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This newsletter is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government or EWMI.
Announcements
University Assistance Grants available and open to all Georgian universities. Paid Internship Grants available to qualified graduate students in public policy, political science or related fields. Citizens Advocacy Grants Round 2 deadline is June 15, 2011
For more information on the above grants and all G-PAC programs, visit our website www.ewmi-gpac.org
Donors Meeting
G-PAC News
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Enabling
Letter from the EWMI G-PAC Chief of Party
As in many transitional societies, Georgian NGOs are perceived by the general public as job opportunities rather than organizations with civic responsibilities. Despite this situation, NGOs are not excused from a firm commitment to the highest professional, programmatic and organizational standards. Programs must lead to tangible results and organizations must demonstrate transparency and accountability to their constituents. By making a commitment to missiondriven transparency, Georgian NGOs will not only improve programmatic results but also gain from greater public confidence and trust. This will in return increase the likelihood of domestic public and private financial and overall support to NGOs, thereby ensuring that they are sustainable long after the international donors have left. Currently, the Georgian NGOs rely heavily on Georgian-based international donors through country-specific funding programs. For nearly 20 years, this ear-marked investment has been actively supporting Georgian NGOs. This type of funding can have negative repercussions. In an environment of almost exclusively foreign donor-led funding opportunities, organizations develop to meet the requests of these donors rather than of the people. As result, the general public and government perceive NGOs to be donor-driven and more accountable to their funders than to the public, which diminishes their public influence. In the constant rush to secure funding and demonstrate results to donors, Georgian NGOs place a disproportionate emphasis on project proposals rather than focusing on necessary institutional development. Over the past few years, as many leaders in Georgian civil society transitioned to positions in the government, the weakness in the NGO community was exemplified. It became apparent that the civil society strength relied almost solely on individuals rather than institutions. Relatively easy access to country-specific international funds impedes institutions ability to diversify resources. This situation also limits the scope of work for these organizations to donor motivated issues. Currently, competition is restricted to a small group of organizations that focus on Georgiatailored funds and are able to manage the strict reporting requirements, without the pressure of competing internationally. Very few Georgian NGOs compete against organizations in Europe for funding based on expertise and innovative ideas. G-PAC is committed to assist both the programmatic and organizational capacity development of Georgias advocacy NGOs and think tanks to support their sustainability. Programmatically, G-PAC encourages organizations to implement initiatives that directly address issues raised by the Georgian public. Institutionally, G-PAC empowers the development of governing and managerial structures to demonstrate transparency in both decision-making and spending. G-PACs partnership with Georgian NGOs begins before the conception of the proposal, continues throughout proposal development and implementation, and lasts beyond project completion. G-PAC grant programs combine training, mentoring, and linkages to counterparts in Europe and the US, in addition to funds. While the G-PAC civil society component addresses the immediate needs of Georgian NGOs, the Masters in Public Administration (MPA) component fosters future professionals. In partnership with Columbia University, Ilia State University is developing an MPA program that will provide students with the research and analytical skills to develop effective policies in both the private and public sectors. Through this comprehensive collaboration with the Georgian people, G-PAC strives to build a self-sustaining civil society that is truly independent and owned by the citizens of Georgia. Fron Nahzi CoP, EWMI G-PAC
Environment
G - P A C a n d th e International Center for Notfor-profit Law (ICNL) are working to improve the legal environment so that it better s u p p or ts t h e f i n a n ci a l sustainability of NGOs. In March, ICNL conducted an assessment of Georgias enabling environment which included analyzing the tax code and other legislation providing the basis for NGO sustainability. As initial findings indicated, although Georgia has strong framework legislation, several provisions regulating NGOs income-generating activities and private philanthropy create obstacles that make such activities expensive and risky. Accordingly, these are the issues that G-PAC plans to focus on in the upcoming months. It will further review and analyze the Georgian tax code and other relevant legislation to provide solutions to the identified hindrances. It will also organize roundtable discussions with NGOs and businesses to develop more comprehensive lists of legal hurdles to conducting incomegenerating activities and engaging in philanthropy. Additionally, it will develop a guide that will help NGOs to comply with the tax code . G-PAC will cooperate with the government to bring its attention to issues affecting NGOs sustainability, and to assist it in addressing these issues so that NGOs are better able to make their skills and services available to the general public and the government.
G-PAC News
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As part of G-PACs public outreach program, monthly meetings are held with NGOs in the regions and in Tbilisi. These meetings serve to update NGOs on G-PAC programs and to discuss issues that may require additional support and focus from GPAC, international donors, NGOs, government and various other stakeholders with an interest in increasing NGOs capacity to advocate for and influence public policy reform in Georgia. Most recently, GPAC organized a meeting with more than 20 NGOs on the role of donors in developing Georgias civil society sector (see article on page front page). As a follow-up, G-PAC organized a meeting with donors that have an annual budget of $200,000 or more, and presented NGOs concerns and recommendations to them. G-PAC invites NGOs to suggest topics for discussion for the future monthly meetings. Also GPAC is willing to make its conference room available on a first-come first-served basis. NGOs with topic ideas or who are requesting the use of the G-PAC Conference Room should contact GPACs Public Outreach Coordinator George Kopaleishvili at kgeorge@ewmi-gpac.org.
toring and evaluation. Georgian NGOs overall score was 26.3 out of 40, indicating that despite a number of successful advocacy campaigns, there is substantial room for improvement in the NGO community. For further information and to access the full report, visit our website www.ewmigpac.org.
G-PAC News
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Contact
EWMI - G-PAC #5 Marjanishvili St. Third Floor Tbilisi 0102 Georgia Tel (995 32) 202 444 Fax (995 32) 202 441 info@ewmi-gpac.org www.ewmi-gpac.org
To Kent and Michelle Logsdon. We are both delighted and saddened by the announcement of your new assignment. Thank you for the support, insights, and help you have provided us. Your keen wit and wisdom have positively impacted each of us. Best wishes, G-PAC Team
Policy, Advocacy and Civil Society Development in Georgia, on twitter.com/ewmi.gpac and our blog: ewmigpac.posterous.com.