The Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF) announced the opening the Public Advocacy in Local Communities competition. With financial support from the UK Department for International Development (DFID), BCIF aims to promote and support civic associations in Serbia to develop successful models for public advocacy in local communities.

British non-profit association My Society, in cooperation with the Open Society Institute, announced competition for projects on the topic of transparency and accountability of governing institutions that use internet websites as mandatory instrument.

Milan Marković, Serbian Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, informed the Civic Initaitives (Građanske inicijative) association that their initiative to harmonize the provisions in the Law on Lottery and Games of Chance and the Law on Associations, to allow for activities of the civil sector to be funded from those sources was submitted to the Ministry of Finance for review and eventual adoption of proposed solutions.

George Soros, multimillionaire and philanthropist, established an Emergency Fund to help vulnerable groups cope with the impact of the global economic crisis in twenty countries of Central and East Europe, including Serbia. The Fund will provide up to $100 million over the next two and half years.

The Ministry of Regional Development, Forestry and Water Economy, i.e. the accredited Agency of Regional Development, of the Republic of Croatia and the Delegation of the European Commission, in cooperation with Serbian Ministry of Finance, announced Call for Project Proposals for allocation of grants on projects promoting cross-border cooperation between Croatia and Serbia, under the IPA 2007-2013 Croatia-Serbia Cross-Border Programme.

Vinko Mladineo, the Director of the Environmental Protection Fund and the President of Zagreb County Stjepan Kožić signed, on Thursday, July 16, two agreements on energy efficiency and use of renewable energy of total value of 2.4 million HRK (c. 325,000 Euro).

The Fund secured 425,000 HRK for promotion of use of renewable energy by private citizens in the Zagreb County. The project includes installation of heating solar collectors in at least 50 households, leading to savings of fossil fuels and reduced CO2 emissions of 21 tons annually.

The World Bank office in Pristina announced on Tuesday, January 20, the Civil Society Fund program for 2009. The Civil Society Fund (CSF) complements and facilitates the social development agenda of the World Bank by providing grants to civil society organizations.