Paper short abstract:

This paper explores some of the creative ways that NGOs are evolving financially in the Caribbean, and asks whether these more novel modes of funding create more democratic, secure and equal relations or whether they reproduce forms of insecurity and powerlessness for NGOs.

Paper long abstract:

The financial landscape for development work in the Caribbean is changing. Middle-income country classifications, global financial trends and changing development priorities all make conventional donor driven sources of funding for development projects in the region harder for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to access.

Based on qualitative research in Barbados and Grenada this paper explores some of the creative ways that NGOs are responding to, negotiating and pre-empting the ongoing challenge of mobilising financial resources in this changing context. NGOs are engaging with the corporate sector, using social enterprise models of working and exploring virtual connections to maximize funding opportunities. These contemporary funding sources represent opportunities for sought-after independence and autonomy from established methods of development financing, but they also present ethical dilemmas for NGOs as they engage with systems that are often ideologically distinct from their own believes and values. This paper will explore the intricacies of some of these newer fiscal practices, and how NGOs are negotiating these tensions in their everyday work. Of particular importance are the new relationships that can be created through these more novel funding sources, especially with Diaspora groups, exemplifying the connection between social networks and financial stability.

The paper concludes by asking whether these newer modes of funding create more democratic, secure and equal relations or whether they reproduce forms of insecurity and powerlessness for NGOs.