Balkan Community Initiatives Fund

"Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF), with financial support of American Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) and in cooperation with IPSOS Strategic Marketing, has conducted quantitative and qualitative research on individual and corporative philanthropy in Serbia during November and December 2012. The results of this research are published in this report. Research is conducted with intent to identify attitudes of citizens and companies towards giving for public good, to obtain data on the most prominent stakeholders, models and practices in philanthropy, to provide insight in the areas of giving and to emphasize examples of good practices. BCIF has already conducted researches on corporative philanthropy in Serbia in 2004 and on citizens’ attitudes towards individual philanthropy in Serbia in 2009, so through this study it has determined shifts comparing to the results of previous researches and enabled quantitative and qualitative expansion of those results with data related to methods, techniques and mechanisms of giving, stakeholders in philanthropy, existence of strategic partnerships and examples of good practices. As coordinator of Serbian Philanthropy Forum, BCIF has used this research to get overview of philanthropic practice of Forum members and to estimate the potential of this platform for strategic development of philanthropy in Serbia."

"Created in 1999, BCIF helps communities reach across disparate sectors of society to solve problems in a sustainable and empowering manner. To date, BCIF has provided technical assistance and more than $525,000 through 200 grants to community groups and nongovernmental organizations in Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo, helping to conquer deep-rooted civic apathy that has resulted from decades of centralized political and economic control.

""Centralization is a huge problem and it is impossible for the authorities to respond to people's needs," said Aleksandra Vesic, executive director of BCIF. "When we're working with a group of people, no matter where they're from, it's important to show them that they have the power to make the changes, to let them see that not everything rests in the hands of the authorities."" Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Related Sourcewatch

 * Marija Mitrović
 * Tanja Bjelanovic, Programme Director
 * Patricia Gannon
 * Civic Initiatives
 * Dubravka Velat