Participants at the 4-day workshop last week at the Cascadia Hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Photo by Jerry A-Kum/ (CREP)

Last week, participants from all over the Caribbean arrived in Port of Spain, Trinidad, where they received four days of intensive training in writing grant proposals.

The workshop was designed to strengthen the capacity of NGOs to draft successful grant proposals and provide advice in developing feasible and quality proposals to gain funding for programs at the national, regional and international level, according to Jerry A-Kum, CREP’s Capacity Building Coordinator.

During the workshop, representatives of various NGOs learned about key components of proposals, the basics of proposal development and how to position their organization to be successful in the donor arena.

They also received guidance in strategizing proposals for enhanced funding, identifying research funding sources, persuading donors that a need for specific projects exist, and clearly stating goals to accomplish in a manner that won't be confused with activities they will do to achieve stated objectives.

A-Kum emphasized an important part of the curriculum focused on proving to potential donors that the project accomplished objectives stated within the proposal. 

According to the coordinator, the workshop was very fruitful and attended by representatives from Antigua & Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Suriname, St. Kitts & Nevis, Belize, Dominica, Jamaica and Grenada.