Projects supported in the program in 3. Call – Medium and Strategic Grants.
Občianske Združenie kRaj
About bees and humans
Main aim and activites:
Wild bee species, including honeybees, are crucial pollinators for both cultivated and wild plants. Without them, there would be a decline in biodiversity and subsequent disruption of the ecosystem and food chain. The existence of bees not only impacts other animals but also has implications for humans.
The project addressed one of the significant contemporary challenges—the decline of pollinators—while simultaneously fostering collaboration among organizations dedicated to this issue. The project focused on strengthening the applicant, the civic association kRaj, in the areas of management, communication, and campaign creation within the selected topic of pollinator decline. Additionally, the project responded to the need of the project implementer to enhance its position among civic organizations and establish a common platform for organizations to create a national plan for the protection of pollinators. The association aimed to raise public awareness on this issue and connect it with fundraising efforts, contributing to financial stability.
The project significantly helped stabilize the organization internally, both in terms of management and finances. Thanks to the support from the ACF – Slovakia program, the project implementers established strong partnerships with the private and public sectors, enabling them to continue their activities even after the project’s completion. Not only did the organization itself develop, but also a Network of Organizations Educating about Bees and Pollinators was created. A notable success of the project was the collaboration with the Norwegian organization Mangfolk, where project implementers exchanged know-how, inspired each other, and received education in the field of pollinator-related projects.
Project timeline: 11/2021 – 11/2023
Project partner1: Mangfolk, Nórsko
Project partner2: N/A
Project eligible expenditure: 85,957.78 €
Project grant: 77,362 €
KOLABO občianske združenie
Strengthening the capacity and societal contribution of community coworking in Slovakia
Main aim and activites:
The goal of the project was to strengthen the capacities and overall societal contribution of community coworking spaces as important actors of civil society, where coworkings fulfill the function of centers of education, community organizing, networking, strengthening employment and supporting entrepreneurship. The project fulfilled this goal through two strategies aimed at strengthening 1) mutual strategic cooperation and 2) key coworking capacities. 17 coworking spaces were directly involved in the project, the project also had an indirect impact on other coworking spaces that were affected by the activities and outputs of the project.
The project focused on the following activities: Formation of a participative project management structure, Strategic planning, Sharing and streamlining coworking management processes, Raising awareness of coworking – joint campaign, Establishing the Association of Coworking Centers, Creating a business plan and financial sustainability, Creating a marketing and communication strategy, Educational activities according to the specific requirements of individual coworking spaces.
Project timeline: 10/2021 – 08/2023
Project partner1: CoWorking Banská Bystrica
Project partner2: Oslo International Hub
Project eligible expenditure: 83,200 €
Project grant: 74,880 €
Nadácia Centra pre filantropiu
Crowdfunding – a tool to strengthen the financial independence of CSOs
Main aim and activites:
StartLab helps civil society organisations and active citizens to raise and build financial and social capital. It is an important infrastructural tool for fundraising. The aim was to create a stable system of training and support for campaign authors and to strengthen the internal marketing capacity of the organisation in order to be able to develop this service in the long term. The aim of all activities was to move StartLab forward. The main activity was the creation of educational materials and their dissemination in the online space through social networks, newsletters and trainings. The project produced an ebook and 53 educational articles, which, together with information about active campaigns, were disseminated through more than 300 posts on Facebook and Instagram.
More than 20 training sessions on how to prepare a successful campaign were organised by the project implementers.
Over the course of the project, 10,983 donations totalling €347,596 were received by civil society organisations that had a presence on StartLab, and the project helped fund 87 projects of non-profit organisations. 371 participants attended the training events.
Thanks to the grant, the StartLab platform has evolved into a comprehensive service that, in addition to providing a tool for raising money, also provides the information and education system needed to enable campaigners to raise the desired amount.
Project timeline: 10/2021 – 06/2023
Project partner1: NORSENSUS MEDIAFORUM
Project partner2: N/A
Project eligible expenditure: 77,060 €
Project grant: 69,354 €
PDCS
Civil society in the post-covid period: development scenarios and preparation for the new normal
Main aim and activites:
The project was aimed at creating scenarios for the development of civil society in Slovakia and on their basis to create a hybrid training programme for civil society organisations in the field of adaptation to the new normal in the post-covid era. Since 2019, PDCS, o.z,. has been working on the topic of strengthening civil society resilience. The 2020 pandemic has brought a situation that none of us were prepared for, and has significantly impacted the functioning of CSOs. At a time when a return to ‘normality’ was imminent, Russia attacked Ukraine.
