With our support, 15 organizations from across the Czech Republic will make their neighborhoods more vibrant. In mid-January, the Living Communities Development program jury evaluated 37 applications and selected these Living Communities projects. A total of $25,700 (CZK 616,830) will be dispersed to the 15 winning projects. We plan on holding several more rounds of the program over the course of this year, with the deadline for the second round set for March 8.

The supported projects will benefit from grants of up to $4,166 (CZK 100,000), a series of learning workshops, support from an experienced mentor and in some cases, a fundraising consultant. All of this support aims to build the capacity of the project leaders with the goal of making their community work more sustainable.

What types of projects can we look forward to?

These community efforts span a wide spectrum of topics, from revitalization of an allee and a cherry orchard, development of a community center and a community garden, oral history collection and community planning. The jury’s bottom-line selection criteria was how a given project will engage the community. The jury also considered whether the project would add something new to the community, since the grants are intended as a starting investment that will spur long-term changes in how people engage in their communities.

Where are the supported projects?

Living Communities grants will touch the Czech Republic literally from end to end, all the way from the city of Teplice in the northeastern corner of the country to the small town of Valtice along the Austrian border in the southeast.  In Havlíčkov Brod, a “Knitted Trail” will raise awareness of important figures in the town’s history. In Králíky, a neighborhood group will organize a 440^th anniversary party for the town to commemorate the acquisition and development of the town by Zdeněk z Valdštejna in 1577. An association in Dobroslavice u Opavy will plant a plum tree allee and restore a trail leading to a popular view spot with a stone cross. In Prague, an initiative to make a community center in the Buďánka former workers’ colony will take shape. Check the map below to see where the 15 supported projects are located.