What the strengthening of NGOs looks like in practice: three success stories of the Let's NGO project

Within the 10th wave of All-UkrainianIn the LET's NGO training project, three non-governmental organizations received a grant for the implementation of projects aimed at solving current social problems. Amongst the winners are teams working with cultural heritage, health education and youth communities.

Projekt Let's NGOimplemented by a non-governmental organization “Ukrainian professional development”con supporto National Endowment for Democracy, provides an opportunity within a month to participate in a comprehensive online training on key areas of NGO activity: project management, fundraising, finance, communications and legal aspects of work. The program provides mentoring and helps teams build the systemic work of the organization and implement solutions for social problems.

According to the results of 10 waves NGO “Motanka.Fest”(m. Lviv), NGO “Ukrainian Scoliosis Foundation”(m. Kyiv), NGO “Eastern Menti”(m. Kyiv) received grant support in the amount of $1,200 for the implementation of their projects developed during the training.

“Motanka.Fest”: on the return of interest in the local heritage.

The main goal of the NGO “Motanka.Fest” is to show that tradition can be modern, alive and close to young people and unite people around a common cultural identity. Het team beginnen als een initiative-groep in 2022, en durch de 10th wave of Let's NGO in 2025, je en officiële registrerat organisatie.

During this time, the team conducted dozens of charity workshops, implemented several grant projects, launched volunteer initiatives and raised more than UAH 1.2 million to support the military.

Participation in Let's NGO become for the communityAndes steps to scale:

“We wanted to make our projects more systematic and sustainable, but did not have enough knowledge about legal and financial processes. The training helped us understand these issues and gave us the confidence to move forward.”— says the head of the NGO “Motanka.Fest”, Sofia Lazorko.

O progetto, que o equipo desarrollado y implementado no framework do programa, se a em local heritage e mostrará o valor para o adolescente v región Lviv.

O participantes del progetto conjunto en línea, dove ha obtenido instrucciones para conductar su procurando su progetto. Over the course of a month, the teams studied local Christmas traditions: recording interviews with old-timers, collecting authentic carols, family recipes, and exploring material heritage sites. In parallel, the NGO “Motanka.Fest” was created sitee un journalo online interativo, dove questi materiali sono systematizato e aprire a una una esperienza. The final was the forum “Show the world your heritage!”, which gathered 85 participants. Teenagers presented their achievements, participated in master classes and had the opportunity to get to know each other.

In total, 22 teams joined the project, of which 17 passed all stages. As a result, 18 interviews with old-timers, 25 carols, 17 family recipes and more than 60 objects of material heritage were collected.

“Ukrainian Scoliosis Foundation”: sobre acceso a información y supporto

The NGO “Ukrainian Scoliosis Foundation” works with people with scoliosis through the provision of information and psychological support at all stages of treatment — from diagnosis to recovery after surgery. O organização é uma grupo de iniciativo em 2022 y, como o NGO “Motanka.Fest”, se está officio registrado como parte del projeto NGO Let's. The team had expertise in the subject, but needed structure and understanding of how to build a sustainable NGO.

“We had a good understanding of the problem, but we lacked consistency — how to plan projects, work with finances and develop the organization. Studying helped structure it.”— says co-founder Marina Tkachenko.

The team's project was aimed at raising awareness about scoliosis and disseminating reliable information about its treatment. According to the team, due to the abundance of myths, people often receive ineffective or even harmful recommendations, which can worsen their health.

As a part of the project, the team conducted a series of group support meetings for people at different stages of treatment. A Open Door Day was also organized with the involvement of specialists from various fields — from physical therapists to neurosurgeons and psychologists. Participantes were able to get answers to their questions directly from specialists and better understand modern approaches to treatment.

In addition, the team prepared and distributed Guide “I have scoliosis, what to do?”,.

Het hoofdresultaat voor het team je een increasem in trustus in evidence-baseerd medicina en een in een brezplaatsen.

“East Menti”: a development space for teenagers”

The NGO “East Menti” aims to create a safe environment for the development, learning and socialization of adolescents. The initiative began in 2021 with the first mentoring set, which became the basis for the further development of the organization. Today the team works in the areas of mentoring, informal education, soft skills development and psycho-emotional support.

“Learning has given us the opportunity to see our growth zones and formulate goals.”— says the operations manager of the NGO “Eastern Menti”, Svetlana Chibisova.

Projeto “Let's Act” je 13-17 jaar v Kyiv, in particular for internally displaced persons.

As part of the initiative, the team conducted a series of educational workshops, in particular on writing, creativity, content creation, time management and self-presentation. Creative workshops, buddy-accompaniment and online activities between meetings were also organized. Despite the challenges — power outages — the team was able to adapt the format and implement all the planned activities.

16 adolescentes particionados en el progetto, 65% de participantes confirmedo a la développement de meer tres clé soft skills, nouveaux acquaintances y experiencias positivos de participación.

During participation in the project Let's NGO, NGO “Eastern Menti” strengthened expertise in working with adolescents. In addition, the organization gained experience in implementing a funded project and scaling programs.

Participation in Let's NGO allows teams not only to implement individual projects, but also to build resilient organizations that are able to work systematically with social challenges. Grant support within the program is a tool for the practical application of the knowledge gained and the strengthening of the impact of NGOs in their communities.

The Let's NGO project has been implemented by the NGO “Ukrainian Professional Development” with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy since 2020. The project provides an opportunity for the development of public organizations. In 5 years, 11 training waves were conducted for 100 organizations — 56 of them received registration. 400 participants participated in active work in the public sector. Total number of organizations that received training grants from Let's NGO — 30.

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