The project implementers, PDCS, have long thought about how to help CSOs prepare in advance for what may come. Recent years have taught project implementers that the ability and habit of thinking about versions of the future that we refuse to accept, even though they may come, is essential. Together with a team of researchers and forecasters, the project implementers have tried to name possible scenarios for the development of the civil sector in Slovakia.
The trends revealed in this process were then validated with more than 40 organisations, platforms and initiatives. In a series of meetings, an effort was made to identify more precisely what lies ahead of them and in what directions they can be most useful for the Slovak population. The result of the process is a publication with five selected scenarios of possible developments.
The educational activities were designed not only for civil sector organisations, but also for public sector institutions that are already actively cooperating with civil society organisations and initiatives.
Project timeline: 11/2021 – 07/2023
Project partner1: Menneskerettighetsakademiet – Human Rights Academy
Project partner2: N/A
Project eligible expenditure: 88,851.11 €
Project grant: 79,966 €
Categories
2. Call Supported projects
Projects supported in the program in 2. Call – Medium and Strategic Grants.
Medium Grants:
Different
Bašta – a Space for Civic Activities
Main aim and activites:
The project was a milestone that moved the Different civic association towards greater professionalisation in their work, created space for consolidating old and creating new networks, improved internal functioning and kick-started the renovation of another floor in Bašta, which provides space for more activities.
As a team, the civic association went through longer-term internal trainings (fundraising, organization management) that helped the team members to find a system in the running processes, to make their work more efficient and transparent, and to set up key activities for a longer period of time. Closer cooperation with Oz Truc sphérique and the Norwegian partner also contributed to this. Thanks to this project, the organisation was able to reinforce the team with an additional person and also recruit more volunteers. The project also established cooperation with local schools and the local Roma community. Networking between local NGOs and active residents of the town was strengthened through open workshops.
The project contributed significantly to the transformation of another dilapidated floor of the Bašta in Bardejov, where the organisation operates, into a space where more civic and cultural activities are carried out. Significant progress in all these areas has been essential for the functioning of the organisation. For a long time, the project implementers felt the need to develop the potential of the Bašta and the community of active people that had formed around it, but the previous capacities (human, financial and spatial) did not allow it. The great importance of the project is perceived by the project implementers in particular in the fact that they managed to move from an operational functioning to a more conceptual one with concrete long-term goals, visions and partnerships.
Project timeline: 06/2020 – 02/2022
Project partner1: Kulturfjøset Huser
Project partner2: N/A
Project eligible expenditure: 88,637.77 €
Project grant: 79,774 €
Otvor dvor
CO3 – Co-exist, Co-work, Co-operate
Main aim and activites:
The project managed to reconstruct accommodation units for the needs of co-working in the cultural centre Kláštor in Rožňava, to reconstruct and equip the multimedia studio, as well as to train a team of co-workers who started working on several projects in this multimedia studio. In spite of the constraints related to the Covid-19 pandemic, the reconstruction of the accommodation facilities has progressed during the course of the project. The pandemic situation led to a prolongation of the renovation work, but in the end the organization was able to successfully complete this part of the project.
A total of 4 workshops were held during the project. These were professional trainings for the OTVOR DVOR team. The aim was to train the team to work with the equipment purchased for the Multimedia Studio (how to work with the equipment, proper filming, working with specialized software for video editing, etc.). The project managed to organize 2 major events, one offline and one online conference. The first event included educational and networking activities, themed around strategic communication through storytelling and design thinking, as well as the topic of co-working as a learning space.
At the same time, discussions with representatives of Slovak co-workers working in the regions were included in the conference programme, creating a space for exchanging experiences and networking. It also included a workshop on improving strategic communication skills, led by Norwegian partners.
