The Small Grants Program

About the Program

The Small Grants Program of the World Bank aims to make development more inclusive and equitable by empowering citizens to have greater ownership of development processes.

The World Bank is pleased to announce the Small Grants Program for 2008 in Serbia.

The theme for 2008 Small Grants Program in Serbia is: youth, environment and fight against corruption. Priority will be given to projects within the aforementioned theme which are targeting the poor and most vulnerable population in Serbia.

Please read carefully the sections below for details on who can apply and what activities will be supported.

We will also support dissemination of information on the above mentioned themes as well as on entrepreneurial opportunities, development of skills which can empower poor and marginalized groups, and the influence civil society and the private sector can have on decisions made by central and local authorities.

You can send your application by mail: The World Bank Country Office in Serbia; Bulevar Kralja Aleksandra 86; 11000 Beograd, or by e-mail: belgraderecep@worldbank.org, mpopovic@worldbank.org, vkostic@worldbank.org Application period for 2008 grant program ended on April 1, 2008. We no longer receive applications for 2008 grant program.

Scroll down to see the list of grant winners for 2008!

Application Form for 2008

(42.5KB)

Before you apply please read about the Small Grants Program:

Crucial ingredients for empowerment of vulnerable groups include: access to information, access to organizational links outside the local domain, capacity to influence the public arena and to negotiate with local and national authorities, the existence of trustful national and local institutions, and the presence of enabling policy and legal frameworks for civic engagement. Civil society organizations perform a valuable role in engaging their fellow citizens in the fight against poverty and exclusion. Thus, the intended beneficiaries of the Small Grants Program are civil society organizations engaged in initiatives aiming at empowering groups and individuals that have been marginalized and excluded from the public realm.

Civic Engagement can… Promote public consensus and local ownership for reforms and for national poverty reduction and development strategies by creating knowledge-sharing networks, building common ground for understanding, encouraging public-private cooperation, and sometimes even diffusing tensions; Give voice to the concerns of primary and secondary stakeholders, particularly poor and marginalized populations, and help ensure that their views are factored into policy and program decisions; Strengthen and leverage impact of development programs by providing local knowledge, identifying potential risks, targeting assistance, and expanding reach, particularly at the community level; Bring innovative ideas and solutions to development challenges at both the local and global levels; Provide professional expertise and increase capacity for effective service delivery, especially in environments with weak public sector capacity or in post-conflict situations; and Improve public transparency and accountability of development activities, contributing to the enabling environment for good governance.

The World Bank Small Grants Program is able to fund only a very small percentage of the requests it receives. Many requests are declined, not because they lack merit, but because they do not match either the current objectives, or the criteria of the Small Grants Program. Your activity may fall within the objectives and criteria, but the demand far surpasses the availability of funds. Before applying, take time to read the Guidelines to determine if there is a match. Please also determine (by calling the World Bank Country Office or checking the World Bank website) whether the country in which your program operates has a Small Grants Program.

• Civil society organizations based in a developing country and working on issues of development can apply for a grant.
• Civil society organizations must be in good standing and have a record of achievement in the community and record of financial probity;
• Priority will be given to organizations not supported by the Program in previous years (organizations are not eligible for more than three grants from the Small Grants Program within a five-year period).

The Small Grants Program supports activities related to civic engagement for the empowerment of marginalized and vulnerable groups. Civic Engagement is the process through which civil society organizations actively engage in relationships and actions with the state and other development actors to address issues of public concern.

Activities should:

• Promote dialogue and dissemination of information; and
• Enhance partnerships with key players in support of the development process. Key players could include government agencies, civil society organizations, multilateral and bilateral agencies, foundation, and private sector.

Activities may include, but are not limited to, workshops and seminars, costs for publications or audio-visual materials, or other innovative networking efforts that small organizations generally find difficult to fund through their regular program budgets. The activity should be completed within one year of the date the grant is awarded.

Small Grants cannot fund: Research programs, formal academic training programs, operational projects, ongoing institutional core support (such as equipment), scholarships, fellowships, study programs, individuals applying on their own behalf, or non legal entities. Proposed activities should not compete with or substitute for regular World Bank instruments; the activity should be clearly distinguishable from the Bank's regular programs.

Examples of items and activities that are usually not eligible include the list below:

Direct service delivery;
Medical equipment, such as hospital equipment, hearing aids, crutches;
Computer equipment and installation;
Overhead costs, such as rent, maintenance, or general office supplies;
Workshops on training of business skills, unemployed, HIV/AIDS awareness, unless there is a primary civic engagement objective;
Building the capacity of CSO’s so that they could become consultants/employees in Bank projects;
Meeting basic needs, such as provision of water, heat, meals;
Construction of facilities, such as libraries or sanitation facilities;
Job creation or employment;
Disease control campaigns;
Food aid;
Full-time salaries of, for example, the director of the NGO;
Infrastructure projects, such as water systems, wells.