About the Foundation...

“FCS works to foster free and pluralistic societies in countries emerging from a history of political authoritarianism, social oppesssion, and civil strife. FCS helps people face the legacies of the past, embrace reconciliation and peace, and develop flourishing civil society institutions — such as non-governemntal organizations and civil associations — in order to determine their own and their country’s future.”

The Foundation for a Civil Society was founded in 1990, as the Charter 77 Foundation — New York. In 1992 it changed its name to The Foundation for a Civil Society. At the height of FCS programming in 1996-97, FCS had a staff of 42. On July 31, 1999 the Foundation assumed a new form: smaller, with fewer staff and lower overhead with a major focus on the transfer of “lessons learned” by Czechs and Slovaks to other coutnries — particularly, but not limited to, the Balkans. The launch of The Project on Justice in Times of Transition, the Foundation’s highly successful global conflict resolution and reconciliation program, as an inter-faculty program of Harvard University under the auspices of the Harvard Law School, the John F. Kennedy School of Government, and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Other on-going FCS programs which are subcontraced to indigenous NGOs in Central and Eastern Europe include:

• The Chalupecky Award, founded in 1991 in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Visual Arts Programs in Bratislava. Both have gained great prestige and provide residency fellowships at the Headlands Center in San Francisco. These awards are made possible by the Trust for Mutual Understanding.
• Assistance in fund raising for innovative cultural events to the Czech Center in New York and other cultural institutions, including the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. Past funders for these activities include: Philip Morris International and the Trust for Mutual Understanding.
• Promoting of corporate citizenship in Central Europe with the generous support of the Citigroup Foundation via the Via Bona Award to local companies with strong philanthropy programs in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland.

The Foundation has continued to fulfill its function in New York as facilitator and liaison for the Czech Republic and Slovakia in the United States. Over the past several months, the Foundation has been involved in:

• The “New Slovakia” initiative designed to ensure that the new governments in the Slovak Republic move toward European integration, and the foreign investment is properly publicized and adequaltely funded during this difficult transition period.

In the near future, an evaluation of the Foundation’s success and failures will be done. The Foundation’s core funders are excited to determine what and why FCS was able to start in 1990 to immediately meet the extensive needs of the former Czechoslovakia … such as:

• FCS’s international constitutional team was pivotal in assisting the Czechs and Slovaks with their Bill of Rights;
• Sent 550 Masaryk Fellows to teach English;
• Brought over 75 young 16 - 18-year-olds to study at the best U.S. private schools with full scholarships;
• Provided 25 long-term expert advisors to presidents, ministers, NGOs, media, and central banks with great effect.

The reason FCS was able able to downsize after over nine years is that its former offices in Prague and Bratislava have become wholly independent, sustainable NGOs: Nadacia pre obciansku spolocnost (NOS) in Bratislava and Nadace VIA in Prague. They have met with great success since their beginnings in 1997 and are recognized as nonprofit leaders in their countries.