This study seeks to establish the influence of the capacity building support program
provided by AMREF to the management of civil society organizations in
MumiasSubcounty. Capacity building is the process of enabling a person to do something
to perform a given role or duty. However many studies including those conducted by
AMREF reveal that CSOS lack the technical, financial and managerial capacity to mount
effective responses to these development challenges. These capacity gaps have limited
the effective use of resources for development programming and have resulted in limited
impact of several interventions carried out by these CSOs. The objectives of this study
include; Influence of capacity building on the management of finances by civil
societies;To determine the influence of capacity building programmes on stakeholders
involvement by civil society;To identify the influence of capacity building on resource
mobilization by civil society organizations. The study were deemed to be significant in
that it strengthened the competencies of managers thus ensuring that civil societies were
in a position to fulfill the mandate to which they were established.The study was
undertaken in MumiasSub County and it involved civil society organization under the
AMREF Maanisha programme.It employed a descriptive survey design and a sample size
of 50 respondents selected through simple random and purposive sampling.
Aquestionnaire was used to collect data from civil society officials where as the AMREF
trainers provided data through interview.These instruments were administered personally
by the researcher .Data was analyzed using descriptive statistical tools such as
percentages, mean and frequency tables. The study found out that capacity building
programme had an influence on the competencies of officials in terms of financial
management, resource mobilization and stakeholder‘s involvement. It was concluded that
capacity building programmes by AMREF Maanisha had a positive influence on the
management of civil society organizations. Officials of civil society organizations should
organize forums in their organizations or jointly through which knowledge gathered from
the AMREF Maanisha programme could be cascaded to lower levels of management.
Research to be undertaken on a wide scale to establish the influence of capacity building
programmes on the management of civil society organizations.