Eastern Europe & Central Asia News

Community foundations advance in Poland and Russia

The National Network of Polish Community Foundations, together with the Academy for the Development of Philanthropy in Poland, organized their first national conference, ‘Community Foundations – New Response to Local Problems’, in November 2002 in Warsaw.

The aim of the conference was to present the community foundation model, still fairly unknown in Poland, particularly within the business sector, and to give an account of the first successes of Polish community foundations. Discussion topics included the start up and management of community foundations and cooperation with local authorities, business and youth.

In Russia, CAF Russia is launching a new programme called ‘Institutional Development of Community Foundations in Russia’. Starting in early 2003, the programme will run for a period of two years and will offer financial support to community foundations in the form of grants for operational costs, which will require local matching, as well as training and information. The project will be supported both by the US-based C S Mott Foundation and by Russian co-funding partners, YUKOS Oil Company and MDM-Bank.

For more information on the Polish conference,  contact Iwona Olkowicz at iwonao@filantropia.org.pl

On the Russian programme, contact Vadim Samorodov at vsamorodov@cafrussia.ru

Russian versions from INTRAC

INTRAC has now produced a Russian version of Alan Fowler’s Striking a Balance. There is now a Russian version of its website and of its newsletter ONTRAC.

To order or for more details, visit http://www.intrac.org

Estonian parliament adopts agreement on civil society

The Estonian parliament unanimously adopted the Estonian Civil Society Development Concept on 12 December. This provides a framework for relations between the country’s NGOs and public authorities and states common principles of cooperation. Under the terms of the Concept, a joint government-NGO commission will be established to determine concrete steps in developing Estonian civil society.

The English version of the Concept is available on the webpage of the Estonian NGO Roundtable at http://www.emy.ee
Source: Foorum.

For more information contact Kertu Ruus at foorum@netexpress.ee

Slovak 1 per cent law brings over €2 million to NGOs

Slovakia’s tax authority has announced that 325,839 taxpayers in Slovakia have made use of a new right to assign 1 per cent of their personal income tax to a selected NGO. As a result, some €2.3 million has been allocated to 4,043 public benefit NGOs.

In Macedonia, representatives of civic associations and taxation experts discussed the introduction of a similar law there at a meeting in December, as a means of offsetting the decrease in foreign donations.

For more information, please contact Matúš Minárik at the Trust for Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe at mminarik@trust.org.pl 

For more information
http://www.trust.org.pl

NIOK site claims 100,000 hits a day

The website of the Nonprofit Information and Training Centre (NIOK) in Hungary scored 100,000 hits daily during February and March last year. This popularity was apparently due to taxpayers using the site’s database to choose the beneficiaries for their donation under the recently enacted 1 per cent law. NIOK has now launched part of its site in English, so English speakers can search its database of 7,000 Hungarian NGOs and browse among a number of NGO websites.

For more information
http://www.nonprofit.hu

First European Social Economy Conference in CEE

The first European Social Economy Conference in Central and Eastern Europe in Prague in October looked at the role of social economy organizations in an enlarged Europe in promoting social entrepreneurship and social development, employment, and the creation of financial means to support the social economy in the candidate countries.

For more information
http://www.cecop.org/praha2002

New NGO law in Bosnia-Hercegovina

The Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Hercegovina (BiH) has enacted a new Law on Associations and Foundations.  The law represents a significant step towards a more enabling legal environment for NGOs in BiH. It is clear, complies with international standards, and embodies the best regional practices.

For more information contact Zoran Pulji, Executive Director, NGO Development Foundation, Sarajevo.
Tel/fax +387 33 651 514
Email zoran@nvofondacija.org
Website http://www.nvofondacija.org

Publications

An introduction to the non-profit sector in Russia (2nd edition)
Allavida/CAF Russia £12.50

One of a series of country reports presenting key facts on the country’s non-profit sector, including funding sources and the legal and fiscal environment, plus case studies and a list of useful contacts. It also looks at the role of foreign donors and the challenges facing the sector.

To order, contact Allavida at publishing@allavida.org
Website  http://www.allavida.org/publishing

Survey of Tax Laws Affecting Non-Governmental Organizations in Central and  Eastern Europe International Centre for Not-for-Profit Law/Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation (MCIC)

This is now available in the Macedonian language from MCIC.

To order, contact Emina Nuredinoska at enr@mcms.org.mk.

Online resources

Living Heritage website

For details of a new initiative in Southeastern Europe which promotes community development through sustainable cultural and heritage projects, see http://www.living-heritage.org

Conferences

8-13 June 2003 The Nonprofit Sector, NGOs and Civil Society – International and Global Perspective  Inter-University Centre, Dubrovnik, Croatia  Contact http://www.iuc.hr


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