Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are supporting the Estonian NGO fund with €2.1 million, with the Estonian government providing the remaining ten percent of the fund. Over the coming three years small-scale grants will be provided to Estonian NGOs and social partners within the focus areas democracy and civil society, environment and sustainable development, and social integration and local development.
The newly launched second call for funding follows in the heels of the highly popular first round of project submittals opened in November 2007, which brought in over 120 applications for a total value of around €2 million euro. The largest number of applications were submitted within the focus area 'democracy and civil society development'. The evaluation process of the proposals submitted in the first call is ongoing and the first funding decisions will be made in April 2008.
Under the second call, Estonian NGOs can apply for grants ranging between 20,000 to 500,000 Estonian kroons with a duration spanning from one to two years. Further details on the sub-categories of projects and eligible activities are available on the web page of the fund manager, the Open Estonia Foundation.
A total six open calls for proposals will be held under the fund, with a third call taking place in 2009, followed by two calls in 2008 and one in 2010.