Institutional Support for Key Strategic NGOS

• 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 VIA Foundation

By means of grants, the program strengthened the organizational capacity and long-term sustainability of selected NGOs that play a key part in the functioning of various fields of the non-profit sector and/or make a significant contribution to the development of civil society. At the same time, it promoted strategic planning as an important tool for NGO development.

Given the fact that this program component was perceived by Czech NGOs as "prestigious", extraordinary attention was paid to setting the grant procedures in a way to achieve maximum transparency and objectivity: in collaboration with the program partners, the Advisory Board, representatives of CEET headquarters and donors, the criteria of "key strategic NGO " were defined, in order to illustrate the past and current significance of the given NGO for the civil society in the Czech Republic, its vision and its overall capacity. The criteria were reflected in application requirements, so that the given format could serve as a comparative basis ensuring that the selection process would be based on clear and transparent facts. Following this preparatory phase, 20 NGOs (out of 106 applicants) were selected by the Evaluation Committee to participate in the program. They received small planning grants in the amount of $650 and were invited to develop their Organizational Development Plan (ODP) , and consequently, to apply for an institutional support grant.

The ODPs were developed according to a structured format designed by VIA. This format not only provided the Evaluation Committee with a comparative basis, but was also tailored in a way that provided the program participants with a step-by-step guide to the strategic planning process and tools for its further monitoring. Based on the submitted 19 ODPs, 13 institutional support grants were allocated in amounts ranging from $41,700 to $51,000.

During the implementation of their development plans, the supported NGOs - although with differing proportions - dealt with all areas of institutional development: starting with their mission and long-term visions, through fields of operation such as board development, management, programming, fundraising and PR all the way up to financial projections. In some cases, the grant helped to stabilize and further develop the recipients; in other cases, the grant assisted in implementing a substantial change in their organizational structure, ways of operation, funding strategies and/or priorities, etc.

Following the completion of this phase, four grants ranging from $34,000 to $60,000 USD were awarded to further support the programmatic work and institutional development of those successful grantees who address the key themes of the CEE Trust.

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