Supported by a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Counterpart Consortium's Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Support Initiative for Central Asia fosters the creation of democratic and sustainable indigenous NGOs able to express citizens' interests, provide services to vulnerable groups in the population, and work in sectors critical to the economic, political and social development of the region.



PROGRAM



The Counterpart Consortium in Central Asia is active in many programs:



* training indigenous NGOs on critical topics in non-profit management, with a focus on effectiveness and sustainability;

* promoting and facilitating information exchange and partnerships among local NGOs and with international organizations;

* offering a number of different small grant programs to qualified Central Asian NGOs, which consist of the following elements:

o Seed Grants: providing Central Asian NGOs who meet eligibility criteria with grants of up to $15,000 per NGO, to finance membership development, essential furnishings and supplies; specialized advisory services, modest communications, limited management support and project implementation;

o Partnership Grants: providing up to $25,000 to Central Asian partners for the purpose of strengthening their ability to serve their members and beneficiaries in a sustainable way;

o Corporate Challenge Grants: providing an incentive for corporate support of the NGO sector to match USAID funding of local NGO projects on a 50-50 basis up to a maximum of $10,000 per project.