A government scheme that subsidised non-governmental organisation salaries in Slovenia has helped to create 69 permanent jobs in the sector. The programme aimed to support the sustainable development and professionalisation of Slovenian NGOs, creating new and lasting employment opportunities.

After a public tender process, Government grants were provided for 100 NGO jobs. The salaries and overhead costs were covered for 12 months, with NGOs funding continuation of the roles thereafter. Reporting three months down the line – 15 months into the programme, the results showed that over two thirds (69) of the co-funded jobs had been sustained.

Writing in the Swiss journal, Sustainability, Livija Rojc Štremfelj MSc – founder and president of the Slovenian fundraising association Združenje ZRNO, Associate Professor Jana Žnidaršič PhD and Assistant Professor Miha Marič PhD, assessed the effectiveness of the co-funding scheme in creating sustainable employment.

The researchers hailed the scheme a success, while highlighting the continued need to raise employment rates within the NGO sector, which stood at 0.82% in 2018 compared to an EU state average of 4.18%. Bearing in mind that the large majority (84.6%) of the retained jobs were filled by those who were previously employed within the sector, the research team emphasises that the challenge remains to boost the rate of NGO employment nationally.

Rojc Štremfelj says:

“While Slovenia lags behind its European counterparts in terms of NGO employment, the results of this study are extremely promising. They prove the suitability of the state’s first promotion of NGO employment in overhead professions, particularly when it comes to leadership roles.

“The majority of NGOs in the programme retained employees recruited for leadership positions and it is clear that state funding was crucial for these. Namely, the leaders play a key role in setting strategic goals and strategy implementation. Plus, they also play a challenging role in developing different monetary and non-monetary rewards and initiatives that boost the intrinsic motivation of employees.”

The Slovenian government’s development strategy to support NGOs and volunteering was brought in as part of the NGO Act in 2018 and have been widely welcomed by NGOs.

Playground: Play to Effectively Run your Organisation is written by Livija Rojc Štremfelj, president of the Slovenian fundraising association Združenje ZRNO, who has 20 years of experience in both Slovenian and international non-profit organisations.

A fun look at leadership and management for both new starters and experienced leaders, it uses gamification to capture the reader’s imagination, using a playground as a memory palace.

The playground is the metaphor for the organisation itself, with 14 commonly found elements representing key areas of focus for anyone leading a non-profit organisation. These include: mission, represented by a climbing wall; creativity and ideas, represented by a sandbox; budget, represented by hopscotch; and fundraising, represented by the metaphor of a Tibetan bridge. As the reader works their way through the book, they travel through these 14 areas, interwoven with a discussion of good practices and experiences gained during the author’s 20 years in the sector.

Rojc Štremfelj chose the technique to help managers, especially keen rookie volunteer leaders, to remember what they have to pay attention to within their organisation in order to lead it better. Training sessions for NGO leaders, based on the book, are currently being prepared and will be held throughout Slovenia from October onwards.

Rojc Štremfelj commented:

“After observing the Slovenian NGO sector for 20 years and finding out that in that period the employment rate in NGOs has not risen significantly, despite the need for our work growing, I decided to make a funny, appealing, colourful guidebook for all those who want to understand the sector better and learn to be better leaders. When I read research that people learn better if metaphors of familiar places are used and then more research about the effectiveness of the memory palace method, the idea struck me to put them together. The Playground is a map of what is going on and GPS for those who want to travel further.”

Excerpt:

Tibetan bridge

The Tibetan bridge, especially its use, reminds us of fundraising. We have to be persistent, we progress step by step, and many times we have to rebalance and hold on to the fence, so we don’t slip or fall.

The Tibetan bridge is a metaphor for balance training, which is important in non-profit organisations. Our progress has to be constant and planned long-term. The chains are heavy, which reminds us of the challenges of the business we are in. The connecting pieces between the fence and the chains have to be very firm, so think about what your protecting fence is going to be. Is it funds from other sources, under-utilised potential within your organisation, powerful board members or maybe knowledge and a strong will to fulfil your mission? The last is the most important and strongest safeguard.

Playground is available for €20 here.

The new NGO Act introduces a uniform definition of non-governmental organisations, enabling them all to enjoy ‘public benefit’ status, providing greater clarity and a more level playing field for the sector.

The Act, which came into force last month, also defines the roles of different public bodies responsible for providing an enabling environment for NGOs. The onus now lies with government to create strategies for the development of the NGO sector in Slovenia.

The NGO fund was written into the Act in response to a successful lobbying drive by the Association of Friends of Youth, CNVOS and Slovenian Philanthropy, supported by 200 charitable organisations. It will see un-distributed funds from the nation’s income tax donation scheme allocated towards developing the sector. The fund will be managed by the Ministry of Public Administration, who will distribute an estimated €4-5million to Slovenian NGOs annually.

Commenting on the new fund, Livija Rojc Štremfelj, president of Slovenian fundraising association ZRNO said:

“This is a big step forward for all Slovenian NGOs. The NGO Act helps ensure all organisations that work for public benefit are defined in this way and treated equally. As a sector, we are working hard to build employment and attract volunteers. The new fund enables organisations to apply for funding that will strengthen and develop their programmes and core operations, providing better for both their beneficiaries and employees.”