Project timeline: 05/2020 – 02/2022
Project partner1: Norsensus Mediaforum
Project partner2: Bjerkaker Learning Lab
Project eligible expenditure: 88,585.56 €
Project grant: 79,727 €
WWF Slovensko
Green for Business
Main aim and activites:
The Green for Business project brought WWF Slovakia expanded opportunities for cooperation with companies and gained new supporters. WWF cooperates with companies all over the world on its projects and activities. By working with companies, it also works to transform them and their entire supply chain. The aim of the project was to establish a strategy for working with companies, procedures for engaging companies and their employees, and to put these procedures into practice.
The project developed a long-term strategy for cooperation with companies in Slovakia – the project implementers created a database of potential future partners of WWF Slovakia, trained the entire WWF team in better communication and understanding of fundraising, prepared webinars for company employees to raise awareness of WWF work in Slovakia, familiarised themselves with how the partner, WWF Norway, works, established cooperation with 2 companies at the level of project sponsors, initiated discussions with several potential partners, reached employees of two companies through webinars.
The main result of the project is that WWF Slovakia started to cooperate with companies, which resulted in increased financial support for their projects. For 2020, the organisation received EUR 15,000 more from companies than the year before. Ongoing negotiations should bring even more support. An unplanned result was individual fundraising, which started thanks to the commitment of the employees. Over the course of the project, the organisation received 250 one-off donors and 43 regular contributors. In addition to the companies and employees involved, the target groups helped by the project are the Prakoreň Community Association and the village of Hlboké, which brought new projects and helped them to implement them. In a broader context, the project implementers set the direction of cooperation between WWF Slovakia, companies, civic associations and municipalities.
Project timeline: 09/2020 – 05/2022
Project partner1: WWF Nórsko
Project partner2: N/A
Project eligible expenditure: 79,990 €
Project grant: 71,991 €
Post Bellum SK
Capacity Building and Sustainable Development of Post Bellum SK
Main aim and activites:
The main goal of the project was to strengthen Post Bellum in Slovakia (in the areas of human resources, branding, fundraising). The planned objectives have been met and the current organisation is working on their sustainability and expansion.
The project has developed and implemented a Salesforce CRM system, improved relevant parts of the website, as well as communication and fundraising campaigns in online and offline environments, which have contributed to the development of individual and corporate donations. CRM/Salesforce also assists the organization in developing volunteerism or the Memory of a Nation College, working with contact databases.
The organization has achieved institutional sustainability in the following ways: 1) by diversifying income towards moving away from grant funding, 2) the Post Bellum Director has taken a Leadership course and regular mentoring sessions with a mentor – Milan Šagát. The Leadership course focused on effective management of the organization (to achieve higher management standards) and sustainability of the organization, 3) engagement of external consultants/facilitators who successfully guided the project implementers through the 2021-2024 strategic planning process, which will directly lead to institutional sustainability 4) implementation of a project management application/software.
All activities planned within the project were prepared with an emphasis on their sustainability and the sustainability of the organisation as such in the future (not only from a financial point of view). By strengthening fundraising from individual donors, companies, as well as raising funds from local governments, the organisation has partly succeeded in reducing its dependence on grants – individual fundraising in particular is an effective way to achieve this goal.
Project timeline: 05/2020 – 05/2022
Project partner1: N/A
Project partner2: N/A
Project eligible expenditure: 68,620 €
Project grant: 61,758 €
Nezávislá platforma SocioFórum, o.z.
Developing of SocioFórum as a Relevant Partner in Public Policy-making
Main aim and activites:
The aim of the project was to strengthen the advocacy activities of SocioForum, to strengthen the operational activities of the organisation, to support the expertise of the members of the organisation in favour of their own public policy proposals, but also to participate in the development of strategic materials of public policies of the Slovak Republic in the social field.
SocioForum commented on 14 draft legal regulations, 9 of which were in the inter-ministerial comment procedure, submitted several opinions on the current situation in the social field and also opened/supported the discussion on topics important for its members through letter communication with public administration authorities.
The organisation’s involvement in public policy-making was reflected in its members’ interest in education. A total of 127 people, including local government representatives, participated in SocioForum’s training sessions. During the project 16 members were added (13 organisations and 3 individuals). The creation of the Idea Proposal for the Reform of Crisis Intervention Services brought together member organisations with different focuses within the group, but also strengthened their participation in the development of their own proposals, commenting on policy proposals in this area.
