CEE TRUST - Trust for Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe

Please note that the application procedure is the same for all kind of CEE Trust support!

I. CEE Trust objectives

To fulfill our mission we support people and organizations in CEE countries to take strategic steps with long-term benefits, toward three mutually reinforcing and intersecting objectives:

· to create a supportive environment for civil society, which includes legal, fiscal and political environments favorable to a strong civic life;

· to strengthen the non-profit sector through capacity building, advocacy, intra sector and cross-sectoral cooperation and partnership;

· to enhance the financial sustainability of non-profit organizations by developing public and private sources of support for nonprofit sector and by supporting the operational and strategic development of nonprofit organizations.

II. Priority areas of support

1. Accountability of Public Institutions

In a democratic society, civil society actors are one of the most effective vehicles for keeping public institutions accountable and promoting good governance in the public sphere. Specifically, civil society actors may achieve this through mechanisms such as, but not limited to:

· watchdog activities (monitoring of public practices, policies and institutions);

· contribution to development and implementation of public policies;

· advocacy;

· investigative journalism;

· strategic litigation.

Proposals should prove that the project will add significant value for the general public, or for a defined minority, through achieving transparency and accountability in public institutions or by highlighting serious problems caused by disfunctionalities of the public institutions.

2. Civic Engagement and Community Mobilization

The growing apathy of individual citizens and constituencies and a diminishing interest in public affairs endanger the foundation and stability of democracy. Stimulating participation on all levels of public life is a primary role for civil society actors. Part of this strategy should be consistent efforts to:

· educate and empower the public on their rights and role as citizens in a democracy;

· raise public awareness on critical issues;

· strengthen organizations’ and groups’ capacity to generate public debate on topics of importance;

· bring new voices into the public debate;

· develop civil society actors’ public communication skills;

· encourage critical thinking and real public debate;

· other.

3. Solidarity in Social Life

Social solidarity is related not only to the problems of integration of disadvantaged groups that have become economically and socially marginalized throughout the region but it concerns also the connections between people through community of interests, objectives and standards. Solidarity in social life is to help the people in need to find out how to solve their problems. Civil society actors are, inarguably, one of the only voices available to speak for these groups.

The CEE Trust will support projects offering fresh ideas how to stimulate:

· mutual understanding and acceptance;

· care of the mainstream society for the poor, the elderly, the excluded;

· engagement of all parties (disadvantaged groups, NGOs, educational organizations)

· efficient partnerships to address problems of marginalized groups.

Applicants can focus on one or more areas if the proposed approach meets the challenge.

Please note that the CEE Trust does not support provision of social services for disadvantaged groups.

4. Supportive environment for civil society

Fragmentation and lack of domestic financial support in civil society are problems impeding its ability to act as a strong public voice. In some cases, the legal and fiscal environment surrounding civil society actors throws up significant barriers to their function. With an increased fight for survival, there is often more rivalry than cooperation and joint action on certain causes. Within this category, the CEE Trust encourages submission of proposals that focus on, but not limited to:

· supporting innovative sustainability mechanisms for the sector;

· encouraging consolidation;

· building partnerships and cross-sectoral cooperation;

· promoting philanthropy on all levels;

· advocating for a legal and fiscal environment that enables civil society actors to fulfill their role.

Applicants can focus on different areas if the proposed approach meets the challenge.

III. Types of support

A) In-country Programs

The CEE Trust awards grants and fellowships on a regular basis throughout the year. The scope and scale of the CEE Trust grantmaking activity are determined by the size of its budget for the coming years until the end of 2012 as well as the priorities of the CEE Trust in the relevant countries.

On October 1, 2009 the CEE Trust opens a general Call for Proposals for Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania.

B) Cross-Border Initiatives (ongoing)

In the light of the CEE Trust mission, the Cross-Border Initiative supports leading organizations working regionally and strategic regional initiatives of ‘domestic' NGOs in CEE. Eligible initiatives shall come from:

· CEE regional NGO resource and infrastructure organizations;

· CEE regional advocacy, watchdog and public policy initiatives/networks;

· CEE regional networking and information exchange initiatives/organizations (context in which CEE civil society functions);

· CEE regional cross-border grant-makers;

· CEE regional initiatives linking civil society actors with policy makers and public authorities (local, regional, national and EU levels).

A maximum grant amount has been set for up to 25,000 USD. However, the CEE Trust might be flexible as to the size of grants requested and as to the program duration as well, as long as it is reasonably justified by the applicant. Supported initiatives would preferably include significant co-funding from other sources.

