The OKD Foundation, the secondlargest corporate foundation in the Czech Republic, will distribute aroundCZK 60 million to municipalities andnon-profit organisations this year. It willspecifically focus on providing support tosheltered workshops and other means ofemployment integration for the disabled.The foundation stands ready to disburseup to CZK 10 million in this area.
Sheltered workshops provide an opportunity for the integration of disabled people into everyday life. The foundation’s support will be directed to institutions run by non-profit organisations, communities and municipalities. „Important income for every sheltered workshop is made up by a contribution from the unemployment office. But this contribution will be decreased this year in connection with cutbacks in the national budget. Therefore we wish to use grant assistance to help the workshops maintain jobs for the disabled in this difficult economic situation, and possibly even create some new positions,“ said OKD Foundation director Jiří Suchánek.
In the Moravian-Silesian Region alone, as of the end of 2010, there were more than 10,000 disabled people without work, a number that is equivalent to almost 13 percent of the region’s total unemployment figure. In addition to helping sheltered workshops, the foundation also wants to support other organisations that provide employment integration for disabled people.
As in previous years, the OKD Foundation will also continue to support a range of other publicly beneficial activities. It will particularly support projects in the health and social spheres, but it will also invest in cultural development and regional traditions, leisure activities, restoration of the environment and cultural heritage. Moreover, roughly 80 percent of the provided funds shall stay in the Moravian-Silesian Region.
The Foundation is also continuing with a special effort which is unique within the whole country – the provision of support to organisations and municipalities that are striving to obtain financing from European Union funds while lacking sufficient finances to enable the preparation of studies and other administrative materials required by the EU fund administrators. „For example, we contributed CZK 50,000 to the Nová Pakabased civic association Život bez bariér (Life Without Barriers) for the preparation of a European Union-grant project application. And indeed, they succeeded in obtaining almost CZK 30 million for the development of a centre for the disabled and senior citizens. What’s more, there have already been several such applicants that have successfully obtained an EU grant thanks to support in this way from the OKD Foundation,“
The OKD Foundation
The OKD Foundation was established in early 2008 to support and develop spiritual and humanitarian values, environment, education, sports and cultural activities and social and medical services. The OKD Foundation’s key objectives also include providing support for the North-Moravian region, including mining traditions, and assisting non-profit-making organisations in processing European projects. With the amount of distributed funds, the OKD Foundation ranks among the largest corporate foundations in the Czech Republic.
- 800 projects granted
- CZK 123 million paid
- 4 basic grant programs
- Emergency fund for all unexpected emergency situations as flooding