20 Mar Open letter: Donors and supporters must act to ensure civil society resilience against COVID-19 pandemic
Belgrade, March 20, 2020 – In response to an open letter sent by CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation to donors and others who support the work of civil society, regarding civil society resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic, Civic Initiatives join and particularly encourage donors who are active in the Western Balkans to adopt a more proactive and flexible approach so that we can help those in urgent need together, as quickly and efficiently as possible.
CIVICUS states in the letter:
“As the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, civil society organisations across the world are taking proactive measures to protect the health and well-being of their staff and partners. This includes necessary shifts in strategy, reprioritisation, and adjustments in programming and outreach. At the same time, civil society infrastructure is under visible and immense financial pressure. Projects have been postponed, deliverables delayed and energies diverted to making alternative plans. Major events have been cancelled at significant financial loss. Funds have been (rightly) redirected from planned activities to COVID-19 responses. Reserves – when they exist – are limited and will soon be depleted.”
“Responding to these extraordinary challenges requires flexibility in how we use our grants. We are strengthened and inspired by messages from donors and supporters who have been quick to reinforce their sustained support and commitment to enabling maximum flexibility for the work of their partners. It is an important sign of trust and recognition of the crucial role of civil society and civic action in our societies, now more than ever.”
The letter calls on all donors and intermediaries providing essential support for civil society to adopt similar approaches by offering as much flexibility, certainty, and stability towards grantees and partners as possible.
CIVICUS also lists five specific ways this can be done, including listening to grantee partners and exploring how you can best help them face the crisis; promoting the re-design and re-scheduling of planned activities and deliverables; supporting new and creative ways of creating a culture of solidarity and interaction; offering greater flexibility by reconsidering payment installments based on actual needs, converting existing project grants into unrestricted funds, or adding extra funds to help build-up reserves or cover unexpected costs and simplifying reporting and application procedures and timeframes so that civil society groups can better focus their time, energy and resources in supporting the most vulnerable.
You can read the full letter in English on the CIVICUS website below.
Civic Initiatives continue to map out all the ongoing needs and possible activities of civil society, after which the idea is tp create a coordination platform, in order to facilitate each other’s work and eventually join forces.
Please send us information about the needs you may have (eg if you work with vulnerable groups), activities you plan or ideas you may have that could be organized more easily in collaboration with other civil society organizations.
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