The VIA Foundation: CEET in stories

Winning the Hearts of the Local Community - A Way to Sustainability

Increasing Support from Individuals: A success story about a grantee, the Bethlehem Center

The work of those who promote innovative approaches in the post-Communist states is far from being easy, even in such seemingly "innocent" issues as care for the handicapped. In pursuing their missions, these NGOs must not only strive to eliminate dependence on unreliable and unpredictable state support, but they must also fight against the prejudice and repugnance that many people feel towards the handicapped, which is the result of a time when the handicapped were kept exclusively in closed institutions, out of sight of "normal" society. The activities of the Bethlehem Center provide an encouraging example of progress in the struggle for sufficient care for the disabled. In their efforts to overcome their permanent lack of funds for running costs and development, they managed to raise significant local support for an issue as "unpopular" as the integration of mentally handicapped people into a little village in the Czech countryside. Although they are not yet a completely sustainable organization, the Bethlehem Center has won the hearts and the support of local people, as illustrated by the success of their charitable auction.

The Bethlehem Center is a small local branch of the Czech Evangelist Church Deaconry located in the small town of Klobouky near Brno. Its mission is to provide shelter and care to adults with severe physical handicaps and mentally disabled children, and for this purpose it runs two "homes," called the Bethlehem Center and the Narnie Home. Of course, sufficient funds are needed for even the most virtuous of aims. In the case of the Bethlehem Center-as with many other non-profit organizations-a lack of active fundraising led to overdependence on state resources. Thus, with the support of CEET, the Bethlehem Center prepared a plan for the exploration and development of diverse funding resources and began to implement it quite successfully. The staff focused primarily on gaining support from the surrounding community. Through letters and telephone calls, they addressed residents of four nearby villages with a plea for financial assistance to complete the construction of a sheltered garden at the Narnie Home. They also sent out postcards promoting their residents' work therapy and drawing attention to a program about the Bethlehem Center on local television.

Aiming to better integrate the Bethlehem Center's residents among local people and, as a welcome side-effect, to raise funds for the organization, Zdenek Riha and his colleagues at the Bethlehem Center organized "a charitable evening" - a social event and auction that took place in Klobouky. About 200 people came to spend the evening with the Bethlehem Center's clients and staff. Among the attendees were local people of all ages, from senior citizens to young children, together with representatives of "high society" from the region, including local entrepreneurs, the mayors of Klobouky and the neighboring villages, and representatives of the South Moravian regional administration.

Over 60 items were offered for sale in the auction, half of which were handmade by Bethlehem Center's residents themselves, while other items were donated by artists and entrepreneurs from neighboring villages. Visitors to the auction could buy, for instance, paintings, batik, and pottery made by residents, decorative gingerbread, bottles of famous local homemade liquor called "slivovice," and, of course, as with anything taking place in Southern Moravia, bottles of outstanding local wine. Also for sale were photos from the Bethlehem Center's former events, as well as video recordings of everyday life in the Bethlehem and Narnie homes. None of the articles remained unsold. Many entrepreneurs who attended the event promised to support the Bethlehem Center by making donations in the near future. Profits from the auction were used to purchase tools used in the work therapy program.

The High Commissioner of the South Moravian regional administration actively participated in the auction and opened his heart: "For me, this event is something like early Christmas-we can share what we have with those who do not have anything. On Christmas day, I will contribute again and I am already looking forward to it. My hope is that people from the Bethlehem and Narnie homes may enjoy Christmastime as much as any of us."

Benefits from the special event were manifold: the Bethlehem Center's employees not only managed to promote their outstanding work to local people and to raise the badly-needed funds, but they also brought a lot of joy to handicapped people. In addition, they substantially contributed to the development of the local community by bringing together people from various professions, social classes, and social environments who would otherwise have hardly any opportunity to meet. Last but not least, they themselves received great encouragement to continue in their demanding work.

Over the course of projects supported by CEET, the Bethlehem Center not only obtained more funds than it had planned, but also gained hundreds of new donors and significantly improved its relations with the local community. For the first time in its eleven years of existence it approached fundraising using a detailed plan. However, the project is exceptional primarily because a number of previously deeply-rooted assumptions suddenly disappeared as a consequence: the preconception that it is impossible to obtain money from individuals in the Czech Republic, the assumption that one cannot effectively conduct active fundraising in a village, and also the idea that it is impossible to raise money for an "uncomfortable" cause. The Bethlehem Center successfully overturned all of these preconceptions.