Thanks to the project, it was possible to set the conditions for the long-term sustainable functioning of the organisation, both in terms of communication with members and other partners in the social field, but also in terms of the financial sustainability of the organisation.
Project timeline: 06/2020 – 02/2022
Project partner1: N/A
Project partner2: N/A
Project eligible expenditure: 63,056 €
Project grant: 56,750 €
Strategic Grants:
PDCS, o.z.
Civic Leaders on Long Runs
Main aim and activites:
The Civic Leaders for the Long Run project focused on building the leadership capacity and resilience of the organisation. It focused on supporting two types of leaders. The first was emerging NGO directors who had recently found themselves in leadership positions. The second group was made up of leaders who are often overworked or burnt out after years in a management position. The project also focused on strengthening organisations, specifically on building their resilience.
The project consisted of seven activities:
Establishment and work of the project advisory committee, Learning Kit for Emerging Leaders – training on building resilience and leadership, Learning Kit for Emerging Leaders – consultancy support for participating organisations, Learning Kit for Emerging Leaders of NGOs – study trip to Norway, Support for senior leaders – peer-coaching programme, Open learning seminars, Final workshop for emerging and senior leaders – in the form of a final workshop of the resilience building programme and an online resilience conference.
As part of the Resilience Building Programme and the Peer-Coaching Programme, the project strengthened the capacity of 59 CSO leaders in the area of organisational resilience. In total, members of more than 110 NGOs and initiatives from across the country participated in project activities.
Project timeline: 08/2020 – 09/2022
Project partner1: Menneskerettighetsakademiet – Human Rights Academy
Project partner2: N/A
Project eligible expenditure: 116,584.44 €
Project grant: 104,926 €
Centrum inkluzívneho vzdelávania
Towards Inclusive Education
Main aim and activites:
Today, the Centre for Inclusive Education has a stable full-time management team of 3 and is looking for an additional person. It has a functional and active Board of Directors. It produces new outputs yearly, including many videos, publications, and advocacy activities. It is in the process of creating laws, commenting, and guiding the system on the topic of inclusive education: 9 long-term trainings in Artphiletics, Teaching Assistant in Practice, Nonviolent Communication, School Support Team, Facilitative and Reflective Learning. It has created 28 short-term webinar topics for pedagogical and professional staff, and almost 2000 graduates from all over the country have participated in them.
The organisation implemented the unique Grunnlaget training in collaboration with our Norwegian partner. Development of the organisation – we managed to expand the organisational team (currently 3 permanent employees), the board of directors (3 members who meet monthly), more than 20 expert lecturers, the organisation has developed important documents: strategic plan, financial plan, marketing plan.
Project timeline: 06/2020 – 03/2022
Project partner1: Pedverket Resource Centre
Project partner2: N/A
Project eligible expenditure: 116,556 €
Project grant: 104,900 €
Karpatský rozvojový inštitút
Strong Voice of Civil Society in Public Policy-making in Times of CLImate CRIsis – CLICRI
Main aim and activites:
The issue of adaptation to the impacts of climate change is still in its early stages in Slovakia, and therefore there is a lack of a more detailed look at the impact of these impacts on individual population groups and their ability to respond to them.
The project implementers conducted research on the topic of socially just adaptation based on available literature and studies, then organized a focus group to verify and complement the knowledge gained. Based on the information gathered, they prepared a questionnaire for a short survey on the problems and needs of civil society organisations working with the most vulnerable groups of the population in relation to the impacts of climate change. The project implementers compiled the results of the survey, sent them to the participating organisations and published them on the website www.kri.sk.
The project implementers gained a picture of the current situation in the field of socially just adaptation in Slovakia from the perspective of NGOs, the problems and challenges they face and the extent to which they and their clients perceive the impact of climate change on their working/living situation.
The project also aimed at networking other NGOs so that they could develop a common position on the issue and be equal partners of the public administration at all levels in the process of finding the right solutions. It is also important that municipalities and organisations are able to communicate and communicate effectively on this topic to the target groups, to which the project’s training seminar also contributed. The topic of responding to climate change has the highest possible priority (financial resources) for the next period, which means that from a sustainability point of view, the activities and events that have been created within the framework of this project can and should be followed up after the end of the project.
