Dear Partners,

It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that I send you this memo and
proposed initiative.  Norm Brown, leaders from the US-Mexico chapters,
and I have been working hard to create an initiative to strengthen
partnerships in the US-Mexico Region.  After two listening meetings
(Mexico City, Mexico in January and Dallas, Texas in April),
Norm and I have prepared a draft document for your consideration.

Please share this draft with your chapter members.  We encourage each
chapter to respond with your thoughts, comments, suggestions, and questions.  A work in progress, this draft will be shared with the Partners of the Americas Board when they meet here in Washington, DC in mid July.

I look forward to your comments.  I can be reached by telephone
(202-637-6208), fax (202-628-3306) or email (djc@partners.poa.com).

______________________________________

Introduction

As a part of Partner's commitment to strengthen its membership and management
of its partnerships, Partners proposes a two-year US-Mexico Initiative Pilot
Project to begin in August 1999. The goal of this pilot is to strengthen
Partners in the region by targeting and building partnership through the
implementation of 3-5 regional projects.   A regional strategic plan will
guide this initiative's organizational development efforts and drive its
fundraising activities.  Collaborating with a POA staff person, targeted
partnerships will design and implement these regional projects as well as
help to raise the funds necessary to administer them.  Combined with on-
going support for partnership initiated project activities, this pilot
will compliment and support volunteers' efforts to work in their local
chapters and partnerships.

After two listening meetings (Mexico City in January and Dallas in April),
this strategic plan is well underway.  Initial funding sources have been
identified that fit with partnership interests and capacities.  In addition,
Partners has the Mexican Conservation Corps, which is a local, fully
incorporated, and entirely Mexican NGO as a collaborator for both
fundraising and project implementation.

Project Components

This project is fundamentally designed to build those partnerships in the
region capable of developing into volunteer-based, non-profits committed to
fostering local and international community development.  This pilot project
will build Partners in the region by combining the following components
into a regional organizational development effort through project
implementation.
 

  A. Regional Project Initiatives: Over the last three
years, partnerships in the US-Mexico region have developed a shared set
of project priorities based on members' interests and capacities.  This
pilot project will further refine these priority areas which will lay out a
regional project driven initiative.  The current areas of interest include:
youth leadership, conservation, emergency preparedness, citizen
participation, regional database, disabilities, leadership development,
arts and culture, alternative dispute resolution, adolescent health,
family planning, indigenous peoples, sustainable agriculture, microenterprise,
and university linkages.  The pilot project will coordinate this regional
project initiative.

One of this project's goals is to strengthen chapters' abilities to
development and implement projects designed to meet their respective
 community's needs.  Building on existing capacities and interests in
 the region, individual partnerships will be encouraged to support and
development partnership initiated projects.

  B. Fundraising: This pilot will coordinate a regional
fundraising strategy guided by the regional project priorities. Volunteers,
 board members, and staff will work together to raise funds.  Aside from
 being a more efficacious fundraising team, this coordinated effort will
build partners' local resource mobilization capacity and create
sustainability beyond the funds allocated to pay a staff person to
 support this pilot project.

The institutional challenge facing Partners is to build its bi-national
reputation whereby donors are convinced of the importance of investing
regionally as well as unilaterally.

Potential funding sources include among others: Packard Foundation
(Regional Adolescent Health/US Advocacy Project), Tinker Foundation
(Alternative Dispute Resolution-Oklahoma, Jalisco, Puebla),
Kellogg (Regional Leadership Training), Ford Foundation
(Microenterprise, Reproductive Health, Citizen Participation,
University Volunteer Training Program), Arango Foundation
(NGO Leadership Training, Philanthropy, Environment, Youth Development),
USIS (Small grants for Citizen Participation), and USAID
(Citizen Participation-Democratic Initiatives).

A number of US chapters partnered with Mexico have significant access either
to funding resources or to collaborators for fundraising.  These include
Arizona Arts Commission, Arizona Community Foundation, private business
sector, World Neighbors in Oklahoma, many Universities, Presidio and Tides
Foundation in San Francisco.

A number of Mexican chapters have significant access either to funding
resources or to collaborators for fundraising. These include Community
Museums of Oaxaca, Free Access (Disability organization), "Mexican
League of Women Voters," Women's Hospital in Mexico City, Mexican
Conservation Corps, National Association of Mediators, American
Chamber of Commerce, many Universities, and Mexican Social Security
 on the state and national level.

  C. Organizational Development: The organizational
development strategy that will achieve this pilot project's goals includes:
· Hiring a Regional Director to coordinate this project
        (please see job description below).
· Using the Annual Convention, NGO Forum, and Mexico Regional
        Meeting to fortify the Partnerships and create consensus on a regional
 project initiative.
· Developing leadership in the partnerships through workshops,
 staff support and training, and project activity.
· Coordinating a regional fundraising strategy that promotes
 Partners' regional project interests and capacities.
· Integrating board member(s) from the region into the planning
 and implementation of this project.  Developing capacity in board
 member(s) and volunteers to do fundraising.
· Implementing a Public Relations/Marketing strategy in the
 region to promote Partners and this initiative.
· Fortifying communications within chapters, among chapters within a
 partnership, among partnerships in the region, and among partnerships with
 the Washington office.
· Working with the Washington office to adapt Partners' policy to
 promote this project and balance regional policy with Partners international
 policies.
· Foster creative initiatives among individual partnerships to design
 and implement projects that respond to needs in their respective community.
 

  D. Regional Director: A staff person will be hired
(pending available funding) to coordinate this pilot project.  S/he will
 spend 70% of her/his time based in Mexico City and traveling in the region
 and 30% of her/his time in Washington.  Her/his responsibilities include:
 
· Promoting the development of the partnerships in the
 US-Mexico Region.
· Developing and coordinating this pilot project in collaboration with
 the partnerships in the region and the Washington office.
· Coordinating a fundraising strategy with volunteers, board members,
 and the Washington staff.
· Coordinating training and project development in the region,
 particularly in promoting the designated regional projects.
· Building relationships between partnerships and other NGOs
 in the region.
· Facilitating all applicable grants that promote the regional
 project initiative.
· Coordinating a regional public relations/marketing strategy
 and collaborating with volunteers and board members in the implementation
 of that strategy.
· Facilitating communication between the partnerships and the
 Washington office.