2010 Archives

National Lottery of Serbia has joined „Penny is not petty“ action, which is being implemented by Balkan Community Initiatives Fund, in order to help socially neglected children and to improve the quality of their lives. Specially labeled boxes will be placed in five refurbished Lottery offices in Belgrade, Kragujevac and Požarevac. The citizens will be able to put their small change into the boxes, which thus becomes more than change – it becomes a valuable help for those children...

The talent, success and creativity are being again awarded this year. The competition is open from December, 25th to February, 25th. Award fund is 1.2 million dinars.

For the fourth time in a row, Erste Bank a.d. Novi Sad is announcing the competition for new members of Club 27, with a goal to promote and award the active, talented and creative young people. All those who are between 16 and 27 years old, who are achieving remarkable results within the fields they work on...

Regarding „Penny is not petty – giving hand, joyous heart“ campaign, on December 22nd, 2010 a public class on the importance of individual giving was held in Pančevo high school. The students were presented with an opportunity to find out more about the history of philanthropy in our country and the rest of the world, and to get acquainted with the ways to help the vulnerable ones on the example of the famous people who are great philanthropists...

On Society of Economical Propagandists of Serbia traditional annual award ceremony, in the category of On-line projects, Silver awardwas given to Ovation marketing agency for non-profit project Filantrobook – Penny is not Petty. By cute Filantrobook game, which is part of Penny is not Petty campaign...

A series of public classes on the importance of philanthropy within the scope of „Penny is not petty – Giving hand, joyous heart“campaign was continued on December, 13th at Philological High School in Belgrade. This was an opportunity for the students of Philological High School to find out more about the history of philanthropy in our country and the rest of the world, as well as to recognize the ways by which they may launch similar actions within their own environment...

Regarding the presentation of the new Law on Foundations, on December, 12th Charity Organizations Forum was organized for the first time, where domestic societies and individuals got together...

Regarding „Penny is not petty – Giving hand, joyous heart“ campaign, after Kruševac and Sremski Karlovci, on December, 7th, 2010 a public class on the importance of individual giving was held in Medical high school in Subotica...

Within the scope of People 2 People (P2P) TACSO office in Serbiaprogram (Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organization program), a call has been made for expression of interest for participation of representatives of civil society organizations in a study trip entitled»Advocacy for better policy on waste management« which will be held on February 1st – 4th 2011 in Brussels...

Belgrade, December 4th, 2010 – On a gala ceremony held at National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia today, nominees of VIRTUS 2010 award for corporate philanthropy were announced. Traditional annual awards, granted within several different categories, serve as recognitions to the companies and enterprises which especially attributed to the development of philanthropy in the world of responsible business, by their support to social or nonprofit actions or organizations and investments in the general welfare...

On Saturday, December, 4th, on a gala ceremony at National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, VIRTUS 2010 - corporate philanthropy award nominees will be announced. With financial help from United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and in partnership with Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC), Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF) is granting the award for the fourth time in a row...

On November, 23rd, 2010 Serbian Assembly adopted Law on foundations, which has for its goal the creation of legal framework which would be encouraging for the development of foundations, and their transparent business and management...

During October round of decision making, Balkan Community Initiatives Fund has, through Active Communities program, awarded grants for nine projects in the amount of 2.963.086 dinars. For the realization of their initiatives the support has been granted to...

Poor visibility of citizens’ initiatives in the public, and behaviors taken from the past have encouraged the launching of “Visibly Better” campaign which should present to the public civil society efforts hitherto aimed at solving the concrete problem of general interest. By their individual and mutual work, the citizens may improve the quality of life, and to influence the creation of a more tolerant, more honest and more responsible society...

Serbian Assembly today adopted Law on Foundations, which has for its goal the creation of legal framework which would be encouraging for the development of foundations, and their transparent management...

Regarding Penny is not Petty - Giving hand, joyous heartcampaign, which is being implemented by domestic foundation Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF), a public class was held in high school of Kruševac on November, 8th, while on November, 12th students of Sremski Karlovci high school participated in a public class...

Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF) is opening a competition entitled Advanced Community Advocacy Program in Local Communities.  In partnership withInstitute for Sustainable Communities (ISC), and with financial help from United States Agency for International Development (USAID), BCIF wishes to encourage and support citizen societies in Serbia in the development of successful models of Advanced Community Advocacy Programs in the local community...

On a ceremony held on November, 10th 2009 in City Hall of Belgrade,Places in the Heart fund granted awards to the organizations which have in 2009 implemented projects with the most positive effects on their local communities.  With support and in cooperation with The Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organizations (TASCO) EU, the award for the best local partnership has been this year awarded for the first time...