Project timeline: 06/2020 – 03/2022
Project partner1: Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research – Oslo Metropolitan University
Project partner2: N/A
Project eligible expenditure: 102,471 €
Project grant: 90,174 €
SOSNA občianske združenie
We serve the communities of the Košice region
Main aim and activites:
The aim of the project was to strengthen the human and programme capacities of the o.z. SOSNA for the development of work with target groups (education, municipalities, civic associations, volunteers, business sector) in order to ensure the long-term financial and personal sustainability of the organization. The biggest challenge was the lack of capacity of the organisation. Existing programmes were covering part of all the Eco-centre’s operational costs and thus only partially ensuring financial self-sufficiency.
The most important activity of the project has been the very successful cooperation with primary and secondary schools in the planning and creation of climate-smart school gardens. This activity contributed significantly to the new service offer and to the cooperation with the public sector (schools and municipalities), thus fulfilling the set objectives. Another important activity was the cooperation with the City of Košice in incorporating changes in the city’s strategic documents in the field of school garden development and climate protection. An equally important activity was the cooperation with a more experienced partner from Iceland as well as with local partners, which contributed to increasing the capacity of SOSNA. The third activity was the updating and expansion of SOSNA events. The success and impact of these activities confirmed the sustainable direction of SOSNA.
For a long time, SOSNA has focused mainly on target groups: pupils and teachers of kindergarten, primary and secondary schools. In order to kick-start change in the organisation, we have expanded our reach to other groups: business employees, university staff and students, and local government. Results: updated SOSNY’s development strategy and direction. New partnerships with foreign and domestic entities established and better collaboration with them. Increased capacity of the SOSNA Eco-Centre to launch new sustainable initiatives.
Project timeline: 11/2020 – 06/2023
Project partner1: Sólheimar Eco-village
Project partner2: N/A
Project eligible expenditure: 105 802 €
Project grant: 95 221 €
Categories
1. Call Supported projects
Projects supported in the program in 1. Call – Medium and Strategic Grants.
Medium Grants:
Raná starostlivosť, n.o.
Vital Capacity
Main aim and activites:
Due to the growing interest of families and the increasing number of staff, the organisation Raná starostlivosť faced the challenge of better coordination, adjusting the organizational structure and also the organization’s financial sustainability plan. All of these activities were important so that staff could deepen their expertise, share it with each other, and create a functioning transdisciplinary team.
The organization focused not only on professionals but also on parent education. The project implementers identified strategic goals and a training plan that will be offered to the professional and lay public. As part of the project, they also began to focus on the financial sustainability and development of the organization. Two brochures have been published: “Children who learn to see” and “Video training of interactions. Supporting the parent-child relationship.” To raise awareness among the general public about these topics, videos and podcasts have been made available on the organization’s website and Facebook.
The key to sustainability was the creation of a website and the electronic version of the brochures, where families and professionals will find the necessary information about the organization as well as the service and topics it offers them. The courses, which were piloted in the project, will be implemented repeatedly for other new groups of experts and parents thanks to the created professional documents and accreditation material.
Project timeline: 09/2019 – 02/2021
Project partner1: Icelandic National Institute for the Blind, Visually Impaired and Deafblind
Project partner2: N/A
Project eligible expenditure: 65,000 €
Project grant: 58,500 €
A4 – asociácia združení pre súčasnú kultúru
Strengthening the capacity and cooperation of civic cultural organizations for better public policies in the field of culture
Main aim and activites:
The need for the project stemmed from the situation in which the field of contemporary culture and its diverse civic forms, such as professional associations, cultural initiatives, premises and bottom-up cultural centers, were located. Despite the systemic changes that have taken place at the level of public policies in the field of cultural support and positively affected by cultural civil society organizations, these actors faced the problem of limited opportunities for their own institutional development and thus the challenge of activities. The main reason for this situation is that most financial support (including the above) does not allow to finance important personnel costs necessary for the operation of organizations, but is focused almost exclusively on the support of activities aimed directly at artistic creation and presentation.
