“Despite the fact that people with very different backgrounds and competencies came [to the training], over the course of three days of collaborative work, we managed to reach a common understanding of what large projects are and how to attract funding for them. I was impressed by the enthusiasm, motivation, and willingness to learn that the participants brought with them,” said Andriy Khimyak, fundraising expert and deputy head of the development department at UCU.
The second training program “Fundraising for Local Communities” was sponsored by the project “Strengthening Community Capacities for Reconstruction through Pilot Interaction with Universities”. During the training, community specialists, together with experts, were able to develop detailed concepts for their own projects. Currently, the participants have returned to their communities, where they have a week to refine their proposals. After that, during an online meeting, community representatives will receive additional suggestions and feedback to continue improving their ideas. Thus, by the end of the project, community specialists, together with university experts, should have prepared project proposals for submission to major international funding agencies. Thus, the project aims to support learning about working with grant applications and to attract real investments for the development of the local communities.
“The first training program became a catalyst for me and for creating a new department in the community, because we did not have a separate specialist for grant work and projects. Work has already begun on establishing the ‘Energy Management and Grant Activities’ department. This will give the community the opportunity to attract additional funds for local development by searching for grants and writing proposals,” said Vasyl Chaplyak, energy manager of the Chervonograd community in Lviv region.
“Fundraising for Territorial Communities” is the second of six training programs that community specialists will undergo within the project “Strengthening Community Capacities for Reconstruction through Pilot Interaction with Universities”. The next training, “Local Economic Development Tools for Territorial Communities,” will take place on March 7-9.
The project “Strengthening Community Capacities for Reconstruction through Pilot Interaction with Universities” is implemented by the Alliance of Ukrainian Universities with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. Osvita.ua is the Alliance’s information partner.
