The Center for the Promotion of Civil Society (CPCD) is seeking applications for its Grants for Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives 2020 that are intended for organizations whose mission is to prevent the actions of unscrupulous polluting companies in harming the environment, as well as to call on them to be more responsible and contribute to solving specific pollution problems in their environment.

The goal of grants is organized action of citizens (groups and individuals), through civil society organizations, in order to point out the problems of polluters in local communities and reduce the negative impact on the environment. Through this call, they want to encourage the action of citizens through civil society organizations that will point out the key problems of environmental protection and bad practices of companies; by supporting companies we help them become more socially responsible.

During the implementation of these activities, the beneficiaries of the CSR initiatives will have administrative, technical and financial support from the CPCD, and from the Eco HUBs, formed as part of the Thoughts on Nature project! will have advocacy and professional assistance within the scope of their activities. Also, beneficiaries of media grants will be informed about the actions of corporate social responsibility initiatives so that they can report on the implementation of the project and thus contribute to the most successful results of the project. CPCD will also participate in the promotion of activities and results through its good cooperation with the media.  

Through their project activities, civil society organizations will:

• Prevent polluters, economic entities, companies and state-owned companies from continuing to endanger the environment and the lives of people in the local community, whereby activities cannot be targeted at individuals as polluters;
• Involve a large number of citizens in advocacy processes aimed at improving corporate social responsibility;
• Indicate the role of decision makers in environmental degradation;
• Connect decision makers, organizations, institutions and local actors who can work together to solve the problem;
• Promote examples of corporate social responsibility and multiply positive practices in other communities;
• Ensure implementation of existing strategic documents, laws and procedures concerning environmental protection;
• Advocate for the establishment of sustainable programs of companies in the field of water resources management, forests, waste, air quality, land quality, energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.
• Create conditions for better and more efficient control of companies' impact on the environment;
• Design and run campaigns that will be focused on a long-term solution to environmental problems and that will be gender sensitive and gender inclusive.

Funding Information

• The total amount of the grant at this stage: 50,000 KM
• Maximum number of grants to be approved: 5
• Maximum amount of funds per approved grant: Up to 10,000 KM
• Duration of project implementation: From 5 to 7 months

General Provisions

One of the criteria for awarding grants is respect for gender equality through the implementation of project activities, i.e. equal participation of women and men in the implementation of the project. When awarding grants, the CPCD will follow the principles:

• Nationality: all applicants must be local, BiH organizations;
• Equality: the grant award process is completely impartial, which means that all applicants will be selected by the election commission, in accordance with the published criteria;
• Non-overlap: CPCD will have a flexible approach and ensure complementarity in the implementation of the Thoughts on Nature project! However, applications that have significant overlap with existing projects will not be considered;
• Principle of (non) retroactivity: grants will only cover costs incurred during the approved project implementation period. Any cost incurred outside the implementation period will be considered an ineligible cost.

Who can apply

Grants are intended for domestic civil society organizations involved in environmental protection, advocacy or acting in another area related to the project proposal and call objectives. In this category, partnership with other civil society organizations is also possible. Organizations need to have experience in implementing similar projects in the same or similar field of activity and experience in managing projects of the same or similar scope.

Eligibility Criteria

The condition for applicants is that they meet one of the following criteria:

• To be registered in accordance with the positive legal regulations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as an association or foundation;
• To achieve the statutory goals in the area of public interest which is the subject of the public call

For more information, visit Thoughts on Nature.