Within the project, 5 main activities were implemented, through which the set project goals were met and the selected target groups were addressed. In an effort to create and strengthen the organization’s capacity in the area of personnel and financial management, 2 new positions of executive director and financial manager have been filled. The next step towards the sustainability, efficiency and professionalization of job positions and planning, decision-making and management organizational processes was the strategic planning of the development and sustainability of the organization in A4, thus working with the target group in the form of A4. Subsequently, a case study was created.
Project timeline: 09/2019 – 05/2021
Project partner1: Anténa – sieť pre nezávislú kultúru / Antena – Network for Independent Culture
Project partner2: KU.BA – Kultúrna Bratislava
Project eligible expenditure: 69,521.80 €
Project grant: 62,569 €
Nadácia DeDo – Solidarita s deťmi z detských domovov
We are innovating ourselves!
Main aim and activites:
Project We are innovating ourselves! was focused on the transformation of the DEDO Foundation, capacity building of the DEDO Foundation, strategic development of the foundation and strengthening the financial stability and independence of the foundation, raising the quality standard of management, strengthening the DEDO Foundation brand (by creating and implementing a communication and marketing strategy) and creating and implementing the Concept of Caring Housing and developing partnerships with local governments and other NGOs. The aim of the project was also with the help of external experts and to build capacity and create the basis for branding the DEDO Foundation as a lawyer and innovator in the field of homelessness solutions.
The project enabled not only the creation of a new vision and strategies and concepts for its fulfillment, but through personnel capacities, increased quality of management and transparency also enabled the creation of conditions for its fulfillment – the DEDO Foundation brand became visible, the foundation is an active lawyer in homelessness at local and At the national level, infrastructure was created (including the establishment of All for the Family, and Dorka Bags) for the implementation of the HOUSING and EMPLOYMENT programs (as program priorities of the DEDO Foundation), the DEDO Foundation and its organizations obtained financial resources and created a housing fund for Housing. The first project for families in Košice, the foundation also laid the foundations and develops a new type of service for homeless people – field health and social care, the DEDO Foundation has expanded its portfolio of donors and partners who will guarantee the sustainability of the programs. The successful application of the Housing First approach, but also cooperation with the City of Košice and NGOs operating in the field of homelessness solutions will not only make housing accessible to target groups, but will create conditions for gradual conceptual solutions aimed at preventing and ending homelessness in Košice and Slovakia. The DEDO Foundation has also formally partnered with its established organizations, creating a strong network of homelessness NGOs sharing their capacities and coordinating their activities.
Project timeline: 05/2019 – 09/2020
Project partner1: N/A
Project partner2: N/A
Project eligible expenditure: 63,975.28 €
Project grant: 57,577 €
Človek v ohrození, n.o.
Developing the internal capacities of the organisation and its external reach with a strategic focus on strengthening the base of supporters and philanthropy at the individual level
Main aim and activites:
The organization has grown over the last 4 years and the number of employees has almost doubled. The complexity of management has increased even further due to the size of the organisation and the diversity of the content of the departments. Also, a lot of project data has not been processed in one project tool. The second identified need addressed by the project was to increase the organisation’s external reach, particularly focusing on increasing the number of individual supporters. For this purpose, it was necessary to work more efficiently with contacts throughout the organisation (single database) and also to set up comprehensive communication through communication-fundraising campaigns and, to a greater extent, through a communication manual.
The following activities were carried out during the project: Introduction of unified working in the online environment of the Teams tool as a project tool that facilitated internal processes, implementation of 7 fundraising campaigns that expanded the base of individual supporters, modification of the Salesforce database that was initially used only for fundraising, unification of external communication outputs through the communication manual, unification of crisis campaign procedures and communication guidelines for staff, creation and launch of a new website (the management team received strategic communications and management training and internal crisis and strategic communications training, which proved particularly important during the Coronation crisis.
Project timeline: 01-07-2019 – 30-06-2020
Project partner1: N/A
Project partner2: N/A
Project eligible expenditure: 71,438.46 €
Project grant: 64,294 €
Divé maky
Institutional development of Divé maky
Main aim and activites:
The aim of the project was the institutional development, strategy setting and better sustainability and fundraising of the civic association Divé maky so that it is not only sustainable but also its quality level is increased. The aim of the project was to help the organization become more professional and thus more sustainable by improving the skills of the whole team, strengthening competencies, introducing changes to improve the quality of the organization’s management, improving planning, introducing modern strategies, and improving financial sustainability.
