ČESKÝ TELECOM´S SMALL DONATIONS FUND GIVES OUT OVER HALF A MILLION CROWNS IN FUNDING
7.3.2006
ČESKÝ TELECOM’s Small Donations Fund, which is administrated by the Information Centre of Non-Profit Organisations (ICN), has provided 11 non-profit organisations and 13 individuals with a total of 544 864 Czech koruna. The Fund decides on who is eligible to receive financial assistance every quarter.
"ČESKÝ TELECOM’s Small Donations Fund has begun the second year of its existence. In the first quarter we looked at a total of 124 requests for financial assistance from non-profit organizations as well as from individuals in need of such assistance. This is considerably more than last year, when, during the first quarter, we received 74 requests," says ICN Executive Director Marek Šedivý when speaking of the Fund’s activities, adding, "The selection of projects is very difficult because the non-profit sector is becoming more professional; as such, the quality of requests for support for individual projects has increased. Therefore, the selection committee looked primarily at those projects that fulfilled the idea of the fund as a whole: even a small donation can be a huge help."
"Last year, the activities of the Small Donations Fund indicated that in the Czech Republic there still are not enough resources available to non-profit organisations. I am pleased that ČESKÝ TELECOM and Eurotel can provide considerable assistance in this area," stated Pavla Činátlová, Executive Director of External and Internal Communications, ČESKÝ TELECOM.
Financial support is provided in a total of five areas (social-health, the environment, education, culture and leisure activities); for individuals it is only provided in the social-health field. At least one project per category is always selected. The amount of support for specific projects ranges from 10 to 40 thousand koruna. Requests for support are accepted by the ICN, while more information is available at www.neziskovky.cz.
For further information please contact:
Marek Šedivý
The Information Centre of Non-Profit Organisations
tel.: 603 154 999
email: sedivy@icn.cz
Martin Žabka
ČESKÝ TELECOM – Press Spokesman
tel.: 800 163 342 (800 1 MEDIA)
fax: 271 469 896
e-mail: tiskovy.odbor@ct.cz
More information about ČESKÝ TELECOM’s Small Donations Fund
Private non-profit organisations that operate in the sphere of social health, in the areas of the environment, education, culture and heritage protection, or that are dedicated to volunteer work can apply for subsides from the Fund. Only physical entities in the field of social health are the only physical entities that the Fund supports. Selected projects can receive between CZK 10 000 to 40 000 from The Fund; the maximum financial support that a physical entity can receive is 20 000. Requests can be sent all year round; a selection committee recommends at least one project for support every quarter.
More detailed information, including application forms for Fund support, is available at ČESKÝ TELECOM’s website (www.telecom.cz) and at the web pages of the ICN (www.neziskovky.cz). Both websites also publish the results of the selection process.
The Information Centre of Non-Profit Organisations (ICN) is a generally beneficial enterprise that supports the development of non-profit organisations and informs the public of their activities. The ICN is part of Orpheus, an international network of information centres, and through its employees is a member of the Government Council for Private Non-Profit Organisations, the Government Council for Sustainable Development, and the Czech Committee for UNESCO. To raise public awareness the ICN has been running a yearly 30-day campaign for the non-profit sector that takes place every February and aims to inform the public about the function and importance of non-profit organisations. The ICN also organises courses and seminars for non-profit organisations, offers information services (database, library), provides expert consultation and offers guidance in the fields of donations and sponsoring.
