BRIDGE Program

Carpathian Best Rural Initaitives Development as a Gateway to Europe (BRIDGE) – Programme
 
The Carpathian Foundation Hungary’s Programme to Support the Best Regional Initiatives

 

The goal of the Programme

 
One of the objectives of the Carpathian Foundation-Hungary is to support local civil organizations and municipalities in North-Eastern Hungary (in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Hajdú-Bihar, Heves, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Nógrág, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg Counties) to implement their innovative ideas on improving the sustainable development and living conditons of the communities of the region.
 
For this objective we launched a supportive development & co-operative programme for civil organizations and local-self-governments which aims to:

  • improve their skills and capacities to design and manage development projects
  • impower and help them in their efforts to have better access to development funds and opportunites
  • assist them to become more efficient organizations and act as development catalyzators in their communities.  

The three objectives of the BRIDGE Programme:
 

  • we provide technical assistance: Free professional and technical assistance to the participating organizations to facilitate them to draw up their development ideas into concrete projects and prepare their project proposals for absorbing European Union and bigger development funds
  • we provide own contribution support: We provide 100% of the financial own contribution required from the partner     organization; in terms of the whole project this can be up to 75% of the whole required own contribution.
  • we provide quality assurance services to the winning projects: We help to put winning projects into practice as a partner organization in the projects in order to ensure the quality of the required work (mainly administrative support).

 
History of the Programme
 
We launched the Carpathian BRIDGE Programme in 2005 with the support of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
 
In 2006 in co-operation with the Open Society Institute we started a sub-project called Roma BRIDGE Programme involving 14 Roma organizations.
 
In 2007 we revised the Programme in order to enable the partcipating organizations, in partnership with the Carpathian Foundation-Hungary, to have access to the funds of the New Hungary Development Plan 2007-2013 and other bigger EU or any kind of development funds.
 
Achievements
 Until 2009 out of more than 100 requests we funded 23 initiatives of 29 organizations that in total amounts to 46,909 USD.
 Among others the BRIDGE Programme is proud of creating jobs in the Cserehát area (most underdeveloped area of Hungary); establishing a community centre for the Roma of Debrecen; focusing public attention on the economic and touristic potential of the River Tisza by organizing touristic and eco-events inviting people from the whole region.
 In 2006 the first initiative we funded, the ’Szanticska Traditions & Employment Programme’ was awarded the ’Equal Opportunities Prize’ of the National Development Office.
 
The organizations we funded 2005 to 2009:
 
BRIDGE Programme
Szanticska Artists Association
North-Eastern Hungary Regional Human Resources Development & Training Centre
Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Rural Tourism County Association
SOSNA Civil Association (Slovakia)
Civil Initiatives in the Republic of Slovakia (Slovakia)
Municipality of Heves County
Red Cross Hungary County Heves Office
Kaptárkő Eco Club
Microregion Medves (Slovakia)
Medvesalja Microregion Association
Életfa Eco Club
Inntek Non-profit Ltd.
Nyírbátor Foundation
Eastern Hungary Organic Solutions Association
 
Roma BRIDGE Programme
Habeas Corpus Eurocentre Association
National Association of Roma Community Developers
’AMARO TRAJO’ Our Life for the Roma Culture Foundation
Fort the protection of Roma Women Public Association
EU-Roma National Association
For the Recreation of Béke-settlement Association
Jászság Roma Civil Rights Organization
Roma Flame Association
Bagamér Roma Association
Körösszakál Roma Democratic Association
Roma of Hajdú-Bihar County Association
Lungo Drom Roma Civil Protection Association Püspökladány
Lungo Drom Roma Civil Protection Association Sáp
Lungo Drom Roma Civil Protection Association Berettyóújfalu
 
 
Development Opportunities 
For a more efficient co-operation with our partners, we constantly search for new opportunities to join civil or state development projects in the region. We initiated a partnership with the National Development Office’s Most Disadvantaged Microregions Development Programme (DMDP) and we managed to update our projects based on DMPD’s project list.