The main results of the project were, on the one hand, the professionalisation and professional development of all members of the Dié maky team – both the management of the organisation and the regional mentors. On the other hand, the implementation of a successful crowdfunding campaign with the support of corporate partners, who provided their professional services, created the Dié Poppies Fund, which will help to subsidize children who did not receive sufficient or no support from individual donors. Proceeds from the campaign with the support of corporate partners: EUR 29 527. Number of people involved in the activities: 1: 4 Divé Poppies team members and 18 mentors, 2 corporate partners and a number of other volunteers. The importance of the project for Divé maky o.z. is crucial for the continued successful maintenance of the organisation’s projects and activities, as well as the overall professionalisation of the organisation and the whole team.
Project timeline: 01-08-2019 – 31-12-2020
Project partner1: SKPR STRATEGIES, Ltd
Project partner2: Respect APP Ltd
Project eligible expenditure: 52 632,20 €
Project grant: 47 368 €
Združenie Informačných a poradenských centier mladých
Modern information and counseling services for young people
Main aim and activites:
The aim of the project was to work more efficiently and concretely, to innovate and modernise the form and tools of information provision, to reflect the current needs of young people and to strengthen the specific competences of the staff needed for this activity.
Through the project, it was possible to strengthen the network of organisations that were gradually losing their identity, to create a clear and realistic strategy, to innovate the visual side of the organisation towards young people, to raise the professional level of the staff and, consequently, to extend the cooperation with other actors.
In the framework of the project, the consultants of the member organisations have intensively mastered the topics they deal with and have expertise in them. A list of contacts for each topic will be created on the www.icm.sk consultation website. The project conducted 12 training sessions with 114 participants and 25 activities with 239 direct participants.
The activities within the project were implemented in a logical way, starting from the identification of the needs of the target group, through the analysis of the situation and needs of the organisations themselves, to the fulfilment of these needs through the empowerment of the staff and the monitoring of the impact of the direct activities for youth in the individual participating organisations.
For the subsequent SWOT analysis, a baseline document was created with all the organisations, also 16 measures that have been incorporated or are in the process of implementation. The project implementers, together with the member organisations, set the vision and defined the values of the organisation, the output of which was communicated at the conference, then added to the website and incorporated into the annual report. The project also focused on creating a new visual identity for the organisation: the new logo of the Youth Information Centre was consulted with young people on social media.
Project timeline: 01-04-2019 – 31-07-2020
Project partner1: N/A
Project partner2: N/A
Project eligible expenditure: 64 589 €
Project grant: 58 130 €
Strategic Grants:
Centrum pre filantropiu n.o.
Improving access to private financing of CSOs
Main aim and activites:
The environment of the non-profit sector needs a stable tool that will enable the long-term acquisition of donations for the organization’s activities via the Internet. Thanks to the DARUJME.sk web platform (DONATE.sk), donors can easily donate one-time and regular donations. Organizations can quickly create a donation page to place on their website. Thanks to DARUJME.sk, the organizations can build relationships with their donors, involve them in the story of the organization and together fulfill its mission.
The goal of all activities was to move the DARUJME.sk platform significantly forward. The main activity was the extension of the donor infrastructure. Within it, the project promoters have programmed a completely new DARUJME 2.0 (DONATE 2.0) which is built on the latest systems and allows continuous development and the addition of new features. It has set up a long-term training program for fundraisers, because the tool alone is not enough – people in involved organizations need to know how to reach donors. Thanks to the project, it was possible to prepare an information campaign on donor calls, which explained what it is and how to use it to raise resources.
During the project, the organizations involved in DARUJME.sk received 354,134 donations from 117,140 donors in the total amount of € 8,141,108. 499 organizations received donations, 200 of which exceeded € 2,000. These values significantly exceeded the planned indicators. As part of the project, 10 organizations agreed to further cooperate with a marketing and communication company. The project promoters managed to convince 300 new organizations that DARUJME.sk is an important part of their fundraising. At the beginning of the project, almost no one used donor calls for the benefit of organizations.
