The Tribune

KANOO, the digital wallet firm, is teaming up with several groups for a national survey of civil society organisations (CSOs).

The initiative is in partnership with The One Eleuthera Foundation (OEF), The Organization for Responsible Governance (ORG), Civil Society Bahamas, and Intel Cay.

Kanoo is matching donated funds to the group to offer $1,000 in “Kanoo dollars” prizes which will be raffled off among all civil society groups to complete the survey. The prizes will be given out at the conclusion of the survey.

The survey — launched in late 2021 to assess information about the impact of CSOs across The Bahamas — has received a good response, but the group wants to make sure all organisations are counted.

Data collection and survey research company Intel Cay has also doubled the number of people in its call centres to directly contact groups and assist them in completing it. The survey is also being disseminated via social media and the charities’ websites.

“According to a 2019 survey conducted by ORG measuring the size of the sector, our current survey has only gained the participation of approximately ten percent of the groups out there,” Intel Cay co-founders Keiran Chase and Queswell Ferguson said. “Our survey agents have been reaching out to these organisations and following up intently to make the participation process as easy as possible. As we continue, we look forward to assisting in creating new information that is needed to have well-informed discussions and yield effective results.”

Kanoo’s public relations and communications manager Scieska Adderley said the company’s decision to join the CSO survey initiative is part of the company’s overall mandate of giving Bahamians throughout the archipelago the “power to prosper”.

“We’ve recognised the need for help is great throughout The Bahamas, given the challenges we’ve experienced as a nation recently,” said Ms Adderley.

Mark Palmer, lead of OEF Social Enterprise Accelerator, said: “In order to find out how we can assist and strengthen the non-profit sector, it’s critical that we know who is doing what and where.”

He added that individual data will be kept confidential.

ORG executive director Matt Aubry said the survey is essential to ensuring the viability of the country’s civil society sector.

“Better understanding the sector offers a direct link to understanding the capacity of The Bahamas toward sustainable social and economic development,” he said.

The survey will continue throughout January. CSOs can access the survey on the Civil Society Bahamas website or www.intelcay.info/ CSOMAPPING2021.

Contact Mr Palmer at info@oneeleuthera.org with any questions. Private sector partners wishing to support this project can contact Mr Aubry at maubry@orgbahamas.com.