Through the network of 67 Act Locally Centers (including 4 Affiliated ALCs) the “Act Locally” Program holds local grant competitions which award grants for projects aimed at meeting needs of village and small town residents. Their objective is to activate local communities, stimulate their developmental aspirations and improve quality of their lives.
Eligible to apply for grants of PLN 6.000 for a six-month project are NGOs and informal groups of citizens (on behalf of whom the organizations and local public institutions such as schools, culture centers or libraries shall apply) active in villages and towns of up to 20.000 inhabitants.
To submit your application to a local grant competition you shall:
– visit the www.działajlokalnie.pl website;
– in a bookmark “Zasięg Działaj Lokalnie” (The Range of the “Act Locally”) find the Act Locally Center covering communes where the project would be implemented;
– contact the Act Locally Center that manages the application in your region, distributes the competition regulations and sets the individual competition schedule, determines deadline for submitting the applications and contacts the applicants;
– submit your application online through the application generator at the “Act Locally” Program website.
The ALC network at present covers over 600 communes. In each province there are at least two Act Locally Centers. Since the launch of the Program in 2000, a total of over 8.500 projects have been supported for the total amount of over PLN 35 million. The subsidized projects were aimed at enhancing cooperation of local communities, creation of opportunities for personal development and spending leisure time, or making the region more attractive, among other things.
The “Act Locally” Program is an initiative of the Polish-American Freedom Foundation, managed by the Academy for the Development of Philanthropy in Poland.
