SIA: Reassurance in the midst of challenge

In November, representatives from the seven Burundian SIA Grant Partner organizations gathered in Bujumbura to network, share skills, and think outside the box in fundraising for their work. (See group photo below.)

These organizations aim to help people with disabilities find jobs, support youth in starting vegetable gardens, empower rural women to improve their financial security, and assist vulnerable individuals in accessing legal aid.

This year, with the funding landscape changing significantly, it’s more important than ever to get creative in terms of fundraising. It’s not just cuts from USAID that are forcing nonprofit organizations to close across Eastern Africa. Other international funders, like the European Union and some individual European countries, have also stopped aid programs or reduced the amounts they are able or willing to give.

Creative fundraising

Understandably, this leaves organizational leaders feeling anxious about the future of their work. The SIA gathering, with a man and a woman from each organization attending, provided space to talk through fears and strategize.

SIA African Advisory Board Member Mwibutsa Ndagijimanayiburundi led the group in a discussion about local fundraising efforts. This could be through petitions to local churches or hosting car washes, both of which can raise money and get the community more engaged in their work.

Some SIA Partners are diversifying their income through social enterprises. For instance, Forum pour la Mémoire Vigilante in Rwanda is launching a consulting business and promoting energy-efficient stoves to raise money for their charitable programs.

The reassurance of being there for the long haul

“Overall, the organizations are doing well within the current challenging situation, trying to both manage the anxiety in a creative way and also taking this as an opportunity to chart new funding routes and funding pathways,” Mwibutsa told the SIA Board on Saturday.

“To have Spirit in Action be there and not pulling out like other funders, this has been a sort of stability for the organizations. It’s good for the Board (and the donors) to know how reassuring it is to our partners to know that Spirit in Action is with the communities and will stick with them for the long run.”

Tanya visiting Tubunganire Women in Burundi in 2023.