Central/Eastern Europe and Russia

This program area seeks to foster societies in Central/Eastern Europe (CEE) and Russia in which people and communities respect each other’s rights and engage effectively in decisionmaking to influence policies and processes that shape their lives at the local, national and/or international levels.

Funding is made under geographic areas.

Funding priorities for (EU) New Member States

Grantmaking under this area focuses on Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

We seek strengthened public participation in the development of communities and societies, and an adequate and responsive flow of resources to support these activities. We are making grants:

to indigenous grantmakers that promote philanthropy and strengthen citizens’ participation;
to nonprofit organizations that provide information, training, consultations and networking services to other nonprofits to increase their capacity and effectiveness; and
for research and policy development that engages key players in public debate.

Because of we are in the process of exiting from grantmaking in the Visegrad countries of Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, we are not entertaining proposals from new grantees in those countries.

Click here to view the 10 most recent grants for this program area.

Funding Priorities for Western Balkans

Grantmaking under this area focuses on two objectives for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia.

We seek strengthened public participation in the development of communities and societies and an adequate and responsive flow of resources to support these activities. We are making grants:

to nonprofit organizations working with local communities to create the conditions for meaningful public participation, build community leadership and motivate young people to be active; and
to organizations that provide small grants to grassroots civic organizations and stimulate philanthropy at local and national levels.

We also seek stable and strong intercommunal relations and reduced likelihood of violent ethnic conflict. We are making grants:

to nonprofit organizations that are promoting mechanisms for dealing with the region's violent past, with the aim of strengthening the values of human rights and the rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, and Serbia;
for regional cooperation on efforts to collect and preserve documentation and other evidence related to past war crimes and human rights abuses, and to make this information available to the public; and
for cross-border cooperation in postconflict regions and between different ethnic and national communities in the Balkans.

Because of limited resources, we are not able to consider grantmaking in Albania or Macedonia.

Click here to view the 10 most recent grants for this program area.

Funding Priorities for Western Former Soviet Union

Grantmaking under this area focuses on two objectives for Belarus, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine.

We seek strengthened public participation in the development of communities and societies, and an adequate and responsive flow of resources to support these activities. We are making grants:

to intermediary organizations that foster civic engagement to improve people's lives at the community level; and
to institutions that enhance the effectiveness of philanthropy, especially through building the capacity of indigenous grantmakers at both the local and national levels.

We also seek strengthened institutions and mechanisms that ensure people’s rights are respected and that laws and policies to protect these rights are promulgated and implemented. We are making capacity-buildings grants:

for effective national rights protection networks and coalitions; and
for independent policy development and advocacy organizations.

Because of operational and budgetary constraints, we work primarily with organizations that operate on a national or broad regional level, are well-established with track records of success, and link local level issues with broader policy input. In addition, our programming for Moldova focuses only on support for community schools development.

Click here to view the 10 most recent grants for this program area.

Funding Priorities for CEE/Russia Regional

Grantmaking under this area focuses on one category.

We seek increased capacity of CEE/Russia nonprofit organizations through international peer-to-peer learning and information exchange around issues relevant to the overall CEE/Russia program goal. We are making grants:

to regional nonprofit organizations and other initiatives working on the development of the nonprofit sector and/or providing resources that build the capacity of the nonprofit sector; and
to regional networks and coalitions demonstrating effective collaboration on issues of community education, philanthropy and public participation in public policy development.

In assessing grant applications for regional work, we look for programs that are based upon genuine cooperation and that are designed with the full participation of beneficiaries.

Click here to view the 10 most recent grants for this program area.

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Central/Eastern Europe and Russia