Encouraging Development of Non-Governmental Organizations in Belarus

About this grant

The program goal is to support civil society development in Belarus. The Association for International Education and Exchange, a German nonprofit organization with extensive experience in Belarus, will work with United Way Belarus, the country’s leading support center for nonprofit organizations, to provide a range of online and offline information and capacity building resources to civil society groups. In 2012-2014, the grantee supported United Way Belarus in its efforts to continue improvement of its Internet portal for Belarusian civil society. The portal saw an increase in monthly users of 25 percent throughout 2013 to over 35,000 monthly users. The online/offline legal training program produced a cohort of alumni who have gone on to provide further pro bono consulting for Belarusian nonprofits. The grantee, registered in 1990, owns jointly with the Minsk city administration a facility there that is used for meetings bringing together civil society, business, and government representatives. Since 2001, it has managed the German government-financed Belarus Support Program, a small-grants program fostering civil society partnerships between Germany and Belarus.