Creating a Favorable Legislative, Fiscal and Philanthropic Environment

• The Trust in the CR:

• Impacts and Achievements
  • Overall impacts
  • Meeting CEE Trust goals
• Program Map
• Program Components
  • Creating a Favorable Legislative, Fiscal and Philanthropic Environment
  • Creating a Favorable Environment for Advocacy and Public Policy
  • Institutional Support for Key Strategic NGOS
  • Knowledge Fund
  • The Consultants´ Guild
  • Strengthening Regional / Community Foundations
  • Non-Profit Organizations on the Threshold of the EU: Support for Model Regional and Community Projects
  • Ensuring Access to Information and Expertise Concerning EU funding
  • Increasing Support from the Private Sector
  • Increasing Support from Individuals
• Program In Spotlight
  • CEET in facts and figures
  • CEET in the eyes of grantees
  • CEET in stories
  • CEET in pics
• Annotated Summary of Grants( pdf 153 kB)

A program component implemented by the Czech Donors Forum and The VIA Foundation

The program focused on the legal framework for the functioning of various types of NGOs, on supporting the enabling legal environment for active citizenship, and stimulating the enabling tax environment for philanthropy. It strived to improve communication between NGOs and state authorities and to further develop NGO capacity to deal with the legal/legislative-related issues.

In its opening phase - managed by the Czech Donors Forum from December 2002 to September 2003 - the program produced a set of materials on tax assignations. Subsequent to gathering analyses of 1% tax assignation laws from abroad, a 1% concept was developed and presented to the state authorities. A public campaign in this regard was launched in late fall 2003.

In its second phase - the grant program managed by The VIA Foundation - the program addressed the immediate challenges posed by drafting a new Civil Code and opening discussions on public benefit status, i.e. issues that would result in a new legal framework for NGO operations. Grants were allocated to ensure NGO participation in this legislative process. In parallel, grant support was provided to projects dealing with legislative issues of top importance for public participation and civil society development (e.g. public participation in environmental protection; free access to information; volunteering; social inclusion, local referenda). In total, 12 grants ranging from $1,680 to $20,408 were allocated in three rounds.

The supported activities included expert work commenting on the legislation, broad discussions to ensure feedback from NGOs and the public and efforts to increase the overall capacity of the Czech NGO sector to deal with legislative issues. The scope and nature of this program component can be best illustrated in the Civil Code-related activities: In close cooperation with VIA, CEET grantees and others involved, a working group was established to ensure that NGO comments reflect broad interests. Four open seminars took place in 2004-5, intermediating the discussion among experts drafting the code, academics and NGOs; online discussions on thematic web-pages and electronic mailing lists spread the discussions further. With financial support from the CEET, four expert studies summarised and analysed key points of interest for NGOs and became the basis for comments. Intensive working contacts between the NGO working group and the expert team of lawyers drafting the Civil Code at the Ministry of Justice were established. As a result, more than 100 (nearly 70 %) of the NGO comments were incorporated into the draft. A thorough debate on the Public Benefit Status was opened and various Public Benefit approaches identified and discussed. This debate also identified several critical issues and potential harmful influence on advocacy and public policy NGOs.

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