Community Chest of Korea Holds "Everyone's Contest" Capacity Building Camp to Support Small Organizations

Scenes from the "Everyone's Contest" Capacity Building Camp held for two days from the 12th to the 13th at Hotel Marina Bay Seoul. Community Chest of Korea

The Community Chest of Korea, chaired by Kim Byungjun, announced on September 15 that it held the "Everyone's Contest" Capacity Building Camp, an incubator-style contest program designed to support the sustainable growth of small nonprofit organizations and groups, for two days from September 12 to 13 at Hotel Marina Bay Seoul.

The "Everyone's Contest" initiative is a new contest paradigm jointly planned by the 10.27 Korean Church United Worship, the Community Chest of Korea, and the Together Working Foundation, with the aim of supporting small nonprofit organizations and groups that have quietly devoted themselves to challenging social welfare environments. The program seeks to provide new opportunities to small organizations and groups that lack manpower and resources but demonstrate genuine commitment.

Unlike existing contest programs, which required the submission of more than ten documents, the paperwork has been dramatically simplified to just three documents, excluding the organization introduction. This has greatly improved accessibility and ensured participation opportunities for small nonprofit organizations and groups with four or fewer full-time staff or with total annual revenue of less than 200 million won in the previous fiscal year, who were previously marginalized due to a lack of competitiveness in traditional contests.

Moving away from document-centric evaluations, a selection system was established to assess the authenticity and potential of organizations. From August 1 to September 2, thirteen experts and about twenty staff members conducted on-site evaluations of organizations that passed the document screening stage. During this camp, customized incubating support was provided to the sixty initially selected organizations, tailored to their respective levels and needs, to help them prepare for the final presentation review.

Scenes from the "Everyone's Contest" Capacity Building Camp held for two days from the 12th to the 13th at Hotel Marina Bay Seoul. Community Chest of Korea

The camp included a business plan workshop, capacity building for business budgeting and settlement planning, a special lecture on communication to improve presentation skills, and group discussions by social welfare sector. These components were designed to help small nonprofit organizations and groups lower the barriers to entry for contest programs and build practical capabilities.

Kim Byungjun, Chairman of the Community Chest of Korea, stated, "I hope that strengthening the capacity of small organizations will lead to improved welfare for vulnerable groups in local communities," adding, "The Community Chest of Korea will continue to listen to voices from the field and strive to drive positive change in our society."

After the "Everyone's Contest" Capacity Building Camp, a total of 150 million won in project funding (for up to three years, with a maximum of 50 million won per year) will be provided to forty organizations that pass the final presentation review. This unprecedented funding scale includes personnel and operating expenses (up to 50% of the grant amount), allowing small nonprofit organizations and groups to focus on stable growth.

The twenty organizations that unfortunately did not pass will also receive ongoing capacity-building education and mentoring support so they can grow together. Among the organizations that complete this process, outstanding organizations may receive an additional 50 million won in project funding per year in the second and third years.