Each of us has a dream that is extremely important for ourselves and for those who surround us. The Creative Center dream is a strong civil society, capable to grow and to change, to uphold and to win, to think and to care about everyone and all together. And we are sure the way it will be like essentially depends on us as well as the fate of our country, Ukraine does. Grand plans and high dreams are yet to come, and we do believe that we will be of much use to our Ukraine.

Lyubov Palyvoda, Counterpart Creative Center President and Founder

 

Counterpart Creative Center history begins in 1993, when a program of the American "Counterpart International, Inc." was introduced in Ukraine. This program mission was to support formation and development of non-governmental organizations sector in Ukraine. As a result of the program, a group of trainers for work with Ukraine, Moldova and Byelorussia non-profit organizations was created.

Step by step, training by training the active workers of the Ukrainian NGOs have mastered the experience of the American specialists. They have learnt to conduct and to work out trainings on their own. They have acquired skills how to grant qualified training and consultative aid to the Ukrainian non-profit sector. The group was really successful, as they managed to unite foreign experience with the specifications of the local third sector. The trainings provided the Ukrainian non-profits with all the necessary information and knowledge. The Ukrainian voluntary sector has increased its capacity to work professionally, efficiently, according to the highest international standards, and to adjust best practices to the local conditions.

The consequent course of this activity was to found an independent Ukrainian NGO. In this way the charity foundation Counterpart Creative Center was registered on March 28, 1996. Since April 2007 it has got a new name, CCC Creative Center.

Milestones of CCC activity

1996

• Charity Foundation Counterpart Creative Center (CCC) was registered.
• First experience in projects writing and grants receiving was acquired.
• First strategy plan of the organization was worked out.
• The Treaty was signed to fix that Counterpart Creative Center is to become a subsidiary of the American organization Counterpart International, Inc. in Ukraine.
• First experience in grant program administrating was acquired.

1997

• First Handbook on Non-governmental Organizations in Ukraine was published.
• First independent research of NGOs needs was conducted.
• CCC became a partner of the program Counterpart Alliance for Partnership (CAP) in Ukraine.
• 10 new trainings on non-governmental organizations management were worked out.

1998

• First Handbook for Trainers of Non-governmental Organizations in Ukraine was published.
• First School for Trainers of Non-governmental Organizations was conducted.
• Handbook on Donor Organizations and Charity Programs in Ukraine was started; later on an annual edition.

1999

• First evaluation of CCC organization development was performed.
• Participation in service centers building to give assistance to refugees and departed, and to NGOs engaged in this sphere under support of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
• During a year the greatest number of organization's projects, 18, was conducted.

2000

• The administration of two grant programs, European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights and Mariupol Environment Initiative was started.
• The meeting of all the Counterpart International, Inc offices, programs and representatives: CCC was called one of the most brilliant results of Counterpart activity throughout the world.
• Leaving for a new office.

2001

• Active evaluation of projects and NGOs organizational development was started.
• New members were attracted to the CCC Steering Committee, and their activity was stimulated.
• First Open House for CCC friends and relatives, members and employers was organized.
• CCC initiated Association of NGO Trainers of Ukraine.

2002

• Partner Project "Ensuring the Implementation of Territorial Community Rights Guaranteed by the Law "On Local Selfgovernment in Ukraine" (short name of the project – "Toloka") was started.
• New service for the Ukrainian NGOs was introduced: partner organizations training at the Creative Center office.
• Project "Initiative on Amended Tax Legislation for the Third Sector in Ukraine" was implemented.
• Monthly electronic bulletin Key to funding from CCC was started.

2003

• CCC became a member of the European Network of Training Organizations for Local and Regional Authorities.
• Independent center evaluation was conducted in Georgia/South Ossetia conflict zone. By the results of evaluation the program of training support was worked out.
• Partner Project Democratizing Ukraine Small Projects Scheme started.
• Propositions to the project of the Law of Ukraine "On Non-profitable Organizations" were worked out.

2004

• For the first time in Ukraine the International Conference "Effectiveness Evaluation of Organizations' Work" was conducted.
• Partner Project "Know Your Rights and Be Able to Protect them: Improving Access of the Rural Population to Legal Mechanisms of Protection of Their Rights Project" started.
• Project "Voters Education and Mobilization Project: Towards Achievement of an Equal Playing Field for All Candidates in Ukrainian Presidential Elections 2004" was implemented.

2005

• First all-Ukrainian research of today situation in corporative charity development and its perspectives in Ukraine was conducted.
• Partner Project "Improving Access to Justice for Rural Population" was started.

2006

• Charity training program "Create your success with us" was started (5 free trainings for NGO representatives).
• CCC Creative Center engaged 5 volunteers from Germany, Great Britain, the USA and Poland.
• New electronic bulletin Charity Aspects was started.
• Report on CCC Creative Center activity for 10 years was published.
• CCC Creative Center representatives became members of expert committee for business corporative social responsibility development.
• Report on development dynamics of the Ukrainian NGOs for the last five years was arranged.
• CCC Creative Center became a member of the Ukrainian Forum of Philanthropists.

2007

• Grant program administrated within the Project "Civil Society Development in Ukraine" introduced by the OSCE Project Coordinator in Ukraine and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.
• Grant program administrated within the Project "Promoting Active Citizen Engagement (Action) in Combating Corruption in Ukraine" introduced by the Management System International (MSI) and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
• CCC Creative Center as an independent party provided dialogues between stakeholders within the process of social accountability of the company "British American Tobacco Ukraine".
• Project "Building Community Media Centers In Rural Areas" was started.
• CCC Creative Center representative was elected as a Head of Public Council in the Ministry for Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine.

2008

• Grant program administrated within the Project "Civil Society Development in Ukraine" introduced by the OSCE Project Coordinator in Ukraine and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.
• Grant program administrated within the Project "Promoting Active Citizen Engagement (Action) in Combating Corruption in Ukraine" introduced by the Management System International (MSI) and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). .
• Project "Training Assistance to Local and Regional Civil Society Organizations" within Small Projects Program MATRA KAP by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands was started.
• Common charity program with Agrokombank "Social Responsibility" was started.
• Evaluation of the Level of Users' Satisfaction with Services Quality which are Provided by Courts in Ivano-Frankivsk oblast was conducted.
• Trainer School was performed by request of the program "School for Social Project Design" of the RUSAL Company by Mykolaiv Center for Social Programs.