Taiwan Rebels Culture Movement is founded by a group of senior Taiwanese NGO members. We are deeply aware of the challenges faced by local NGOs in their operations. Therefore, we hope to assist in improving the management capabilities of Taiwanese NGOs through the "NGO Co-Learning School" program.

The "NGO Co-Learning School" is not just about "empowering" NGO workers. It also provides management information to NGO organizations through "accompaniment" and "co-learning" in the form of courses/workshops, experience sharing, and consensus building. It enriches NGO workers' imaginations for organizational and personal development, and promotes cross-domain dialogue between NGOs, business sectors, academic sectors, and physical and mental health sectors.

Our goal is to enable vibrant small and medium-sized NGOs to flourish and perpetuate, and to encourage more people to engage with NGOs that promote social progress in a more sustainable way.

The Program, which we initiated and secured funding from the Open Society Foundations (OSF), officially launched in July 2022. In the same year, we conducted a survey on the operations and sustainability of Taiwanese NGOs, and hosted the first forum exploring "The Possibilities and Boundaries of NGO Business Models" at the end of the year.

In 2023, we held a total of 50 different types of co-learning courses and 2 forums. The topics covered organizational management, information security and digital transformation, marketing and fundraising, policy advocacy, international grants, vicarious trauma care and prevention, and anti-sexual harassment policies. A total of over 70 organizations participated.

After a year of running broad-based courses, we observed that even within the NGO sector, learning needs vary significantly depending on background and experience. In particular, senior and junior staff require distinct training approaches.

In 2024, we redesigned our curriculum for senior NGO professionals, focusing on core operational needs such as fundraising and marketing, grant proposal writing for international funding, and business tools for organizational management. A total of 19 courses were offered, with participation from 27 organizations.

At the same time, we recognized the challenge of retaining new NGO employees. Many join with a passion for social change but leave due to financial constraints. To address this, we organized a career-sharing session specifically for recent graduates and career changers. Four senior NGO professionals shared their experiences, helping attendees gain a clearer understanding before committing to the sector.

In the second half of the year, we launched "Welcome to NGO Starter Village!", a training program designed for NGO newcomers in their first year. This program equips them with essential knowledge of organizational operations, workplace norms, and ethical considerations in advocacy work. We structured 12 in-person courses covering topics such as Taiwan’s democratic movement, social movements, organizational management, labor regulations, meeting facilitation, project execution, cybersecurity, and advocacy strategies. A total of 32 organizations participated, including businesses, cooperatives, and freelancers.

In 2024, we also introduced course fees to ensure the sustainability of the NGO Co-Learning School beyond the end of our funding support, allowing us to continue providing long-term capacity-building for NGO professionals.