Beyond above-mentioned types of initiatives, the CEE Trust Cross-Border Initiative is a flexible and responsive mechanism able to react to other opportunities as well. The CEE Trust runs the initiative in a pro-active manner and considers applications continuously. The CEE Trust is willing to cooperate with other donors in order to expand the geographic scope of its Cross-Border Initiative and is looking for solid and stable networks, not for ad hoc ideas.

The application procedure follows the steps described for the in-country programs.

C) Fellowship opportunities

The CEE Trust provides a limited number of individual fellowships aiming at developing leadership capacities of NGOs and Foundations in the region. Currently there are two fellowship opportunities:

1. Individual grants for young leaders as well as senior managers and executives under the International Fellowship Program (IFP) managed by the EFC on competition basis within an open call for applications. Such persons are given the opportunity to work from 3 to 12 weeks in another organization throughout Europe to gain valuable insights. (For detail see: http://www.efc.be)

2. Individual support available to individuals for participating in big civil society events, conferences, seminars, workshops etc upon request. The individuals should be invited as speakers, moderators or active participants in discussions. The applicants must submit their motivation letter, the agenda of the event as well as the request for funding to the CEE Trust at least one month prior to the event. If there is more than one application for the same event, the decision will be taken by the selection committee based on the following criteria:

· Personal and organizational merit;

· Personal involvement

· Follow-up commitment.

IV. Who can apply

· formal and informal non-profit, non-governmental organizations

· citizens’ groups, coalitions, movements, individuals (only for Fellowship opportunities), educational institutions.

· A partner could be an organization that will be directly involved in the implementation of the project, or an unregistered community group, or organizations that support the project or will be involved in some other way in applicants’ work (except subcontractors). Please note that having partners is not a requirement for funding and that the contracting party with the CEE Trust will be the applicant organization.

Not eligible:

· political organizations;

· trade unions;

· business organizations and businesses.

V. Selection procedures

II.1. The applicants must submit a Letter of intent and Project Application Form. The Letter of intent is a brief form of the project proposal presented on no more than one page (500 words). The budget is calculated in US dollars.

Letter of Intent should include: (Brief explanations are provided under each heading)

1) Project title

2) Name of the applicant and partners (if any).

3) Problem(s) identification

What is/are the problem(s) that you want to address?

4) Project goal and objectives

What solution(s) do you propose to address the identified problem(s)?

5) Target groups

Which organizations, institutions, groups or individuals will be involved in solving the identified problem(s) (or in the proposed project)?

6) Activities and results

How do you propose (or plan) to achieve your goal and objectives?

7) Expected impact

How is your project expected to influence the identified problem? Or how do you expect your project will influence the identified problem?

8) Expected funding (in USD) – please do not provide the CEE Trust with detailed budgets;

1) Total budget of the proposed project (lump sum)

2) Amount requested from the CEE Trust (lump sump)

Please note that the acceptance of the letter of intent DOES NOT guarantee that the full proposal will be funded.

The letter of intent and the Project Application Form must be submitted electronically (via e-mail only) to the following addresses

Applications from Bulgaria: bulgaria.applications@ceetrust.org

Applications from the Czech Republic: czechrepublic.applications@ceetrust.org

Applications from Hungary: hungary.applications@ceetrust.org

Applications from Poland: poland.applications@ceetrust.org

Applications from Romania: romania.applications@ceetrust.org

Applications from Slovakia: slovakia.applications@ceetrust.org

Applicants will be notified electronically and immediately that their applications have been registered.

II.2.The short–listed applicants will be invited to submit a Full proposal for CEE Trust funding.

The full proposal should include the following elements (in English):

A) Proposal - please use the Full proposal form

B) Budget - please use the Financial proposal form

A. Proposal (maximum 12 pages)

Summary [maximum 1 page]

1. Project title: give the title of your project

2. Applicant: give the name of the applicant

3. Implementing partners: list the names of the implementing partners or members of the consortium

4. Goal: What would you like to achieve?

5. Objectives: list the stages for the achievement of the broader goal

6. Activities: list the main proposed activities

7. Total project cost and funds requested: provide an estimated figure of the total budget of the project and the amount requested from CEE Trust.

Please note that CEE Trust does not establish limits for the grant. However, in case the costs are not duly justified (e.g. not in accordance to the proposed activities, market prices, etc) the CEE Trust reserves the right to propose cut down of the budget.

8. List of Key Personnel: provide the names of Executive Director (leader of the consortium) and the person responsible for the Project

9. Duration: provide the estimated duration of the project in number of months.
Please note: Long-term projects should be completed until August 31, 2012 and reported not later than October 31, 2012.

