PeaceNexus supported PBI in its efforts to achieve greater financial sustainability and clarify its governance.
The Partner
Peace Brigades International (PBI) is a non-governmental organization founded in 1981 that provides protection and supports individuals, communities, movements and organsiations that defend human rights through protective physical accompaniment, international observation, advocacy efforts, awareness raising, and capacity sharing.
Our Support
The original objective of the partnership was to diversify and strengthen its fundraising to ensure the organisation’s financial sustainability while remaining aligned with its strong values.
The support started with a review of PBI’s fundraising practices and lessons learned which informed a number of recommendations and interventions, such as:
- The development of an organisation-wide Monitoring and Evaluation system, with the training of staff on how to keep it updated.
- An updating of PBI’s Ethical Fundraising policy.
- The development of a Fundraising Toolkit and the piloting of new fundraising strategies by different entities, such as event-based or legacy-focused fundraising.
- The development of a global external communication strategy and internal guidelines.
- The improvement of knowledge and information sharing across the organisation.
- The training of staff and national board in fundraising and financial literacy.
The process went on to help PBI clarify roles and responsibilities within its governance system.
The Results
- The setting up of an organisation-wide Monitoring and Evaluation system that enabled the collection of quarterly results across PBI’s national entities.
- A clarification and increased coordination of the organisation’s fundraising and communication efforts, with a strengthening of its International Office.
- The development of a Global Strategic Plan for the period 2018-23 (without PN funds) which included an internal strengthening component.
- The adoption at the 2021 PBI General Assembly of updated mandates and by-laws of its two main governing bodies as well as a rewording of the organisation’s mandate and core principles.
Five years after the closing of the OD process, PBI is in a much more stable financial position, with the obtention of a multi-year core grant. Guided by its latest strategy, it continues to invest in the same OD priorities, in particular the further development of its Monitoring and Evaluation system to capture aggregate impact, a strengthening of its global fundraising and communication efforts and the good coordination of its governance bodies.