In May, 1992 local and regional leaders from the neighboring areas of Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine discussed the methods to promote and enhance cross-border cooperation in the Carpathian Mountains and the Tisza Valley.
The Foundation engages in both grant-making and programmatic activities, and since
the beginning it has granted totally 15 million USD to hundreds of NGOs and LSGs.
Currently the Foundation runs its programs to fulfill the following main objectives: to support local development initiatives of NGOs and communities; to support disadvantaged rural areas and vulnerable groups; to raise social awareness and to support disadvantaged youth.
The Carpathian Euroregion, institutional association of local-self-governments and municipalities, has been created in 1993 with the aim to prevent the ethnic conflicts of the post-socialist countries after the democratic transition.
The mission of the Carpathian Foundation-Hungary is to improve the quality of live of people living in the Carpathian Euroregion, and to preserve the social, ethnic, cultural and environmental values and sustainable development of the region.
The Foundation acts as a cross-border regional community foundation and primarily provides financial and technical assistance to NGOs and LSGs (local-self-governments) operating in the Hungarian part of the Carpathian Euroregion (Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Hajdú-Bihar, Heves, Jász- Nagykun- Szolnok, and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg counties).