Approximately J$76 million in grant funding has been awarded to organizations that have participated in the Jamaica Business Development Corporation’s (JBDC) Tapping into Donor Funds Proposal Writing Workshops since November 2013.
Additionally, just over 200 individuals representing the Micro, Small and Medium-sized business sector, Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, as well as private sector entities and educational institutions have also benefitted from the comprehensive, results-oriented intervention which consists of a three-day workshop and a full post workshop programme involving coaching and mentoring.
Among the beneficiaries so far have been the Wigton Windfarm, Kimroy Bailey Foundation, Environmental Health Foundation, Environmental Solutions Limited, National Education Trust, Life Skills Consultancy & Publishing Services and UWI Consulting.
According to Lisa Taylor-Stone, Manager of the Project Management and Research Department at the JBDC, the Workshop was created as a solution to respond to the funding challenge affecting private and public sector entities. She noted that MSMEs as well as other developmental organizations and groups are particularly challenged by financial constraints, and the workshops have been designed specifically to provide strategic guidance on how to access available funding.
“The workshops aim to increase and enhance the capacity of participants to develop high-potential proposals to solicit assistance for business and developmental purposes,” she disclosed.
“Importantly, the intervention also includes input from local and international donor agencies that provide insight on the development of winning project proposals. Some of the components include: constructing winning proposals and avoiding proposal writing pitfalls, some of the elements that donors want to see in a proposal and getting the proposal title right,” she added.
Previous participating donor organizations include local agencies such as the Digicel Foundation, JN Foundation, NCB Foundation, Chase Fund and the Development Bank of Jamaica. International donor organizations who have given input include the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the British High Commission, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Foreign Affairs, Trade & Development Canada and the United Kingdom Department for International Development.
