperation with CAMIB NGO, which administers it. Overall Goal

The NGO Small Grants Program aims to contribute to the development of a strong, democratic and participative civil society in the Republic of Moldova.

Objectives

1. To support NGOs on project and organizational levels (by funding specific projects and providing technical assistance, such as basic equipment, training seminars and expertise).
2. To strengthen and increase the sustainability of NGOs.

Approach / Implementation

The NGO Small Grants Program supports NGOs from marginalized areas by distributing grants, ranging from Swiss Francs (CHF) 5’000 to 18’000, for the implementation of community projects. The project funding offers to young Moldovan NGOs the opportunity to gain experience in project implementation, reporting and cooperation with international donors, and to provide services to the most vulnerable segments of the society.

Results

Since the launch of the NGO Small Grants Program in May 2001, 46 NGOs have been funded (phases I - V). They benefited from a total grant of CHF 660’000 and implemented different social projects all over the republic. Thanks to the technical and financial support provided by SDC, the NGOs strengthened their capacities in project management, increased their credibility among their own communities and donors, and established better relationships with the local public authorities. They also augmented the level of professional knowledge and skills of their staff.

The V phase will be completed by the end of 2006 and will close the SDC NGO Small Grants Program in Moldova.

Financial Aspect

The total budget of the NGO Small Grants Program between May 2001 and April 2006 (5 phases) constituted CHF 820’400. An average grant provided to Moldovan NGOs amounted to about CHF 14’000.

Partners

CAMIB NGO

Web: http://www.camib.md/com