The VIA Foundation: CEET in the eyes of grantees

Program Map

"For the first time, all of us worked intensively on our own future."

A sample of comments by CEE Trust grantees, gathered during the independent evaluation of program components targeted at institutional development:

On Planning

"Already just that little grant of twenty thousand for planning was very important. It seemed like nothing in such a big budget, but it made us stop and think about ourselves. Otherwise, we probably wouldn't have done it, even though we already felt the need to change something. But with the merry-go-round of projects… there was always something more important that couldn't wait. This got us to stop for a moment and made us look back… analyze where we are and where we want to go."

"The Strategic Plan is the first of its kind that we have made… Once it was done, we realized something important: the initial impulse - the desire to get a CEE Trust contribution - had become a secondary matter. The discussion it provoked and the contemplation of the meaning of our activities and of what we want to be in the future were the chief benefits…" (Note: comment from an unsupported foundation.)

"We thought that the most meaningful thing was that VIA wanted us to create a minimum and an optimum scenario. We had never before thought about things in depth that way. And the more an organization grows, the more it needs to think that way. Projects have to go through a sieve."

"We had to sit down and do planning. Not programs, we were already doing that, but our internal functioning. Thinking about how to do things better. And since the plan was tied in with an important grant, we had to monitor it carefully. The plan even became an argument that helped us to push changes through, both with others and ourselves. It's in the plan, so it has to be done, and it has to be done on time."

"We've existed for so long, and we've gotten so big, and yet before the VIA project we had never done any overall planning. We were living from one project to the next, with some given annual budget that didn't matter much anyway. It wasn't until the Trust project that any of these things came about… It was clear that we were getting too big and complicated, and that change was necessary. In this respect, the program came along at just the right time. Analysis, planning… We started really using them in practice."

On bringing order to chaos and sweeping out the corners

"…it was like a big spring cleaning. We cleaned up, swept out the corners, we tossed some things out and moved old things to new places…"

"The lesson is not to jump at every grant or opportunity that comes around. Stick to your job… Don't let funding sources start dragging you where you don't want to go. We knew this even before CEET, but now this forced us to think more about where to invest our energy. It's more about strategic decision making than just decision making."

"The plan checked up on us, made us take responsibility… We couldn't keep putting things off anymore. The time for making excuses was over…"

"That was a very comprehensive experience. It forced us to dissect contexts. We would hardly have set time aside for it in our daily routine."

"… this paradoxically makes for more work, especially at the beginning, but later on, it brings order to chaos, creates a meaningful system that is more transparent and more predictable."

"The main effect of our participation in the program was that we learned to think systematically."

On mania and calmness, missions, hard work and self-confidence

"The grant released new energy from people. Not only are they not running off, but they have new ideas, energy and élan, because the grant was aimed inside the organization. Finally."

"The project forced us to go back to the definition of our mission. Since discussion about the mission is so important, it's important to deal with it repeatedly, also because people change."

"This whole program is even more important for us than we had expected. It has moved us ahead, and significantly. Maybe the main thing is that it is comprehensive. It gets under your skin with its logical connection and scenarios. It didn't just scrape the surface. It hooked us more than we though at the start. It involves everything. It's always alive, and it can't just sit somewhere."

"We knew we needed to change our organizational structure, but we didn't know how in advance. We had to create a virtual reality, and then we converted it into reality"

"…It's good, but it's been crazy, even frantic. I haven't had a free weekend since Christmas… (Note: mid May)"

"The change to the structure is now completely fresh, just since January… It's a really drastic change. The whole realization of this project has been a very interesting experience. It wasn't a project for services. We have years of experience with that. This was something else, something internal, about us. Otherwise we're all about clients, services…"

"We again clarified the purpose and meaning of our organization, and that led to redefining its mission and vision. The organization's functioning is changing over from an association to professional management. Thanks to this, we have also started strategic planning on how to achieve our vision and carry out our strategic plan. In short, that is probably the main thing…"

On a real hit and on financial sustainability

"And the most important thing - a real hit - sustainable financing, how we were able to think up this commercial system… It's starting off well for us, and we're turning into well-known experts. This is a great result of the project…"

"We managed to diversify our financial resources."

"Until now, we have lived mostly off grants. Fundraising is going slowly, but it's going. Benefits, fundraisers, corporate donors too. It takes a lot of time and energy, but we have some hands-on experience now, so we know this is one of the ways to go. It takes more work, but we are adapting. We have to."

"Even better is the mutual integration of activities and money. Thanks to stronger management, we have had success with the EU Structural Funds, and we have also become involved with other projects as partners."

"Thank God for American foundations and the CEE Trust, that are all about freedom and the responsibility that comes from it. And may God save us from the managing bureaucrats from the EU and ministries. That is all about having no rights, being shut in a tiny space in a cage under the watchful eye of a bureaucrat who knows nothing about you but who has all the authority. Innovation doesn't take shape very often in bondage. In the end, we just count the casualties, and are surprised about how little benefit this funding has brought."

Change is not a goal, but rather a means

"It isn't easy to change your habits. Inertia and resistance to change are everywhere… But now there is much more cohesion, and we have brought ourselves closer together around this process. We have gotten people involved in it, so they feel more like a part of things; they perceive us as a brand… Change is not a goal, but rather a means. In this sense, the VIA grant was a great opportunity. It brought money and exerted pressure."

"It changed us, but maybe the most important thing was that we set realistic goals for ourselves."

"We learned to base our planning on analyses. Not to target everything that we want and that we consider important, but only those things that we objectively can do."

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CEET in the eyes of grantees