The New Bosnia Fund

The New Bosnia Fund was established in 1995, during the war. Founded in Washington D.C. and in Sarajevo, the New Bosnia Fund is the first Bosnian NGO aimed to strengthen civil society through strengthening the developing independent nongovernmental sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina, thus promoting democracy, pluralism, and tolerance in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The New Bosnia Fund was founded and controlled by Bosnians; its Board and staff are multiethnic and multicultural and have strong networks, both nationally and internationally. Despite exerted efforts so far, the need to continue this complex work becomes increasingly obvious every day, precisely because new NGOs are being established throughout Bosnia, and recently even in Republic of Srpska. The process of democratization will not happen overnight, and the NGO sector is to play a very important role in the civil society. Rebuilding of tolerance and pluralism here in Bosnia and Herzegovina is, perhaps, more important than anywhere else in the former Yugoslavia. The NBF project goal is to build leadership skills and capacity of the nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonpolitical organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The NBF project objectives include strengthening local civic organizational capacity, sustainability, and effectiveness, educating the public about nongovernmental sector, and building consensus on public policy issues and increase participation and advocacy in public decision making. The New Bosnia Fund supports nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonpolitical organizations that assist the revival and development of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a multicultural and democratic community and that assist Bosnian refugees and displaced persons. The New Bosnia Fund proposes to strengthen the nonprofit sector through the following project activities:

• Umbrella activity - Grantmaking (complete process, with the system of prioritization on community level, the screening, selecting, monitoring) to smaller NGOs for the community based programs. Approximately 36 projects annually to support philanthropy, human rights, democratization, education, health, economic development, environmental projects, etc., aimed to contribute to the normalization of the life in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Training, Seminars, Consulting, Education - meant to strengthen organizational capabilities, leadership skills and increase organizational effectiveness for new small and large grass roots organizations. Seminars on annual basis are planned to contribute to the development of a new generation of community and organizational leaders prepared to work effectively in multicultural society. Consulting services (over the phone and in person, two days weekly) to provide capacity building assistance to strengthen nonprofit organizations and support the development of strong independent sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Other activities : The New Bosnia Fund facilitates NGO community life. We have contacts with local NGOs from entire Bosnia and Herzegovina that help to replicate interactive training techniques, literature, and will be the venue for NGO training, seminars, and round table debates. We aim to educate the public; discuss the issues; help create public consensus; and provide mechanisms to participate in political and social, and economic decision-making.

So far, the New Bosnia Fund has assisted 160 NGOs out of existing 1000 NGOs (according to the estimation of International Council of Voluntary Agencies and NGO Information and Support Center in Bosnia and Herzegovina). To date the NBF has been committed 3.180.000 DM by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees specifically for the Bosnian Women Initiative Projects-income generating activities. The New Bosnia Fund, Umbrella Implementing Partner to UNHCR , performs operations related to the administration of funds, from preparation of Project Proposals submitted by local NGOs , supevision of implemantation, to periodical site monitoring. Summary narrative and financial reports are submitted to UNHCR on regular basis. On the basis of the survey: “The Role of NGOs in Bosnia” carried out by Kristina Hemon, the volunteer in the New Bosnia Fund, that reflects the importance of the role that NGO sector is to play in civil society (April 15, 1998.), and the survey:“Service Delivery or Civil Society”, done by Ian Smillie (December 1996), the needs of this sector are specified, the New Bosnia Fund has made the decision to broaden target groups of beneficiaries (NGOs) as well as to strengthen the support to the NGO sector.

Background

Capability Statement

The New Bosnia Fund (NBF) is a non-profit, non-partisan, and non-political organization established in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in the US in 1995. NBF exists to support the independent (non-profit, non-governmental) sector, thus promoting democracy, pluralism, and tolerance in Bosnia-Herzegovina. NBF is committed to developing Bosnian capacity to nurture its own non-profit sector through working co-operatively with organizations and individuals within the country and throughout the world.

