Publicación en la que se comparte la  experiencia de trabajo  con organizaciones comunitarias.

The Ecumenical Fund to Support Small Projects started working in July 2001, amidst an important economic and social crisis in Argentina. The Fund seeks to strengthen initatives that foster solidarity between community groups and local churches.

Since its inception, the Fund has provided support to approximately 400 projects that benefited more than 40,000 people mainly in the urban and greater urban area of Buenos Aires.

The Creas Fund aims to:

Strengthen the capacities of the social organizations so that they are able to exercise their rights to fully transfrom poverty and inequality.

• Economic Support to: 

  • small projects that maximize local efforts and

  • strategic projects that may strengthen innovative social processes

• Technical Support to the  organizations to encourage their institutional development

• Networking and the exchange of experiences (different sectors and/ or issues) that have already been supported 

We work jointly with civil society organizations and local churches.  The project must benefit the organizations working in the main cities around the country and must also benefit those people living in poverty, marginalization or exclusion.

The iniatives supported center around women, children and the youth.

Continuous dialogue with the organizations allows us to accompany them in actions that impact directly on their communities and generate positive effects on people’s lives. There are several thematic areas that define the projects upon which the organizations base their fight against poverty and exclusion. In our methodology, these issues help us see more clearly not only the type of right that is promoted but also how the social and community mesh is strengthened when interrelated with other basic human rights.

• Community Development
  The right to participate in and contribute to the development of the different capacities in their communities

• Health
  The right to an adequate quality of life

• Education
  The right to comprehensive education

• Social Economy entrepreneurial ventures
  The right to dignified work

• Culture and recreation
  The right to access to a diverse cultural life

• The environment
  The right to preservation and to enjoy a healthy environment

• Gender and prevention of family violence
  The right to equality and to personal protection

• Social Participation
  The right to freedom and to social and political equality

• Networking and Exchange
  The right to set up and participate in collectively constructed forums

At the same time, the responsibility for managing, monitoring and evaluating the projects is shared with an Advisory Committee, composed by the team from the Creas Fund and by professional from different churches and well-known NGOs, with experience in social work and community activism.