Puljic says that it is critical for countries emerging from decades of .communism or socialism to create and strengthen in-country grantmakers -- such as Mozaik -- that provide financial support to nonprofit groups addressing local and national challenges. In this way, the civil society sectors of countries in transition -- like many in Central/Eastern Europe -- are not financially dependent upon international funders or their own governments.
These homegrown grantmakers, which are based in-country and use the expertise of local staff and board members, are sometimes called “indigenous grantmakers.”
The modest sums they give, typically ranging from $500 to $5,000 to community groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), are enough to encourage citizens to identify, prioritize and deal with a broad range of local problems. Sometimes, securing a grant from an indigenous grantmaker allows an NGO to grow and makes it easier to tap other financial sources, including businesses and local branches of government.
Mozaik is the first independent indigenous grantmaker in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Together, the staff of 20 full- and part-time employees support community groups and NGOs that seek to build bridges where walls once stood.
In the 1990s, the Western Balkans dominated international news with accounts of ethnic cleansings, forced relocations and political corruption. In addition to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the region includes Albania, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia and Serbia. All those counties, except for Albania, were formerly part of Yugoslavia.
Since the breakup of Yugoslavia, these countries have moved from socialism to democracy, thereby reducing government’s paternalistic role and making space for the private and nonprofit sectors to operate.
By supporting indigenous grantmakers in the Western Balkans, the Mott Foundation seeks to strengthen public participation in local decisionmaking, and to promote ways to build strong inter-ethnic relationships and reduce conflicts.
This is a challenging time for these organizations. They are trying to gain strength and sustainability during a time when many foreign funders are withdrawing their support.
Most grantmakers outside the region mistakenly conclude that because nations in the Western Balkans are integrating with Europe and the European Union (EU), the NGOs in the region are benefiting from an influx of EU money, Puljic said.
But the reality is that most NGOs lack the capacity to access EU funds and these funds typically cannot be used for regranting anyway.
Nevertheless, Mozaik and a handful of other organizations are emerging as strong, indigenous grantmakers, supporting a variety of organizations and activities.
For example, while many residents of Bosnia and Herzegovina recently rolled up their sleeves to participate in local clean-up, repair and building projects, others focused on reviving interest in the democratic process at the national level.
During the political race leading up to the October 2006 general elections, Bosnian NGOs designed a nonpartisan citizens’ platform called GROZD. (In Bosnian, the term stands for Citizens Organizing for Democracy.) The platform identified 12 national priorities it wanted candidates to address, and then solicited help from 101 high-profile celebrities to garner attention for an initiative called “101 reasons to vote.”
Safet Zec, an artist who participated in the campaign, expressed a view shared by many fellow citizens:
“I dream of having schools that teach all religions and their histories. I dream that we would build hospitals, sports gyms, schools, roads and parks, and we would build highways so we can go up and down and left and right through all of our Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
Observers believe the campaign contributed to an increase in voter turnout from 46 percent in 2004 to 55 percent in 2006.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s local NGO development projects and the national get-out-the-vote campaigns were successful partly because of the involvement and financial support from Mozaik. And Puljic is optimistic about the future role for indigenous grantmakers.
As evidence, he points to 11 local municipalities that agreed to pool $80,000 from their 2007 budgets to be partners in a Mozaik-funded project.
“That is a very big change. Only five years ago, we had to pay the municipalities just to let us meet in their offices, and now they are calling and wanting to be a part of what we are doing.”
Meanwhile, in neighboring Serbia, Aleksandra Vesic has been approached by people in the private and public sectors wanting to become philanthropic partners with the Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF). The indigenous grantmaker has seven staff members in Serbia and two in Montenegro, in addition to a team of advisers.
Vesic, BCIF’s executive director, says partnerships benefit everyone, including other funders. Instead of overseeing dozens of small grants, larger funders can make fewer but bigger grants to indigenous grantmakers, which in turn disburse money to NGOs working at the local level.
She says homegrown grantmakers keep in close contact with community groups, especially those in rural and remote areas. Staff members can monitor the grantmaking process more easily -- starting with the initial proposal and following it through the final report.
In addition, indigenous funders like BCIF serve as resources for businesses interested in learning concrete ways they can give back to the communities where they operate. Vesic said indigenous grantmakers also offer training for NGOs in budgeting, strategic planning, technology and media relations.
