Training and empowerment

Training & Empowerment vision is to train communities for resource mobilisation for self sustainability and also for creating livelihood opportunities by promoting social entrepreneurship and skill based training. Models in the past have been created with women groups in UP, Karnataka and the homeless community at Chennai.

iCONGO believes that the grassroots NGOs/ CBOs (Community based organisations) who actually implement the work should be empowered to reach out to potential supporters for resources thus ensuring low administration cost and effective utilisation of resources to bring in change for the community. Its simple, instead of giving funds to large big brand NGOs who keep a big percentage of the funds donated, its better to give directly to NGOs that actually implement the work at the grassroots level thus ensuring that at least 85 to 90% of the funds reach the community to address their cause and not the other way around as is happening with big brand NGOs. iCONGO has therefore been training the grassroots communities to raise resources efficiently and has conducted training programs for NGOs, CBOs, Tribal and Dalit groups in Orissa (Spandan organised by CCF-USA), Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh (Through Dalit Voluntary Association) and received an overwhelming response from the community.

Jerry Almeida the founder of iCONGO has also been training fundraisers at international and national fundraising conferences and congregations. The founder of iCONGO has also made exclusive presentations on the community issues in India to a Chinese Government delegation through VANI. He also delivered an exclusive dinner keynote address on development issues in India and creating sustainable livelihood to an international delegation at an AUSAID, NISIET and Australia India Council sponsored forum organised by Sanghamitra and Brisbane Institute of Strength based strategies. He has also delivered a keynote at the International Development Congress to students from 10 countries at an AIESEC organised forum.

iCONGO conducts these trainings for the communities at Zero cost and this is a part of the training and empowerment process to ensure that donors moneys are efficiently utilised in the long term. iCONGO is the first to embark on training grassroots communities for sustainable fundraising and mainstreaming their campaigns. iCONGO is now also consulting with CBCI- Catholic Bishops Convention of India, the apex body of all churches in India, and WOTR- Water Organisation Trustto empower the communities for mobilising their own resources and become self reliant.

iCONGO has also created a unique pedagogy model for training the youth from the poor and under served communities. This is in the form of ITEAM - Institutionalised training, employment, advancement of the marginalised. iCONGO has partnered with SNS Foundation of the prestigious and socially committed 5000 crore ANAND Automotive systems as the lead implementing managers for this project. This concept is co-owned by all companies, associations and NGOs who build a stake in the project. The idea is to create a blue and rust collared work force for retail outlets (like counter salespeople, cashiers and inventory officers), direct sales personnel for banks, telecom and other companies, housekeeping work force, security force. The unique part of this concept is that the skill based training is based on the process and criteria of large national and international companies we have associated with strategically, to provide employment to the work force.

Besides the blue and rust collared work force we are also planning to create a white collared work force with differently able communities in strategic alliance with NASSCOM foundation for the BPO sector.