Within »Civil Society Organizations – Strong Partners in Social Welfare System Reform« project, which is being implemented with the means from the European Union, from October 28th to 31st 2010 BCIF organized a seminar for civil society organizations which work with people with intellectual disabilities...

Government Vice President’s Cabinet for European Integrations organized a two day seminar for media’s chief editors.  The meeting was held on October 29th-30th in Banja Koviljaca under the slogan “Together towards Sustainable Development”.  The meeting was held in cooperation with Balkan Community Initiatives Fund andIndependent Journalists’ Association of Serbia, and with financial help from Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency...

On the annual Grantmakers East Forum (GEF) meeting, which was held on October, 26th-27th in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, Balkan Community Initiatives Fund was represented by Miodrag Shrestha, Executive Director, and Tanja Bjelanović, Program Director. GEF is the organization which gathers around donors who work in Central and Eastern Europe...

On October, 16th, a street action was held in Belgrade at Nikole Pašica Square, regarding „Penny is not petty! Giving hand, joyous heart“campaign, which is being implemented by domestic foundation Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF), which has a goal to raise awareness on the importance of individual giving...

Regarding „Penny is not petty! Giving hand, joyous heart“campaign, which has a goal to raise awareness of the public on the importance of individual giving, Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF)is inviting you to a public street action which will be held on Saturday, October, 16th, at Nikole Pašica Square in Belgrade, from 11 AM to 5 PM...

National Lottery of Serbia, in cooperation with Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF) has awarded grants for the four chosen projects, on the third competition within Goodness program. For the realization of those projects National Lottery of Serbia has provided nearly three million dinars (2.925.120 dinars)...

Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF) has reached a decision to extend the deadline for submitting VIRTUS award applications to October, 15th, 2010...

Dear partners,

We would like to inform you that BCIF office will move to the following address, from October 1st 2010:

Majke Jevrosime 19/1, 106502 Belgrade, Stari Grad

Contact tel: +381 11 32 88 723 ( 4 lines )

We appologize for possible disconnection from telephone and e-mail during next two days. Please, contact us on cell phones for urgent matters.

Thank you for understanding.
BCIF team

Balkan Community Initiatives Fund’s (BCIF) competition for Social Transition programis in progress. By granting donations in the maximum amount of up to 15.000,00 euros, the goal of the program is to support the process of the transition of social care system...

Since June 2010, the Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF) in Serbia, in partnership with the Skan Foundation in the Netherlands, have been implementing a project entitled CSOs – Strong Partners in Social Welfare System Reform. The project uses Dutch experiences to empower civil society organizations (CSOs) in Serbia to improve the quality and sustainability of social services...

Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF) foundation, with support fromUnited States Agency for International Development (USAID), and in partnership with Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) is launching a campaign „Penny is not petty! Giving hand, joyous heart“, with the goal to awaken citizens...

The Balkan Community Initiatives Fund traditionally presents the VIRTUS Corporate Philanthropy Award to the companies which have shown the highest degree of social responsibility in Serbia.

The VIRTUS Corporate Philanthropy Award Contest opens on Tuesday, September 7, 2010. The Balkan Community Initiatives Fund, with the financial support of the the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and together with the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ICS), will present the Virtus Award for the fourth time in a row. The contest will be open up to October 7, 2010,...

Balkan Community Initiatives Fund’s (BCIF) competition for Active communities program is in progress. For Active communities program local associations and informal groups of citizens from Serbia may apply, and the maximum amount of budget is up to350.000,00 dinars..

In the scope of „Social Business Tour 2010“, which is aimed at the development of long-term initiatives of that kind in Central and Eastern Europe, there is a competition in progress for the best idea in the domain of Social Business...

In June round of decision making, Balkan Community Initiatives Fund has through Active communities program awarded donations for six projects in the amount of 1.931.536 dinars...

TASCO office in Serbia (Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organizations project) has announced the call for CSOs and media representatives for training on the topic of:„Public Relations and Media Cooperation for Civil Society Organizations“. The key topic of the training will be the ideas and ways for improving the cooperation between Civil Society Organizations and media, and designing common and mutually useful activities for those two sectors...

National Lottery of Serbia, in cooperation with Balkan Community Initiatives Fund, announced the third competition for donation grants in the scope of Goodness program. This competition, as well as the former one, is aimed at the improvement of the status and the quality of life of the elderly. On this occasion, Tanja Bjelanović, Program Director of BCIF, came to Dizanje show on TV B92....

Ksenija Graovac, Philanthropy Program Manager and Tanja Bjelanović, Program Director of BCIF, visited Radio Belgrade’s „The Centre of Attention” show. They spoke with the editor and host of the show Slobodan Nikolić on the topic of foundations and philanthropy in Serbia, and about the new Law on Foundations...

