Success Stories

Environment Tobago is an environmental nongovernmental organization (NGO), established in 1999 and registered under the Trinidad and Tobago Companies Act of 1995. As a proactive advocacy group, Environment Tobago rallies the public to engage in environmental stewardship, conservation, and sustainable development. The organization has over 100 registered members, managed by an elected board of directors, three salaried staff members, one on-the-job trainee expected to join the team soon, and occasional volunteers. Most of its fieldwork is accomplished by volunteers and members.
I Am One is an organization that helps provide education, safe spaces, and expressive platforms to help empower the marginalized lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (or allies) (LGBTQIA) community in Trinidad and Tobago. Since 2015, I Am One has worked tirelessly to support the LGBTQIA community via many outreach efforts and interventions. Despite the organization’s efforts, its capacity has fluctuated over the years. During 2018, it was apparent to the organization’s leaders that the sustainability of I Am One was at a crossroads and that they were in dire need of guidance.
Starting July 10, 2018, USAID Local Capacity for Local Solutions and the Caribbean Policy Development Centre in Barbados led a week-long advocacy workshop in Guyana. Geared toward regional nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), its purpose was to share technical skills and practical training on key advocacy principles. The workshop covered proposal writing, policy development, media engagement, finance, and research. The NGOs selected to attend encompassed a diverse set of mandates comprising lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) issues; HIV/AIDS; the environment; and youth and citizen security.
Now in its 10th year as a registered nonprofit, the Advancement for Children Foundation (ACF) of St. Kitts & Nevis has served as a grantmaking organization and has supported the projects of community-based organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). These projects are addressing challenges in the following three areas: social protection, opportunities and diversionary programs, and skills training for empowerment and employment. All along, ACF has had well-intentioned goals, an organized governance structure, and local funding. However, ACF lacked the capacity to remain sustainable. The organization’s leaders knew that ACF needed make some changes, but they were uncertain how to proceed.
In June 2018, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) Local Capacity for Local Solutions (LC4LS) project sponsored a scholarship for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to enroll in an NGO Management course (offered by the University of West Indies Open Campus) for leaders of organizations in the region. Among the attendees was Ms. Sheddona Richards, who has been a volunteer for several years with the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN) organization in Grenada.
Christaneisha Soleyn, is the recipient of the 1st place prize for successfully completing the NGO Link Pilot- User Feedback Survey. She has received a scholarship to attend an upcoming Capacity Development Workshop: Monitoring and Evaluation. This scholarship is inclusive of: training materials, airfare, accommodation and per diem.
Moreno Jackson is the recipient of our 2nd place prize for successfully completing the NGO Link Pilot- User Feedback Survey. He has won a laptop computer with the value of $750 USD. Mr. Jackson was born in Paramaribo, Suriname, in 1990. He received a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the ADEK University, Paramaribo, Suriname, in 2013, and his MBA in Innovation and Technology from the Poly-Technical Institute of Suriname in collaboration with the University of Twente, the Netherlands in 2017.
Dr. Ashley C John is the recipient of the 3rd place prize for successfully completing the NGO Link Pilot- User Feedback Survey. His prize will include the purchase of the 2019 QuickBooks Accounting Software Package. Dr. John is a social entrepreneur with experience in managing sustainable development programs and projects. Additionally, he has also worked for many years in the Corporate, Public and Private Sector respectively.
Antioch Baptist Church was founded in St. Kitts in 1963 with a mission to inspire and celebrate social change led by and for young people through a multifaceted approach. Throughout its history the church has been a catalyst for social change in its community. The church has developed a number of social programmes which cater to the young members of the community between the ages of 10—25 years old. The programmes focus on skills development, interpersonal relationships, conflict resolution and decision making.
Jabez House has been a haven of hope and empowerment for female sex workers for nearly a decade. The organisation primarily focuses on facilitating sex workers’ transition by providing access to alternative economic empowerment activities. One of the challenges Jabez house faced was that existing grant opportunities have always targeted beneficiary populations but have never really focused on building the internal capacity of the organisation. When the opportunity for organizational strengthening was presented through th LCLS project, Director, Shamelle Rice immediately applied for technical support..
With its origins in Guyana’s local carnival, SOCDA initially began as a forum to address issues experienced at the community level. With the thinking that more could be done and a greater impact made, the platform grew into an organisation with the main aim of using education and youth empowerment as avenues and mechanisms to overcome poverty and to push citizen security to overcome crime and violence.
Drama Making A Difference (DMAD) is a Trinidadian non-profit grass roots organization which utilizes the literary and performing arts as advocacy and teaching tools around several issues. The organization specializes in grassroots education campaigns and arts-based interventions for children and youth to tackle such issues as youth violence, social justice and gender equality.

Lincoln Connor

Antioch Baptist Church
St. Kitts & Nevis
Participant at the Leadership Workshop
Grant Recipient

Christopher Edwards

GrenChap
Grenada
Participant at the Leadership Workshop
Grant recipient

Caressa Henry

National Coordinating Coalition (NCC)
Guyana
Participant at the Monitoring and Evaluation Workshop

Chelsea Foster

Girls of a Feather
St. Lucia
Participant at the Monitoring and Evaluation Workshop