BCIF and other indigenous grantmakers in the region set goals for the societal changes they want to make happen.
For example, BCIF has directed its grantmaking toward building greater understanding and more peaceful interactions among different ethnic groups, which became deeply divided during former President Slobodan Milosevic’s regime in Montenegro and Serbia.
While the war made enemies of people who previously were neighbors, BCIF’s goal is to help them work together toward solving common concerns in the communities in which they live. In that way, they demonstrate that different ethnic groups can live peacefully once again.
“We are not forcing the issue,” Vesic said. “We wait for an initiative to come from the community. Then it is genuine and we will support that kind of work any way we can.”
She says the process of different people working together can be more important than the specific task they set out to accomplish.
While leaders of local NGOs in the region operate in politically challenging environments, Bashkim Rrahmani’s situation in Kosovo is tougher than most.
“Are we a nation? Are we a province? What are we?” asked Rrahmani, executive director of the Foundation for Democratic Initiatives (FDI), the largest and best-known indigenous grantmaker in Kosovo.
International negotiations began in 2006 to determine whether Kosovo, with a population of two million, is its own country or a province of Serbia. Until that is resolved, the region’s future remains uncertain.
But what everyone can agree upon is Kosovo’s overwhelming needs.
Ethnic wars have created divides so entrenched that children -- Albanians, Bosniaks, Romas and Serbs -- still attend segregated schools. Meanwhile, their parents struggle to pay bills while the unemployment rate hovers between 60 and 80 percent. They have tried to work in neighboring countries but can’t because their visas are not recognized.
“We’re using the bottom-up approach to build relations and rebuild communities. We have visited every Serb enclave -- without escorts like others usually have -- and we’re holding joint meetings between Albanians and Serbs,” Rrahmani said.
“We ask them if they are willing to talk with each other about their day-to-day problems and then work to improve things. The two most pressing issues are always education and health.”
FDI’s strategy includes supporting NGOs that work across national borders, because ethnic conflicts don’t stop there. Instead, they often spill over into the neighboring countries of Albania, Montenegro and Serbia.
Consequently, Rrahmani often works with funders in nearby areas, including Mozaik and BCIF. All their leaders agree that improving local conditions is essential, but working to make national changes is equally important.
Tax law in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia lags behind other regions. Neither individuals nor businesses in these Western Balkan countries are offered tax incentives or deductions for donating to nonprofit organizations.
“Grantmakers in the Western Balkans are a few years behind those in Central/Eastern Europe (CEE), so we have established relationships with a number of them to learn from their experiences,” Vesic said.
In addition to providing staff exchanges and information about tax legislation, CEE grantmakers have shared strategies for developing corporate philanthropy and cross-border grantmaking. The larger funders providing guidance include many previous or current Mott grantees, such as the Stefan Batory, Carpathian, Ekopolis, Environmental Partnership and VIA foundations.
FDI’s Rrahmani is quick to say that much of what he has learned about grantmaking has come from his colleagues in CEE.
Yet, he also is convinced that valuable lessons result from a “learn-by-doing process.” For Rrahmani, one of the greatest strengths of indigenous grantmakers in the Western Balkans is the way in which they keep their fingers on the pulse of local communities, which makes them more effective funders.
“Giving a grant is really the smallest form of help we give,” he said.
“Our staff is always out in the field, and our office doors are always open to people who want to come in and ask questions. We help them design the best possible programs.”
While Rrahmani encourages NGOs to learn a variety of ways to impact their communities, he also remains a lifelong learner.
Currently, he and the directors of Mozaik and BCIF meet with other participants in the Donors Program, a one-year, post-graduate curriculum for indigenous grantmakers in CEE and Russia.
The Development School, which was given a two-year, $220,000 Mott grant, is coordinated from London and Budapest. The school provides opportunities for those enrolled in the program to explore practical topics such as risk-taking in grantmaking, grantee relationships and assessing the impact of projects funded.
In addition to the formal education, Rrahmani is excited about the informal sharing and learning that takes place between grantmakers.
“History shows us that sometimes small groups of people can produce some very strong results and accomplish some very important things,” he said.
One of the most pressing topics the group discusses is how to ensure the survival of the region’s indigenous grantmakers.
“We need support from corporations and individuals so we can be sustainable,” said Puljic of Mozaik. “We are trying to change the mindset so we have an environment that promotes philanthropy.”