Balkan Community Initiatives Fund

On the outskirts of the small central Serbian town of Kragujevac, a community of impoverished Romas lived near an illegal garbage dump. Due to their low income and low tax status, authorities ignored their repeated requests to remove the dump, until the Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF) intervened.

Created in 1999, BCIF helps communities reach across disparate sectors of society to solve problems in a sustainable and empowering manner. To date, BCIF has provided technical assistance and more than $525,000 through 200 grants to community groups and nongovernmental organizations in Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo, helping to conquer deep-rooted civic apathy that has resulted from decades of centralized political and economic control.

"Centralization is a huge problem and it is impossible for the authorities to respond to people's needs," said Aleksandra Vesic, executive director of BCIF. "When we're working with a group of people, no matter where they're from, it's important to show them that they have the power to make the changes, to let them see that not everything rests in the hands of the authorities."

BCIF's efforts range from linking urban and rural areas through farmers markets to mobilizing a community and municipal authorities, and repairing a town's deteriorating wells. It has helped people with disabilities gain access to downtown parking through an advocacy campaign that included a public demonstration to which town officials, other authorities, and the media were invited. BCIF links young, local philanthropies with grantmakers in Central and Eastern Europe, where it has a proven track record showing local businesses how they can make meaningful investments in the communities in which they work. BCIF also facilitates town meetings across the region, where citizens learn about advocacy and the power of informed decision-making.

Working with leaders from the Roma community in Kragujevac, BCIF began by helping them examine the local laws, gain access to municipal trucks, organize a clean up of the site, and plant trees. BCIF then addressed the heart of the problem by negotiating with local authorities until they were able to find additional clean-up money in the municipal budget. Finally, the Fund connected individual members of the Roma community with the local employment office to help them find jobs.

"We believe that it is important to care about the process as well as the end result," explained Vesic. "This is a crucial way to support democratization. It's not just about the number of votes or policies and systems."