Building an Inclusive Resilient Democratic Society in Bulgaria (BIRDS in BG)

The project invests in the sustainability of civil organizations. Its purpose is to strengthen and develop the non-governmental sector through strategic and long-term financing and capacity building, developed on the basis of studies of the specific needs of small and local non-governmental organizations in Bulgaria, which work for social change, defend human rights, democracy, the rule of law and European values.  
BGN 1,025,168 or nearly 20% of the initiative's total budget of over BGN 5.5 million will be invested in activities aimed at increasing the capacity of civil organizations in Bulgaria. The capacity programs were jointly developed by the Bulgarian Center for Non-Profit Law and the Impact Drive Foundation. 

The initiative supports the efforts of the NGO sector to interact with the state and local administration in the protection of specific civil causes, will allow the funded organizations to achieve a higher level of institutional and financial independence and develop an organizational culture for strategic planning of their activities, as well as capacity to attract more and diversified financial resources. 

The project is implemented jointly by the Bulgarian Women's Fund (BWF), the Bulgarian Center for Non-Profit Law (BCNP) and the Impact Drive Foundation (IDF) and will continue until January 2026. 

Activities in the  foundation's Impact Drive capacity-building portfolio focus on two strands - Impact Hub and Values in Action (training and experience exchange meetings). The two directions complement each other and aim to develop the potential of professionals in organizations and their internal resources and processes for more sustainable, effective and impactful strategic and operational activity and at the same time to increase the competences of professionals from the civil sector, to understand, operate, develop and transmit the EU's founding values to the communities they work with. 

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Impact HUB 
 

It includes a series of trainings, consultancy and mentoring support that follow the BIRDs in BG funding process and aim to provide the right support, at the right time, to professionals in the civil sector. The hub focuses on the ability of civil society organizations to offer solutions, new ideas and approaches to contemporary societal problems. 

The hub also aims to ensure sustainable and flexible work of civil organizations in the ever-changing environment and to provide their professionals with the necessary knowledge and skills for effective and impactful work. In this way, the long-term sustainability of GO will be guaranteed. The Hub task will be aimed at more mature organizations or those in transition. 

It combines training activities, consulting and mentoring support, built on an individual approach to the participants and cooperation between them. 

The approaches used in Impact Hub will allow us to build a full circle of support, synchronized with the application process and implementation of the projects in the program, based on the real needs of the organizations. 

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Values in action: the power of civic organizations
 

In this line of our work, we aim for practitioners and activists in civil circles not only to know and follow the core values of the EU such as respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, but also to develop them in a conscious set of programs and actions in their work with their communities. Based on the trainings, a network of practitioners will be built and maintained for constant exchange of ideas and opportunities for cooperation. 

In addition, we will organize regular half-day networking events. In this way, we aim to provide means for better interaction between civil society organizations, their teams and colleagues, and the stakeholders they work with (learning and academic communities, public institutions, business and the general public)._cc781905-5cde -3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_

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Follow our current capacity building activities: 

https://www.impactdrive.eu/idf-events 
 

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