Please note that CEE Trust does not establish limits for the duration of the project. However, in case the proposed duration is not fully in line with the proposed activities or it is overestimated, the CEE Trust reserves the right to propose change of the duration of the project

Description

It should include:

1. The problem, identified in the Letter of Intent (no more than 300 words);

a) Problem(s) identification;

What is/are the problem(s) that you want to address?

b) Context analysis

[Please describe the context that substantiates your proposal. You should give brief background followed by concrete data and examples. You could refer to relevant statistics, surveys, studies, official documents or strategies, etc, if available. Please also refer at similar initiatives of your organization or other organizations/institutions implemented in the field addressed by the project.

2. Goal

[What would you like to achieve? In order to ensure that your goal corresponds with the CEE Trust's mission and the four funding priorities, we recommend you to read again these documents.]

3. Objectives

[Which are the stages for the achievement of the broader goal? The objectives should be logically linked to the goal but they should be more tangible and measurable. You should avoid general statements like: "improve the state of the civil society" or "involve people in the democratic process".]

4. Target groups and beneficiaries

[Which are the organizations, institutions, groups or individuals that will be involved in solving the identified problem(s)? Who will benefit from your project?]

5. Approach [up to 500 words]

Please describe:

a) Organization and methods (How will the project be organized?)

b) Activities (List and describe all key activities; make sure that the activities correspond with the objectives)

c) Project management (How will the project be managed?)

d) Administration (What will be the administrative support for the project?)

6. Time table

[Describe the key stages of the project. Please note that CEE Trust does not establish limits for the duration of the project. However, in case the proposed duration is not fully in line with the proposed activities or it is overestimated, the CEE Trust reserves the right to propose change of the duration of the project.]

7. Results

[Please list the key results expected from the project. Make sure that the results correspond to the activities]

8. Risks [up to 200 words]

[What could go wrong with your project?]

9. Outreach, transparency and visibility [up to 200 words]

[Here you can describe how you will make your project visible to the public, how will you advertise it, what type of open access reports will you produce, how and when you will get the media involved, how you will publish the results of the project, how you will promote the project and the CEE Trust's name and values.]

10. Sustainability

[What will happen to the project after the end of the CEE Trust funding?]

11. Indicators of success

[What are the expected benefits and gains for the community as a result from the proposed project (e.g. increased awareness, new skills, change in attitude and behavior, increased capacity, established partnerships, new products, revenue generation, etc)? What will be the long term impact of the project and the means used by you to measure the success? Please list your proposals for assessing the effect of your work. They will be discussed and agreed upon with the CEE Trust staff.]

Organizational Capacity

This section should provide information on the current capacity of the applicants and their partner(s) presented in the Letter of Intent.

1. List the implementing partners of this project if any.

2. Legal Status and Governance Structure of the applicant and its partner(s). Please include also the list of the Board of Directors (including affiliation, city, state).

3. Project team.

4. Experience in the proposed project activities (applicant and partner(s)). Please provide also information on other on-going projects of your organization (including budget and sources of funding); If the case, please specify if there are other on-going projects which overlap/complement the submitted project (project team, costs, activities);

B. Budget

For detailed budget use the Financial proposal from.

Please provide the total amount of the budget (in USD), including your own contribution in cash or in kind and the amount requested from CEE Trust. You are also requested to mention the sources of funding considered for your own contribution.

Please list all current or expected funding for this project - sources and amounts. Please include this information in the Budget template.

All proposals should be sent by email to:

Applicants from Bulgaria: bulgaria.applications@ceetrust.org

Applicants from the Czech Republic: czechrepublic.applications@ceetrust.org

Applicants from Hungary: hungary.applications@ceetrust.org

Applicants from Poland: poland.applications@ceetrust.org

Applicants from Romania: romania.applications@ceetrust.org

Applicants from Slovakia: slovakia.applications@ceetrust.org

The CEE Trust DOES NOT accept proposals received after the deadline.

Applicants will receive the confirmation of their proposals receipt VIA E-MAIL ONLY.

No confirmation will be given on the phone.

VI. Evaluation Criteria

· Relevance of the overall project to the CEE Trust mission and program funding areas;

· Potential of the project to represent, stimulate, and/or support genuine civil societies;

· Relevance to the local context;

· Identification of a real issue (problem/need/challenge/opportunity);

· Clear goals and realistic expectations;

· Activities that clearly respond to the identified issue(s) and the goal(s) of the project;

· Capacity of the organization (coalition, group of individual) to implement the project;

· Visible efforts to reach out to the citizens; win public support; work with the media; establish partnerships; adopt a policy of transparency;

· Realistic and argumented budget;

· Vision for the future and strategy of the organization

The approved Applicants will be notified electronically. At that stage they must submit

Appendices which include:

(scanned copies, please send us the text only with no photos, graphics, etc.)

o Organizational registration (court decision if applicable) and the relevant official document mentioning the person responsible for the organization (who has the right to engage the organizations in contracts) (it can be in local language);

o Annual Report for previous year (it can be in local language);

o CVs of people involved in the project - up to three persons (management and experts);

o Letter (s) of partnership agreement (if applicable).