The Farmer Rajter's Story - From Collectivization to Globalization

Creating a Favorable Environment for Advocacy and Public Policy by Supporting NGOs: A Story Illustrating the Work of a Grantee, The Environmental Law Service

The Rajter family was deprived of their home and all their farming property by the Communist state in the 1950s because they refused to submit to collectivization. They were forced to move from their farm in beloved Moravia to the industrialized and ecologically devastated region of Northern Bohemia. In 1993, after the fall of Communism, the Rajters decided to revive their happier, former life and once again become farmers. Unfortunately, due to deception by corrupt governmental clerks, Mr. Rajter agreed to exchange his piece of land for another. Soon afterwards, he learned from the news that the area was intended for development as an industrial zone-a huge aluminum plant operated by the Mexican company NEMAK was to be built there. The company was originally slated to build on recultivated grounds near the town of Most, but preferred a different less damaged and more beautiful landscape, due to, as the company stated, "aesthetic reasons." After meeting with the NEMAK representatives, the Czech government adopted a special resolution giving the company the rights to the land and allocated a special "investment offer" of 80 million CZK to this purpose.

The Rajter family decided to oppose the project. They called for help from the Environmental Legal Service, a renowned Czech NGO active in advocacy for the environment, human rights, and public participation, and the two-year legal battle began. Together they won the support of regional courts and the ombudsman's office, not to mention broad public support. Even the Czech government withdrew its intended financial support to NEMAK. Nevertheless, their opponents did not stop building the plant in the expanding industrial zone. Were the efforts of the Rajter family and the Environmental Legal Service a failure?

No. They set a precedent that will hopefully prevent this sad story from happening again in the near future, and therefore created hope for others.

There were more then 200 articles published about this case in the most prestigious Czech media, often on the main pages of newspapers or broadcast on primetime television news. The case continues to receive much media attention. An exhibition entitled Farmer Rajter's Story: from Collectivization to Globalization is currently traveling throughout the country, and a photo from this exhibition won the grand prize in a 2003 Czech press photo competition and was selected as the Photo of the Year. Moreover, the ongoing public discussion about the controversial influence of some multinational companies over national governments was launched and made Czech people more aware of this aspect of globalization.

To Break a Vicious Circle - NGOs on the Way to Professionalization

A Story Examining the Efforts of a grantee, the Consultants' Guild

To win public respect, NGOs need to develop high-quality performance, professional skills, and knowledge-simply, they need know-how. However, Czech NGOs, continuously underfinanced and overloaded, expend too much effort "reinventing the wheel" and taking the painful "try-and-learn-from-your-mistakes" path. In fact, until recently they did not have much choice. There were hardly any experts to turn to for assistance, and nowhere to go to find people with the badly-needed combination of practical NGO experience, theoretical knowledge, and consultancy skills. Czech NGOs are aware of their need for expertise, but many of them still do not realize that hiring a consultant is more efficient than the common self-help methods. Consequently, there is very little demand for consultancy services. The current situation is a vicious circle, and a pretext for ongoing arguments (especially by some politicians) that NGOs, because of their "amateurism," cannot be considered relevant and equal partners capable of participating in the discussion over societal issues.

Thanks to the Consultants' Guild established within the CEET program, this changed rapidly. A group of NGO leaders came together and received training in consultancy skills and space for networking and experience-sharing. The CEET program stimulated the demand for consultancy services among NGOs throughout the Central and Eastern European region, so the benefits are not limited to the Czech Republic. The consultants meet with NGOs to discuss issues of mutual interest-such as the need for a Code of Ethics in NGO consultancy. Additionally, the Consultants' Guild contributes to the development of specific NGO areas of expertise, such as fundraising and grantmaking. The benefits are multifold, for consultants, NGOs, and civil society in general.

One of the new experts broadly recognized in the Czech non-profit field is Michaela Frycova. As she calls herself, "a grey mouse among the consultancy stars," her activities clearly illustrate the role of CEET in the development of civil society. Michaela has been involved in the NGO sector since the Velvet Revolution: she has worked as the executive director of an NGO devoted to helping the handicapped, has been a member of several non-profit boards of directors, and has many certificates, including one from Johns Hopkins University, which demonstrate her professional qualifications in the non-profit field. Still, until recently she did not believe that she had sufficient skills to act as a consultant for others, but her participation in CEET Consultants' Guild activities has changed that. As Michaela says: "For our whole lives, we were taught not to stick out from the crowd, not to promote our abilities and know-how. A very important by-product of the Consultants' Guild is that it has increased our self-confidence and feeling of competence. "

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CEET in stories

The Trust in the CR:

Winning the Hearts of the Local Community - A Way to Sustainability

The Farmer Rajter's Story - From Collectivization to Globalization

To Break a Vicious Circle - NGOs on the Way to Professionalization