Change the Game Academy Green launched: free courses on local fundraising

This summer, civil society organisations from the Green Livelihoods Alliance (GLA), working on nature conservation, participated in a dynamic series of courses on local fundraising and mobilising support, led by the Change the Game Academy. The course on local fundraising is now available to follow online, with the course on mobilising support following soon. As one participant in the Change the Game Academy Green course shared: ‘I really feel I gained additional knowledge in fundraising that will be beneficial in our livelihood and environmental projects.’ 

Header photo: training on local fundraising and mobilising support in Sumpur Kudus, Indonesia, Indonesia. © KKI Warsi

The Change the Game Academy (CtGA) methodology was tailored by the Strengthen the Roots consortium (Natura Bolivia, WARSI, A Rocha Ghana, WACSI, IUCN NL and Wilde Ganzen) to the specific needs of small community organisations working on the sustainable management of natural resources. The consortium contextualised and piloted the course in the field (2023-2025) and based on their input and experiences the Change the Game Academy Green course was developed. The ‘CtGA Green’ online course was then piloted with GLA partners between May and July 2025. 

Change the Game Academy Green: building independence and sustainability for small conservation organisations

Funding for non-profit organisations is under increasing pressure. While governments and philanthropic institutions have traditionally played a central role in supporting nature conservation, many are now scaling back their involvement. At the same time, there is a growing awareness that bottom-up, locally-led conservation ensures environmental justice and is a stronger foundation for long-term conservation. Moreover, the challenges facing conservation efforts around the world remain as urgent as ever. In this shifting landscape, local fundraising and mobilising support are becoming vital strategies for ensuring the long-term sustainability of grassroots organisations that work for nature conservation. This way, community-based organisations (CBOs) previously supported by civil society organisations (CSOs) or NGOs become more independent, allowing the latter to attend to other CBOs and strengthening the entire organisational landscape. 

The Change the Game Academy Green course on local fundraising is designed to equip participants with practical knowledge and tools to make use of diverse fundraising opportunities. Participants learn skills such as proposal writing, effective fundraising communication, how to maintain strong relations with donors, and more. In the course on mobilising support, participants learn how to get more support and commitment from stakeholders and decision makers and gain a broad understanding of all key aspects of lobby and advocacy. The course also discusses social accountability, strategic communication skills, and analysing methods to better understand your organisation’s context. 

Experiences from the field: what can you gain from the courses?

Hendrio Putra participated in classroom trainings on both local fundraising and mobilising support, organised by KKI Warsi under the Strengthen the Roots programme. Putra is the head of the Village Forest Management Group, a community-based organisation, in the village of Sirukam in West Sumatra, Indonesia. ‘We participated in this training because we felt the need to improve our capacity in gaining support from various stakeholders,’ says Putra. ‘Firstly, to address the issues faced by our group in managing natural resources; secondly, to strengthen relationships and support through collaborations. Through this training, we learned fundraising techniques such as proposal writing, negotiation, and how to do a presentation in front of stakeholders in a way that convinces them to support our initiatives.’ 

Putra sees a direct impact from the training. ‘For instance, we received support from the customary leadership council (Ninik Mamak) for zoning activities and boundary sign installation. In addition, the Watershed Management Centre of Agam Kuantan provided us with 1,000 seedlings including mahogany, pinang, coffee, and avocado. Our hope for the future is that the Village Forest Management Group of Sirukam can continue to receive support from various stakeholders and become an independent and sustainable community.’ 

Next to classroom sessions with trained facilitators, the CtGA courses can be followed at any time and without cost through the website of Change the Game Academy (link below). You just have to set up an account and register for the training that you would like to follow.

The fundraising training is engaging, informative, impactful and equips the trainee with actionable strategies. I really gained additional knowledge in fundraising that will be beneficial in our livelihood and environmental projects.

-GLA member who participated in Change the Game Green

The importance of strong communities for conservation

Worldwide, millions of people directly depend on the landscapes they live in for their income, food and water. These landscapes are under increasing pressure, for example due to the growing demand for resources. Local communities who want to combat the loss of their land and overexploitation of natural resources are uniting in small organisations that strive for locally-led governance of their territory and the establishment of sustainable community enterprises. With Strengthen the Roots (2022-2025), these small organisations were encouraged to raise funds locally and gain support from other stakeholders in the landscape, such as local governments, religious institutions and the private sector. 

‘The skills for local fund-raising and mobilising support that can be acquired through the Change the Game Academy Green are very relevant and practical,’ says Evelien van den Broek, senior expert environmental justice who worked on the Strengthen the Roots project. ‘Under Strenghen the Roots, KKI Warsi, A Rocha Ghana and Natura Bolivia directly supported CBOs and small local CSOs by providing flexible funding for their projects, something that is rarely allowed or possible in most international development programmes. Based on the trainings, the CBOs and CSOs carried out problem and solution analyses, stakeholder analyses, and composed action plans. The CBOs then organised activities such as direct meetings, negotiations, proposals and courtesy visits to obtain support for their cause.’ 

Strengthen the Roots

Strengthen the Roots is a partnership between A Rocha Ghana, IUCN NL, Natura Bolivia, WACSI, WARSI and Wilde Ganzen that aims to strengthen local communities and their organisations that stand up for nature in and around their communities, enabling them to mobilise local support for their work. This way, Strengthen the Roots works on nature conservation that is not performed top-down, but is driven by the collective strength of community organisations.  The project is made possible thanks to a financial donation of the Dutch National Postcode Lottery.