Join the Belize Network of NGOs!

Here's how BNN is advocating for a better Belize - and why your organization needs to be part of it.

The Belize Network of NGOs (BNN) is a powerful ally to your NGO. With a parliamentary platform in the NGO Senator, the benefits of national, regional and global partnerships, and access to a range of capacity-building programs, membership means joining a thriving civil society movement working to shape a better future for Belize.

By Marco Lopez

As a registered non-governmental organization in Belize, you are working to make Belize better - fighting for safer communities, equitable laws, healthier citizens, a cleaner environment, and a more accountable government. It is our mission to help you achieve your goals.

The Belize Network of NGOs (BNN) is dedicated to empowering its membership and registered civil society organizations (CSOs) across Belize. In a unified voice, we advocate for NGOs in Parliament, nationally and across the Commonwealth. By positioning national policy priorities in decision-making, BNN plays an essential role in advancing good governance, transparency and inclusivity.

Belize's Unified Voice for Civil Society

In 2016, as part of the process to determine Belize's 13th Senator, registered non-governmental groups came together on the principle that no single organization can tackle Belize's challenges alone. They formed the Belize Network of NGOs (BNN) and set out a process to elect Belize's first representative of NGOs in the Upper House. The 13th member of the Senate is the constitutionally designated seat representing the interests of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Belize.

Since its incorporation, BNN has grown into an internationally recognized platform, connecting civil society and grassroots movements with policymakers, international funders and global networks. Today, BNN's membership ranges from environmental groups like Oceana Belize, Belize Audubon Society, Ya'axche Conservation Trust and Turneffe Atoll Trust, to health and social services organizations like HelpAge Belize, the People's Diabetes Foundation and the Belize Cancer Society.

Your Goals, Amplified in the Senate

This is BNN's most distinctive and powerful benefit: Belize's progressive parliamentary platform.

Senator Janelle Chanona has represented the NGO community in the Belize Senate since March 2022. Following the 2025 general elections, BNN's membership unanimously endorsed her continuation in the role. The first NGO Senator was Osmany Salas, who was sworn in on January 30, 2017, and served until his resignation in 2022.

Through this role, BNN members have direct, up-to-date awareness of and access to proposed legislation, the schedule of House Committee meetings, and insight into oversight functions. By reviewing existing and proposed legislation and regulations through a civil society lens, members help shape the legal and governance structures that frame the daily lives of all Belizeans.

What does this mean for your organization in practice? Once an opportunity to strengthen existing legislation - or a gap or legislative issue - is flagged, whether a social issue, a security matter, an environmental protection measure, or a human rights concern, a formal accountability and planning process is initiated, led by the Board in consultation with the membership. Once a determination is agreed upon, BNN members, staff and the NGO Senator proceed accordingly.

In March 2026, Senator Chanona was elected to the Executive Committee of Parliamentarians for Global Action, placing Belize's civil society alongside legislators and advocates from around the world working on democracy, the rule of law and human rights.

BNN also collaborates with international NGOs such as the Human Dignity Trust (HDT) and Global Financial Integrity (GFI). We partner with the European Union, and BNN is a member of the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC), a regional policy development organization. These partnerships have delivered capacity-building to members and to key allies such as national media practitioners.

In 2025, more than eighty participants - CSO representatives, unions, advocates, policy experts and partners - joined BNN on November 27 for its second annual CSO Summit. For the first time, member organizations were invited to showcase their work in an NGO Village, speaking directly about their impact to other CSOs and participants.

"It was a wonderful feeling to see a room filled with people who are actively working to make Belize better," BNN's Executive Manager, Marla Magana Cansino, said. "Your organization belongs in these rooms."

Going Forward

BNN continues to deepen its member relationships through a transparent, structured system that keeps collective advocacy representative of, and responsive to, its diverse membership. Members get first access to policy updates, legislative alerts, consultation invitations, and funding and training opportunities.

Organizations interested in BNN membership must be registered as an NGO and provide a valid Certificate of Good Standing issued by the Belize Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry (BCCAR). BNN also stands ready to assist organizations not yet registered as NGOs by providing guidance on the process of obtaining NGO status.

Your work is helping to improve the quality of life for all Belizeans. Your organization belongs in this network. No single entity can resolve all the challenges, large and small, confronting Belize. Together, and in collaboration with national and international partners, BNN is proving that the courage and strength of the collective is how we create the unity we need to make the Belize we deserve. Together, we turn advocacy into action.

Find out more today at belizengos.org and follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/Belize13thSenator and LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/belize-network-of-ngos.