As a small, yet rapidly growing organization NBF has priorities that include the following:

• To provide support for non-profit, non-governmental organizations inside and outside Bosnia-Herzegovina that foster the renewal and development of Bosnia-Herzegovina as a multicultural and democratic community and assist Bosnian refugees, displaced, and returnees.
• To encourage public support of the non-profit sector by all segments of B-H society - the Government, the private sector, and the general public.
• To provide public education in B-H, the United States, and other countries, so to provide an understanding of the needs of the B-H community and of B-H non-profit organizations, and to encourage people to provide assistance, including voluntary services.
• To assist and participate in developing a functional NGO legislature in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

With a 1995-1996 grant from Miranda Foundation, NBF began to develop its organizational infrastructure and link NGOs with potential funders and other sources of assistance.

In 1997, NBF identified five Sarajevo based organizations serving children and youth to receive the proceeds of a special event organized by the Fund for the Future of our Children that raised over $20.000. So far, the NBF has developed a modest emergency fund out of which it has been able to provide small one-time grants to Bosnian NGOs needing urgent financial support for their organizational needs, such as registration fees, bank account fees, etc.

Since February 1997, NBF is working as an umbrella agency for BWI (Bosnian Women’s Initiative) Project for areas of Sarajevo, Pale, and Gora`de. Selected by the UNHCR as the only Bosnian umbrella for this project, NBF is assisting women’s groups in these areas to obtain BWI funding helping them implement their projects through organizational and project assistance and monitoring of their projects.

NBF is now in contact with more than 100 NGOs in the Sarajevo, Tuzla, Zenica, Gora`de, and Biha region in the Federation and Banja Luka, Pale, and Bijeljina regions in the Republic of Srpska. Building these contacts, NBF is working to develop a network linking B-H organizations with each other and with similar organizations in other countries.

NBF is also working to establish a library of materials developed for non-profit organizations, but modified to fit the needs of Bosnian NGOs and translated into Bosnian or entirely developed by NBF. It plans to continue offering training and individual consultation to NGOs as it has been doing in the past. Most importantly, NBF, with help of other organizations will work to develop a group of Bosnians who are trained to assist NGOs. In the future, when most international relief and development organizations have left B-H, the NBF will remain as an ongoing locally controlled source of support for the nation’s independent sector.

NBF developed a complete manual in program evaluation in Bosnian. For the purposes of BWI, a separate proposal writing guidelines and manual, were developed for prospective beneficiary groups. In addition, material on Board of Directors, written by Ms. Emily Gantz-McKay (MOSAICA) was translated into Bosnian, in 1996, NBF held three trainings for BOSPO (a major national NGO based in Tuzla) in project proposal writing, evaluation, financial budgeting and accounting. In 1997, NBF Board members organized training for BWI grantees in Pale, in Gora`de, and plan to continue doing so. NBF has also helped several local NGOs in developing project proposals for other funders and also fund-raising materials such as brochures, mission statements, and fact sheets.

NBF also provided consultation and cooperated with international agencies, through facilitating the BWI conference in Sarajevo in August 1996, with ICA and UNHCR, and providing assistance to OXFAM in their study feasibility of legal advice centers.

NBF helped Amnesty International in establishing networks with local community based and human rights groups to mark the anniversary of the fall of Srebrenica. The network which NBF helped to establish still continues today. NBF also connected two local organizations with Genki na Atelier (a Japanese NGO), to establish a cultural exchange program between the two countries. NBF’s leadership in Bosnia-Herzegovina includes young professionals from Sarajevo, who had worked on Umbrella Grant project with the International Rescue Committee in B-H in 1993-1996 as Project Managers, Financial Managers, and NGO Trainers and attended some of the USAID sponsored programs through PIET. NBF’s Board members also include the Presidents of two non-profit organizations in the United States (MOSAICA and Refugee Women in Development) which have provided organizational development assistance to emerging Bosnian NGOs. Additionally, MOSAICA provided a six-week internship in the US for NBF volunteers so they could spend time and network with US non-profits and see several models for providing capacity building assistance to such groups.

The NBF is currently pending 501(c)(3) status (tax-exempt) in the US and has a US fiscal agent, Mosaica. The NBF is registered with the High Court in Sarajevo under the registration number: R-III-123/96.

The New Bosnia Fund has a small highly skilled, multicultural Board and staff, and works with the consultants from diverse backgrounds. All the staff comes from multicultural families. The New Bosnia Fund as a grassroots initiative has the ability to understand the needs of NGOs and people in Bosnia and Herzegovina and will continue to work on solving problems once the international NGOs have left the B&H region. Therefore, the NBF’s main purpose is “ to strengthen the NGO Sector”.

Last updated:    November 1999

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