Adaptation in Action

The development ecosystem in Central America is at a turning point. Shrinking civic space, mounting anti-democratic pressures and shifting funding landscapes are reshaping how organizations and their partners can operate. To sustain our efforts, we must collectively reimagine our approach.

Navigating this moment requires strategic adaptation across the region’s changing political and funding environments. Organizational innovation and trust-based partnerships across sectors are essential to preserving what we have built and shaping what comes next. Fortunately, this adaptation is already underway. Across Central America, organizations are forging new paths by recalibrating their models, deepening community trust and building powerful cross-border alliances. These existing strategies provide a vital foundation for our next steps.

The 2026 Central America Donors Forum is a critical opportunity to reimagine our collective efforts in the region. Under the theme “Adaptation in Action,” hundreds of civil society, philanthropic, corporate and government leaders and experts will gather to explore promising strategies and build more collaborative partnerships across sectors moving forward. Join Seattle International Foundation and allies on Sep. 29 – Oct. 1 and elevate your voice for the region as we navigate a future built on solidarity, trust and shared commitment to Central America.

Democracy & Civic Space

As authoritarianism and corruption deepen across parts of Central America, civil society and independent media face heightened criminalization amidst shrinking international support. In direct response, this track shifts beyond diagnosis toward strategic adaptation. Sessions will equip leaders with actionable strategies for democratic resilience, focusing on combating corruption, safeguarding frontline defenders and the communities they serve, and defending freedom of expression through cross-border coalitions, innovative initiatives and funding structures. By centering the essential leadership of independent journalists, human rights defenders, legal advocates and grassroots organizers, participants will forge trust-based partnerships and develop concrete tools to transform regional solidarity into sustained, measurable collective action.

Education & Inclusive Economies

Despite historic gains in access, Central America faces a persistent skills gap exacerbated by environmental and social disruptions. As the nature of work rapidly evolves, cross-sector organizations are bridging the critical divide between foundational education and decent work. This track will explore actionable strategies to strengthen resilient and inclusive educational systems that equip women, girls, Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, rural populations and other underserved learners with essential lifelong competencies and sustainable livelihoods. Moving beyond the classroom, sessions will examine workforce development, highlighting inclusive, multi-stakeholder partnerships, entrepreneurship and the economic impacts of migration and technology. By fostering skills development that is responsive to local contexts, attendees will explore cross-sector models that contribute to dignified work, reduced inequalities, and long-term inclusive regional prosperity.

Environment & Territory

Environmental justice is a fundamental human right. As accelerating climate impacts and under-regulated extractive industries threaten ecosystems and livelihoods, marginalized communities bear the heaviest burden. Aligning with our theme of adaptation, this track centers frontline defenders, including Indigenous, Afro-descendant, women and youth leaders who are pioneering solutions. Speakers will bridge scientific approaches with community-rooted strategies, exploring agroecology, renewable energy and urban sustainability alongside the realities of climate-driven displacement and territorial dispossession. Sessions will examine how to finance climate adaptation at scale and forge the trust-based partnerships needed to protect regional territories, advance land rights and support local stewards.

Adaptation & Sustainability

Civil society organizations across Central America are navigating a period of structural disruption marked by shrinking civic space, shifting funding landscapes and a political environment that demands more than incremental adjustments. At the same time, organizations across the region are finding ways to adapt, drawing on deep institutional experience, community legitimacy and cross-border networks. This track creates space for local leaders and international partners and funders to examine what strategic adaptation looks like in practice—and to listen as much as to share. Sessions will explore how organizations are diversifying their work, strengthening community ties and engaging diaspora communities. Donors will reflect on how flexible and trust-based investment in core organizational capacity can help sustain democratic infrastructure over time, even as they navigate their own institutional constraints. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of what is working, what is not, and what stronger, trust-based partnerships between funders and civil society could look like going forward.