Trag Foundation was established In 1999 with the aim of strengthening the civil society and development of philanthropy in Serbia. The mission of Trag Foundation is to contribute to active and open local communities by providing support to citizens’ initiatives in these communities. Trag achieves this through grantmaking, philanthropy development, capacity building and providing other necessary types of support to these initiatives.
Trag strives to be a regional resource for active citizens and communities and create an enabling environment for them to achieve positive social changes throughout Serbia and the Western Balkans region.
Balkan Green Ideas is an annual competition organized by Trag Foundation on national level which aims to serve as an incubator for small – scale green economic development ideas in Serbia, utilizing local resources and revitalizing traditions of production and community-based markets in an environmentally friendly way. The competition was launched in 2012 and through clear criteria and a transparent and fair competition process, it supports individuals, social enterprises, non-for-profit organizations and small business ventures to improve and contribute to a better life for society in Serbia.
Prior to national competition Trag foundation provides three-days training to pre-selected applicants to open Call for Proposals. In order to strengthen the applicant’s business proposals in business canvas and marketing plan, the training also offers individual support to each participants. After the training, all pre-selected applicants submit their final business proposals that are accompanied by the assessment done by the consultant who led the training. The shortlisted finalists present their proposal during the one days of competition, before a Jury consisting of experts in the field of education, environment, economy and finance. At the end of the competition three winners are selected to compete at the Regional Competition and are awarded with financial support up to 5,000 USD. The funding pool consist in RBF contributions and private sector companies (Erste bank, Ikea). To all the winners, coaching on various business aspects is provided during the incubation period. The assistance is offered pro-bono by a Erste bank, supporter of this program.
National Lead Contact person:
Ivana Markovic, Senior Adviser for Grant making
ivana@tragfondacija.org