VII. Important information

· The CEE Trust provides clear and informative instructions during the Call. Make sure you read the instructions in the Application Guidelines and comply with the requirements.

· Double check your contact information and make sure it is current and correct. Keep in mind that The CEE Trust communicates mainly via emails.

· Carefully read the priority issues that The CEE Trust is interested in and make sure your project idea falls into them.

· The CEE Trust does not support social service provision, income generating activities and endowments.

· The CEE Trust does not have limitations as to the lenght of the project - both short term and long term projects are considered as long as the timing is well justified.

· The CEE Trust is flexible as to the size of grants requested as long as it is reasonably justified by the applicant.

· Keep in mind the duration of the Call cycle - five to six months between Letter of Intent and contracting.

· We encourage (but do not require!) partnership with other organizations from your country or from one of the seven The CEE Trust countries. Partners from other regions could be considered only as an exception and for small secondary tasks as the mission of The CEE Trust is to support civil society in Central & Eastern Europe.

· As the official language of The CEE Trust is English all application and reporting documents should be submitted in English. Documents in other languages will not be considered. Exception is made for the additional documents submitted at the time of contracting (statues, the annual report, financial reports etc).

· Please note that the Call for Proposals is highly competitive. Therefore the CEE Trust does not provide specific evaluations to the applicants whose Letters of Intent or Full Proposals are rejected.

VIII. Reporting procedures

a) Interim reports

In many cases (specified in the Grant Agreement) the grantees are requested to send to the CEE Trust one narrative and one financial interim report (the electronic version sent by e-mail to the respective Program Director and the signed original sent by post to the CEE Trust Warsaw Representative Office at the address: ul. Szpitalna 1 lok. 54/55, 00-020 Warsaw, Poland). The payment of the next installment will be done only after the approval of the respective interim report.

b) Final reports

For all projects, the grantees are requested to send to the CEE Trust one narrative and one financial final report (the electronic version sent by e-mail to the respective Program Director and the signed original sent by post to the CEE Trust Warsaw Representative Office at the address: ul. Szpitalna 1 lok. 54/55, 00-020 Warsaw, Poland.

Notes:

· Please note that in the case of the financial reports there is a single template that needs to be used both for interim and final reports. You should fill in different columns after every reporting period, thus the final report will include all the financial data in the same table (interim(s) and final).

· We recommend you to keep detailed records of your expenditures for this project on the budget headings and lines according to the approved budget of your project. These records will help you to answer to potential additional questions that we might have regarding the detailed expenditures made for certain budget lines or headings.

Communication with CEE Trust

The written communication language that needs to be used in all correspondence with CEE Trust is English. The contact person of the CEE Trust who should receive all information, reports, invitations, etc related to your project is the Program Director responsible for your country. Please also consult the Program Director responsible for any problem that you might encounter during the project implementation. The list of the Program Directors, the distribution of their responsibilities per countries and their contact details are available on CEE Trust site at the following address: http://www.ceetrust.org/.

· Events

Please send an invitation to the CEE Trust well in advance before any important event that you will organize during the project.

· Publications

The materials that will be produced within the project do not need to be approved by the CEE Trust. However, you are requested to send electronically to the CEE Trust for information all the important materials before publication (e.g. concept of a campaign, TV spots, video clips, studies, etc).

· Potential changes

Please inform the CEE Trust in due time about any major financial or other type of change that might be necessary to be applied to your project (before applying any change to the initial budget or project). The CEE Trust will have to agree on the proposed change and will decide if an addendum to your contract is necessary.

As a general rule, modifications between the budget lines up to 20% of the budget line could be applied by the grantee only based on a written request sent by e-mail, in advance, to the CEE Trust, addressed to the executive director, and approved by the CEE Trust by e-mail. If the amendment exceeds this amount, a new letter of agreement will need to be signed.

· Visibility of the CEE Trust

The exact name of the CEE Trust and the rule that needs to be strictly followed are only those mentioned in your contract, namely: [to acknowledge CEE Trust's support and place the CEE Trust logo in the beginning of any publication (including film and electronic publications) and during public events referring to or resulting from this grant as follows: "Supported by a grant from the Trust for Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe"]. Please find attached to these guidelines the Logo of the CEE Trust that should be used if necessary.

Here you can download the full text of What we support and Application Guidelines sections:

[pdf] What we support (115 kb)