Community project guidelines

Each participant will receive a grant expendable on a project that corresponds to the vision of ViabilityNet 3.0 and places emphasis on building resilience in his/her community. Examples of previously supported participants are available here. Take them as examples rather than as an exhaustive list.
By a local community, we mean a group of people living in a geographically defined area (e.g. village, small town, city district, neighbourhood, etc.) that includes diverse people with diverse interests, lives and ages. In this understanding of a local community, it is possible to create inter people can develop personal face-to-face relationships and work together on tangible projects , get to know the others living in the same community and do things together in the “real” world.
The program is not designed to work with leaders of these types of communities: ad-hoc (e.g. festivals or gatherings), virtual (esp. online communities) and geographically dispersed (i.e., beyond the scope of a city), topic oriented issue-based (i.e. working only on a specific issue such as the environment, healthcare or handicrafts) or interest-based (i.e. homogenous communities with the same shared interests, focused on a specific target group – i.e. young people, LGBT, minorities).
ViabilityNet projects are not intended to necessarily generate new activities or to cover the operational costs of the affiliate organizations. The grants are intended as additional resources for the testing and development of new approaches to strengthen the community’s capability to achieve positive social change. In addition, the project should facilitate the participant’s further professional development through practice.

Project grant procedure

Application

A general description of the project idea is required in the application form. Along with the application form, applicants must submit a declaration by the affiliate organization, in which it agrees to enable the participant to carry out his or her project under its auspices. It is important that the organization and the participant are ready to work in close cooperation.

After being accepted into the program

If you are selected to participate in the program, you will be asked to provide more detailed project proposal (including budget) with the support of Via Foundation team. You might need to change parts of the project at some point to be more in line with the concept of local community work and the setting of the Program. At this point, the applicant and the organization will be strongly encouraged to discuss guidelines for cooperation, especially financial aspects. We strongly recommend going through the Financial Guidelines
Once the project is approved, Via Foundation will sign a tripartite contract to administer the grant (expected during July 2017). The parties to the contract will include Via Foundation, the affiliate organization and the participant. The participant will be indicated as the person responsible for carrying out the project and making sure that all expenses are in line with the approved budget. The project description and budget sent by each participant will be a part of the contract.
A model agreement may be downloaded here.

Eligible costs

  • The following costs are NOT eligible:
  • costs not directly related to the participant’s community project
  • costs incurred or services performed outside the timeframe of the program
  • expenses for lobbying activities (communications — either to a legislator or to the general public — intended to influence specific legislation)
  • activities conducted in the USA
  • purchase of real estate
  • servicing of debts, mortgages, interests, exchange losses or other banking fees
  • purchase of alcoholic beverages, tobacco, drugs illegal in the country in which the project takes place or any activities considered illegal in the given country

Limited eligibility costs

The added value of ViabilityNet projects is not to necessarily generate new activities or cover the operational costs of the affiliate organizations. We therefore encourage participants to seek a balance between personnel costs (if any) and activity costs.
Participants are encouraged to allocate a part of their grant (10% at most) for further professional development – such as study visits, training courses, twinning, etc., for them and their team. Usage of this funding has to be discussed with Via’s program manager.

Flat fee for the affiliate organization

The grant will include a flat-rate contribution of 6,000 CZK (roughly 230 EUR) for the affiliate organization. The purpose of this contribution is to cover administrative costs related to the participant’s grant. It is a contribution towards indirect costs such as accountant fees, currency exchange losses related to the grant, office rental or other overhead costs.

Changes in planned activities and budget

Significant upcoming changes in the number or nature of activities must be communicated to Via Foundation without undue delay. Whenever such changes entail an increase or decrease of more than 20% in one of the general budget categories (personnel costs, material costs or non-material costs) the participant must obtain written permission from Via Foundation.

Financial arrangements

The amounts are set in Czech Koruna (CZK). Grant agreements can be signed only with legal entities.
The project grant (60,000 CZK – approx. 2,300 EUR) will be transferred in two instalments.
  • The first will follow the signing of the grant agreement (Autumn 2018) and will consist of 30,000 CZK.
  • The second will be transferred after the submission of the Interim Report in February 2019 and will consist of 30,000 CZK.
Please refer to the Financial Guidelines and the model Community Project Grant Agreement for further details. If you have any questions or doubts, please contact the following program managers at Via Foundation:
Monika Novosádová
monika.novosadova@nadacevia.cz
Phone: +420 604 612 817
Petra Nová
petra.nova@nadacevia.cz
Phone: +420 732 389 770