The project was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, too. The involved organizations started to use DARUJME.sk more to obtain resources and the donors helped them also in lockdowns or to keep them even during interrupted activities. DARUJME.sk is currently the only tool of its kind in Slovakia and will continue to operate after the end of the project. The increase in the donated amount in 2020 was 100% and in 2021 36%. It teaches donors to trust online donations, to collect donations for organizations, it also teaches organizations to communicate and fundraise.
Project timeline: 06/2019 – 02/2022
Project partner1: Norsensus Mediaforum
Project partner2: N/A
Project eligible expenditure: 114,729 €
Project grant: 103,256 €
Platforma rodín detí so zdravotným znevýhodnením
Linking is both the way and the goal
Main aim and activites:
In Slovakia, children with disabilities and their families face various problems. The Platforma rodín organization was created in order to advocate for the needs of children with any medical handicap and their families. The range of activities required for this turned out to be so large that it could no longer be carried out on a voluntary basis. Therefore, the challenges of the project were: to build a strong umbrella parent organization for families of children with any medical handicap; to verify in practice the conditions necessary for the employment of parents of children with disabilities who normally do not have access to the labor market; set the long-term sustainability of the organization.
The following activities were carried out for the mentioned calls: team education, webinars and team meetings, defining the vision, mission, goals, organizational structure, defining the activities of the members of the organization, filling jobs for 9 parents of children with disabilities and providing care for their children with the help of a partner CDKL5, creation of a campaign called We know you need us, education for 308 parents, collection of 780 parental suggestions.
The main results of the project are: creation of multi-source support for families of children with disabilities (lay advisors, infoportal…), stable partnerships with 7 organizations and 2 private sector entities, connecting key stakeholders – 69 people and 116 representatives of organizations in project activities, 308 informed parents who will enforce their children’s rights themselves, securing funds for 6 months of the team’s continued operation.
Based on the indicators, it is clear that thanks to the project, the organization has become professional. It has become a stable support for the target group of families of children with disabilities and a respected partner for competent and other non-governmental non-profit organizations. Participation in the creation of 3 strategic government documents for children with disabilities is proof of the partnership with competent authorities. The created positions will remain active even after the end of the project. Cooperation with 2 entities of the private sector brought the Unstoppable project and probono support in the field of PR, which after the end of the project creates another campaign to increase mutual understanding between the public and people with disabilities.
Project timeline: 08/2019 – 03/2021
Project partner1: CDKL5 Slovakia
Project partner2: Rökstólar Samvinnumiðstöð
Project eligible expenditure: 111,930.80 €
Project grant: 100,737 €
CINEFIL
Open Smile
Main aim and activites:
In Slovakia, very few venues, especially cinema halls, are specially adapted for the blind, autistic, hearing impaired or elderly. In Košice, they decided to change this, and from one of the oldest still serving cinemas in Slovakia, the CINEFIL organisation decided to create a space for all.
Thanks to the reconstruction of the lower premises of the Úsmev Cinema, the ideal space and conditions were created to launch inclusive film groups Klapka, Úsmev! In addition, open screenings specially adapted to people who have autism and dementia were included in the programme, thus expanding the local cultural offer (14 screenings in total with almost 300 visitors). The project stimulated discussion on inclusion and openness in culture. It attracted and built contacts, culminating in creating an inclusive platform that brings together non-profit organisations, civic associations, and cultural centres to make them more accessible to all.
The project aimed to streamline the functioning and communication of Cinema Úsmev, to contribute to a more inclusive and open cultural offer in Košice and to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly operation of the Cinema Úsmev building. The organisation participated in 5 training sessions with a Norwegian partner, with whom it continuously discussed current challenges and possible solutions. The results were published in annual reports to increase the organisation‘s transparency, and a board of directors was established. Through workshops on non-violent communication with marginalised groups, social networking, inclusive education and film education, the organisation helped better communicate with its partner organisations (small organisations with less experience).
Project timeline: 06/2019 – 02/2022
Project partner1: Tou Scene AS
Project partner2: Usmej sa na mňa
Project eligible expenditure: 106,674.44 €
Project grant: 96,007 €