Erste Bank a.d. Novi Sad and Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF)announced the winning projects in the scope of fourth in a rowCentrifuga 2010culture donation grants on local level. Total amount of donations for the best projects of this year’s competition, which is provided by Erste Bank, exceeds 2,2 million dinars...

International cycling ecological caravan, after covering 600 km through 11 cities, marked the end of „Oplaneti se! Do recycle“ campaign by festive crossing the finish line on Ada Ciganlija...

After 560 km covered, 30 cyclists will, along with the representatives of institutions, US AID, embassies and companies, mark the end of the great „Oplaneti se! Do recycle“ campaign by passing through the goal...

Society of People who suffer from Multiple-sclerosis of Northern Banat region has celebrated 18 years of its existence by opening the first MS house, dedicated to people who suffer from multiple-sclerosis...

Vranje, June 26th – Belgrade, July, 7th

After central activity held in Belgrade on June, 5th, and a variety of local actions throughout Serbia, Green List of Serbia and Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF), in partnership with Institute for Sustainable Communities, with financial aid from USAID and in partnership with Telenor foundation and ASUS Company, draws to an end „Oplaneti se! Do recycle“ campaign by cycling – ecological caravan, which starts on June, 26th from Vranje. Media partner in the realization of the campaign is RTS...

BCIF participates at this year’s Civil Societies Organizations Fair. The Fair is open for visitors from 10 AM to 6 PM on Thursday, June, 10th and Friday, June 11th. Opening ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, June, 10th at 2 PM...

A new competition of State Lottery of Serbia (SLS), in the scope ofGoodness program which is administered by Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF) is open. Local nonprofit organizations which work in Serbia’s communities (except in city cores of Belgrade, Niš and Novi Sad), and deal with the improvement of the quality of life of the elderly may apply for Goodness program. Maximum amount of donation per each organization is 800,000.00 dinars...

We inform you that June round of donation grants for Active communities program was closed on June, 8th, 2010. BCIF thanks to everyone who sent their project proposals...

Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF), Green List of Serbia, Young Researchers of Serbi a and The Scout Organization of Serbia realized a great ecological action „June, 5th – My Day“in Belgrade, regardingWorld Environment Day. Participants made a big recycle sign on Square of the Republic, by which they sent a symbolic message to the citizens in charge...

We inform you that the competition for Centrifuga program for 2010 closed on June, 2nd. Project proposals received will be reviewed on the following levels: BCIF’s office, local counselors, Centrifuga Board. Decision making process takes a month from the day of competition closure. Organizations which applied will be informed on the results by phone or via e-mail, during the first week of July.

Starting on June, 1st, 2010, Miodrag Shrestha will perform the function of Executive Director of BCIF. Miodrag Shrestha was Executive Director of 484 Group...

BCIF, Green List of Serbia, Young Researchers of Serbia and The Scout Organization of Serbia will realize a big ecological action „June, 5th – My Day“on Saturday, June 5th in Belgrade. The action will be conducted at various locations on Kalemegdan, where more than 700 children will demonstrate to the citizens the importance of recycling and environmental protection in Serbia, in creative and interactive ways...

A new web presentation of Balkan Community Initiatives Fund is posted today. New and improved site offers important information on current competitions, detailed descriptions of our programs and other BCIF’s activities. In the scope of our new site, there is current news, photo gallery, annual and financial reports...

Balkan Community Initiatives Fund’s (BCIF) competition for Active communities program is in progress. Local societies and informal citizen groups from Serbia may apply for Active communities program, which has the maximum budget of up to 350,000.00 dinars...

During March competition for Social transition program, Donation Board has decided to recommend the projects of the following four organizations to Cooperating Netherlands Foundation for Central and Eastern Europe (CNF CEE):..

In March round of decision making, Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF) awarded donations for eight projects in the amount of 2,839,272,00 dinars, through Active communities program...

For the fourth time, Erste bank Novi Sad a.d. and Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF) are announcing the competition for donations in the scope of Centrifuga program 2010...

During March competition for Social transition program, Donation Board has decided to recommend the projects of the following four organizations to CooperatingNetherlands Foundation for Central and Eastern Europe (CNF CEE): Humanitarian society Bethesda from Bačka Topola; APSART from Belgrade; ATINA from Belgrade and Living Uprightly Center from Novi Sad...

Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF) is organizing a competition entitled Public advocacy in local communities. In this way BCIF wishes, with financial aid fromDepartment for International Development (DFID), to encourage and support civil societies in Serbiain developing successful models of public advocacy in local community.

Balkan Community Initiatives Fund’s (BCIF) competition for Social transition program is in progress...

Balkan Community Initiatives Fund’s (BCIF) competition for Active communities program is in progress. Local societies and informal citizen groups from Serbia may apply for Active communities program, with the maximum budget of up to 350,000,00 dinars...