Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are supporting the Estonian NGO fund with €2.1 million, with the Estonian government providing the remaining 10% of the fund.
The overall goal of the fund is to support Estonia’s economic and social development through strengthening civil society. Through 6 open calls, grants were awarded to projects by non governmental organisations that could raise their institutional capacity, influence and role in society.
The NGO fund awarded grants to 190 projects:
86 within the focus area of democracy, human rights and discrimination;
42 within the focus area of environment; and
62 focused on regional policy.
When the NGO fund was launched in November 2007, Mall Hellam of the Open Estonia Foundation, managing the fund, underlined the importance of the fund in ensuring financial sustainability for Estonian NGOs. Hellam also stressed that the establishment of the NGO Fund signaled that Estonia acknowledged the necessity of not only dealing with economic achievements in society, but also with civic participation and cohesion.