Masterclass for NGO Leaders 2025: “And, as always, we leave uplifted!”
And just like that, another Summer School changed the course of history – the program that has always been the closest to the hearts of our entire team.
From June 9 to 13, 2025, on the shores of Sozopol, we experienced five full days of learning, training, and bonding. Together with 16 inspiring individuals, the driving forces behind 14 bold civil society organizations, we nurtured our vision for stronger civic activism in Bulgaria. The NGO Summer School Masterclass provided essential guidance to each of the 16 participants on how to level up and unlock their full potential as inspiring NGO leaders.
“The Masterclass is a great opportunity to exchange experience with colleagues from the sector, beyond what is learned in the training itself. Valuable connections are built for the future. The idea of holding it in a place removed from our everyday life turned out to be more useful than I had imagined. Most of us were able to fully immerse ourselves in the location and the theme, leaving behind our work and daily concerns.”
– Feedback from a participant in the NGO Summer School Masterclass 2025
The feedback shared on the final day of the training showed us that the participants saw the training as 100% useful. All 16 people identified specific difficulties and challenges that the Masterclass had successfully addressed regarding strategic planning, strategic communication, and organizational resource management:
Amid the freshness of the sea waves and the warm embrace of the June sun, we searched for the source of our “powers” to do good, aiming to maximize our strengths and achieve greater impact from what we do.
“Often, in a surge of energy, we create plans for future development – the so-called ‘on-paper strategies’ that we never manage to implement. I realized how important it is to plan ahead in a focused and meaningful way. Together with my team, we will develop a strategy ‘in action’ to help us achieve our goals.”
– Feedback from a participant in the NGO Summer School Masterclass 2025
We analyzed the big picture by bursting the bubbles of illusion and stepping outside our comfort zones to critically examine the real environment in which we work.
“When you’re caught up in everyday tasks, you forget to leave yourself space to think about the bigger things and the broader picture. This reminder was incredibly useful to me.”
– Feedback from a participant in the NGO Summer School Masterclass 2025
We visualized the theory of change and mapped out the path toward impact assessment. We also drew a vital dose of inspiration that leads to transformative leadership in the NGO world, reflecting on the importance of good governance, organizational development, stakeholder engagement, and community building.
“As a project coordinator, I often face the need for a fuller and long-term view of organizational development – not just at the project level, but also regarding sustainability, expanding partnerships, and mobilizing resources. The training helped me better structure these elements by setting strategic goals linked to the real impact we want to achieve in the field of women’s rights and gender equality.”
– Feedback from a participant in the NGO Summer School Masterclass 2025
We shared the hard-earned lessons necessary for achieving financial sustainability. We delved into the logic behind internal policies and protocols for shared values and workplace rules – essential for staying true to our mission and avoiding disappointment, alienation, or even legal consequences.
“The most useful part for me was the session on internal policies. This turned out to be a frequently overlooked responsibility among the NGOs in our group, and some of the mandatory internal policies were a real surprise to me.”
– Feedback from a participant in the NGO Summer School Masterclass 2025
We journeyed across Europe, the Middle East, and beyond the ocean to trace the latest developments that are stifling civic space in order to find the right courses of action.
“BCNL, you are a wonderful team! Thank you for existing and for fighting so that we can exist too!”
– Feedback from a participant in the NGO Summer School Masterclass 2025
We trained in participating in TV debates to discover the secrets of impactful rhetoric and how to use it to our advantage. We also practiced the art of portraying the change we want others to embrace so we can more successfully counter populist messages.
“Yes, we need to focus more on communication grounded in hope and offering solutions that people find achievable. Even if those solutions are long-term, we must show small, accessible steps: how people can help (with money, time, effort), how they can work for the cause themselves, and even how they can fundraise for us.”
– Feedback from a participant in the NGO Summer School Masterclass 2025
Throughout the week, the participants also had a special mission to form a coalition of like-minded individuals and jointly develop concepts for advocacy campaigns in four different areas to defend democracy by proposing better conditions and environments for civil society organizations. The task wasn’t easy, but in the end, each team managed to present its superpower: thorough preparation, dialogue, adaptability, and layered solutions – the key ingredients for every advocacy meeting.
“The most useful part was the continuous brainstorming.”
– Feedback from a participant in the NGO Summer School Masterclass 2025
Special thanks go to our guest speakers who shared their inspirational stories and expertise and became a valuable part of the NGO Leaders Masterclass family: Boryana Dimitrova, Founder and Director of Alpha Research; Dr. Ivanka Shalapatova, public figure in the social sphere; Iva Doichinova, Senior Public Speaker Trainer at M3 College; Ivo Bosev, Director of Impact Assessment at the America for Bulgaria Foundation and Ekaterina Angelova, Impact Assessment Expert at the America for Bulgaria Foundation
“I am absolutely thrilled with the diversity and dynamism of the training program. The palette of lecturers was carefully selected, and the lecture topics were important and relevant to all of us, regardless of our causes’ focus.”
– Feedback from a participant in the NGO Summer School Masterclass 2025
We believe that shared leadership is one of the most successful strategies for effective collaborations and the growth of civic initiatives. And the Masterclass proved this once again.
“Thank you for the wonderful and valuable experience. For creating a sense of belonging to something greater and meaningful.”
– Feedback from a participant in the NGO Summer School Masterclass 2025
Fair winds and until we meet again!
The NGO Summer School Masterclass 2025 is made possible with the financial support of the America for Bulgaria Foundation.
