DANKO

Since its foundation in 1996, DANKO began to carry out interactive training programmes for studying the bases of nonprofit management for managers and NGO active workers in Vladimir. Every year 25-30 training workshops on various subjects (organizational development, designing, fundraising, social partnership, management of human resources, financial management, strategic planning) and in different levels (basic and advanced ones) are carried out. Rendering designing workshops for solving different problems of local communities is a new service. DANKO monitors professional level increasing for the workshop participants. Together with NGO wishes, it forms the structure and design basis of training programs. This activity of the Association remains unique in the regional market of educational services.

DANKО renders a set of consulting services, that is why it has involved highly competent managers from the nonprofit sector. Having taught them effective consulting techniques, DANKO organized a consulting agency for NGО which offers both individual and group, basic and advanced, single and programme consultations nearly on all questions of NGO creation and effective development (law, taxation, bookkeeping, organizational development, etc.). About 1,500 advice hours are given every year.

DANKO provides cooperation with local authorities. On DANKO's initiative, the NGO Interaction Council under the supervision of the city mayor was created. The Council consists of the authority representatives, City Council deputies and NGО, who work on a par. On behalf of NGO, DANKO plays the role of the Council's working body, prepares questions, projects of the municipal decisions on questions directly concerning NGО.

At City Hall's and City Council's requests, DANKO carries out training workshops (including designing ones) for municipal employees and Council deputies on urgent problems of social partnership and social policy.

DANKO takes part in organizing and carrying out public hearings on urgent problems of social policy, participates in their analysing and solving.

DANKO provides information support on the nonprofit sector's activity. The Social information agency DANKO-Vladimir consists of the journalists who write about civil initiatives. All information appears in the news bloc on DANKO's web-site, in the federal news issue ASI, in local newspapers and on radio stations.

DANKO initiates and conducts by itself social researches on problems of implementing social policy and the nonprofit sector development. In 2000, for instance, it conducted a large social research to find out whether the city dwellers are ready to personally participate in designing and implementing projects to solve city problems. The research materials are available on DANKO's Russian web-site.