Case Studies: Thai Holistic Health Foundation Forward Foundation Children Love the Birds

From raising resources via the Internet to developing small enterprises, civil society organizations in Thailand are looking to the future of resource mobilization, recognizing that locally based strategies are more sustainable in the long-term than relying on dwindling international support.

On January 19th, 2000, Ashoka's Citizen Base Initiative (CBI) honored seven organizations as leaders in their fields, not only for their contributions to social change, but for also embarking on the challenging and risky task of mobilizing resources locally.

This process describes an ability to creatively engage the resources in the local environment (i.e., funds, people, goods, and services) to support an organization and make it self-sustaining. Successful strategies engage a broad network of citizens and private and public sector institutions, emphasizing the integration of resource mobilization and constituency development.

At the January 19 press conference in Bangkok, Ashoka announced three winners of the 1999 Citizen Base Awards. These three organizations – the Thai Holistic Health Foundation, the Forward Foundation, and Children Love the Birds – received formal recognition from Ashoka, the Development Support Consortium, and members of the academic, business, and media communities.

The Citizen Base Awards – currently active in Brazil, Thailand, South Africa, and Bangladesh – spark and support a growing number of new, as well as tested, strategies for local resource mobilization by awarding the seed capital necessary to launch the idea. The 1999 Awards mark the second competition in Thailand since the program's inception.

In Thailand, award winners are evaluated each year, and have the potential for further investment – up to three years. In addition to honoring the 1999 Award winners, the January 19th event also honored the four 1998 award winners receiving the second investment in their projects – the Mirror Arts Group, NorthNet Foundation, the Foundation for Morality and Generosity, and the Young People's Development Center.

These Award winning strategies could not have come at a better time, says the founder of the Thai Holistic Health Foundation (THAIHOF), Rosana Tositrakul. "Traditional funding channels such as donor agencies are no longer strong fundraising sources [for NGOs in Thailand]. . . . THAIHOF was originally funded by these agencies," she reports, "but was warned 10 years ago that donor agencies would be moving out of Thailand. The agencies estimated that funding for NGOs in Thailand would be cut by 60-70 percent over the next few years."

But the transition from international to local resources is difficult. "Not many NGOs are thinking locally," reports Boonsom Namsomboon – founder of the Forward Foundation. "They've gotten used to support from foreign organizations. But most of these organizations are pulling out of Thailand because we're no longer considered a poor country. And most organizations have no idea how to start resource mobilization ideas. There are no examples."

As the three 1999 Award winners embark on their new strategies, they will provide momentum for the growing movement of local resource mobilization, as their success provides incentive and motivation to other organizations.

Already, the success of the 1998 Award winners is being documented in a collection of case studies for publication in Thailand. These case studies will expose other social change practitioners – those ready to join this growing movement – to new ideas, providing the strategies, challenges, and "lessons learned" necessary to be successful.

For more information on Ashoka's Citizen Base Initiative, the 1999 Thailand CBI Awards, or Thai publication of case studies, please contact CBI@ashoka.org.

Information concerning two of the 1998 Award winners can accessed directly through their Web sites:

The NorthNet Foundation The Mirror Arts Group

http://www.northnet.or.th http://www.thebangkok.com http://www.bannon.com

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