Throughout the course of the Participatory Grantmaking project, the FiPR team has been putting the name “Learning to Listen” into action by carefully listening to what our grantees are doing and meeting with them in one on one sessions called Charging Stations. A concept we used to establish a space with grantees to recharge about their accomplishments, impacts, challenges and the progress of their projects, Charging Stations have proved to be an essential part. The groups were divided into four themes: Environment, Community Education, Fiscal Education and Governance, all with the same focus: involving communities and community leaders in the development of projects to address existing needs. These meetings have allowed us to exchange dialogues and identify ways to integrate and share knowledge between the participating organizations. Also, to see how the grantees have overcome challenges and have been able to move forward and impact the communities they serve since receiving the grant.

The Charging Stations have provided invaluable input in the process of creating the Learning To Listen Toolkit, which you can expect very soon. Stay tuned!