Master Class of the Summer School for NGO 2025
Join the school for a new generation of CSO leaders. Apply by May 12, 2025
What is the Master Class for NGO leaders?
Building influential and sustainable organizations requires strong leadership, strategic thinking, and vision. At the Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law, we know how much it costs to be a civic leader in Bulgaria. And investing in knowledge and developing management skills is essential to the growth of any team.
The Master Class of the Summer School for NGO is a 5-day intensive training course where we bring together our 24 years of professional experience and network of respected experts to help every NGO leader grow their super powers.
The second edition of the Master Class of the Summer School for NGO will be held from 9 to 13 June 2025 near Sozopol.
>> APPLICATION FORM <<
Deadline for applications: May 12 (inclusive), 2025
“The fact that the topics were presented by different speakers with expertise in different fields, including those outside the civil sector, was very useful, as was the opportunity to learn from colleagues during the role plays and practice”, feedback of a participant in the Master Class of the Summer School for NGO 2024
Why is it important to participate?
The training program will unleash your leadership potential to transform your organization into:
- Sustainable: a learning organization with a strategic plan and a motivated team.
- Independent: financially stable, with clear policies and professional standards.
- Influential: with a voice that is heard and a clear vision.
Therefore, the topics that will be the focus of the training program are aligned with the needs of today’s leaders of civic activism:
Strategic advocacy
NGO strategic planning and strategic action
Campaigning to mobilize public support
Financial planning and financial sustainability
Contracting publicly funded services
Human resource management
Internal policies and standards for good governance
Up-to-date citizen participation tools for social impact
Countering contemporary forms of limiting citizen activism
Public speech and compelling rhetoric
Assessing the impact of NGO work
Training program for developing advocacy strategies
And we won’t forget the most important thing – having fun and dreaming together like any other friendly community of like-minded people. To strengthen the bonds of trust and the environment for collaborations between activists.
“Wonderful and fascinating selection”, feedback of a participant in the Master Class of the Summer School for NGO 2024
The Master Class trainers will again be proven professionals with extensive experience in the fields of sociology, journalism, project evaluation and impact. The lecture team will also include long-term legal, financial and communication experts from the Bulgarian Center for Not-for-Profit Law.
Boryana Dimitrova is a sociologist, Doctor of Philosophy, university lecturer and director of the social and marketing research agency “Alpha Research”. She graduated in sociology from Sofia University and specialized in France and at Yale University in the USA. She works in the field of sociology of politics and public opinion, with over 100 projects supervised. She is a member of ESOMAR, BAMOR, as well as the boards of IME, BCNL and the Institute for the Study of the Recent Past.
Iva Doychinova is a radio and TV journalist and has been training people in behavior in front of a microphone and camera for more than 15 years as part of her work as a journalist. She steps into the role of a trainer in public speaking and behavior for everyone because she believes that 85% of the success of our work is communication, the remaining 15% are skills. She leads the courses “Speak like a true leader” for people who lead teams and processes, speak in front of an audience, appear in the media or want to become among the most preferred interlocutors.
Ivo Bosev is the Director of Impact Assessment at the America for Bulgaria Foundation and a sociologist with over 15 years of experience in the field of social research. The main mission of the team he leads is to support the foundation’s grantmaking activities through data-driven analysis. He has participated in the implementation of over 65 field studies in the fields of education, business, civil society, media and tourism and is an active advocate for the strengthening of democratic institutions in Bulgaria.
Ekaterina Angelova has been part of the Impact Assessment Team of the America for Bulgaria Foundation since 2022. She previously worked as a fund coordinator at a British charity and as an intern at the European Commission. In her free time, she writes poetry and organizes high-altitude cleanups as part of the Clean the Mountains campaign. She has recently become a member of the Board of Directors of a mountaineering club.
“Experienced professionals with great presentation skills who shared valuable practices, case studies and resources. Many thanks to all of them!”, feedback of a participant in the Master Class of the Summer School for NGO 2024
What are the eligibility requirements?
When applying for the Master Class, you need to fulfill the following conditions:
- Currently lead or manage projects (at least 2 long-term projects) of an association or foundation (as a manager/director/chair or program director/project manager)
- Have at least 2 years of experience in running an association or foundation, respectively in project management.
- Be able to attend the entire 5-day training course (9-13 June 2025).
What is important to know?
- You can apply for the Master Class by filling the online form.
- The participation fee* for the training is 200 BGN.
- The costs of accommodation**(in a double room from 9 to 13 June 2025), meals, coffee breaks, training materials and training course, are covered by the organizer.
- Transport costs are at the expense of the participant.
- Places are limited to 20 participants.
- Application deadline: 12 May 2025, inclusive
*The participation fee is equal to 20% of the training cost for one person. The rest, which covers the cost of accommodation (in a double room from 9 to 13 June 2025), meals, coffee breaks, training materials and the training course, is provided by a BCNL project supported by the America for Bulgaria Foundation.
**Single room accommodation – If the participant explicitly requests accommodation in a single room and if there is such an opportunity, the participant will be accommodated upon payment of an additional price of 97.60 BGN. The price is paid in the hotel after arrival.
You have questions?
If you have any questions regarding the application or the training course, you can contact us by email: aylin@bcnl.org or by phone: (+359) 88 851 99 91, contact person: Aylin Yumerova, BCNL.
The Master Class of the Summer School for NGO 2025 is supported by the America for Bulgaria Foundation
