On September 22 and 24, nearly 60 members of national, diocesan and parish teams participated in the Sustainability and Resource Mobilization Workshops for our Cáritas, a virtual space aimed at strengthening capacities and sharing tools in the face of current challenges of institutional sustainability.

The meetings were facilitated by Raúl Maza Hernández, specialist in international cooperation, sustainability and resource mobilization, with more than 15 years of experience in the field. strengthening civil society organizations.

New trends in international cooperation

During the first day, new trends in international cooperation and the changes that are transforming the ways of accessing resources and building alliances were addressed. Based on data, examples and concrete experiences, we reflected on the need to understand these new scenarios and strengthen institutional capacities to respond to them.

The second day had a particularly practical approach, focused on how to build a map of donors and allies. Tools were shared to identify, organize and prioritize potential allies and funding sources, as well as platforms and sources of information that can facilitate the search for new cooperation opportunities.

Jaime Núñez, from Cáritas Nacional of Honduras, highlighted the possibilities that artificial intelligence offers in this field. greater impact for communities.

Institutional story and impact narrative

The workshops also highlighted the importance of having a clear institutional story and a “pitch” capable of communicating in a brief and convincing way who we are, what we do and what transformation we seek to generate. The mobilization of resources was understood not as an isolated action, but as a process that requires planning, building links, knowledge of the environment and sustained work.

From the parish reality, Alirio Asuaje, pastoral agent of Cáritas Santa Rosa de Lima, Venezuela, valued the dynamic and concrete nature of the meetings and the possibilities of expanding the search for people and allies willing to collaborate with those who need it most. He also pointed out the challenges faced by many parish Caritas, which do not have legal personality and depend on the time that their members volunteer, which makes organization, management and planning tasks difficult. In this sense, he highlighted the importance of sharing what he has learned with his Cáritas Diocesana and strengthening joint work.

The initiative, promoted by the Regional Secretariat of Cáritas Latin America and the Caribbean (SELACC) with the support of Cáritas Alemana, is part of the path of institutional strengthening of the Cáritas of the region and a view of sustainability closely linked to our mission: strengthening our organizations to sustain over time the service to the people and communities we accompany.