National Cooperation Fund to disburse HUF 1.5 bn among civil organisations in 2018

Civil organisations in Hungary and beyond the border will be able to bid for a total of some 1.5 billion forints in grants disbursed by the National Cooperation Fund (NEA) until the end of January, a government official said on Friday.

Government funding for civil groups has grown by 70 percent over the past seven years, Miklós Soltész, the state secretary in charge of church, minority and civil society relations, told a press conference.

Whereas in 2010, the government spent 144 billion forints (EUR 464m) on supporting civil groups, by 2016, they received total funding of 240 billion forints, Soltész said.

Civil groups can apply for grants between 100,000 and 4 million forints. Unlike last year, applicants from beyond the border will not need to apply jointly with an organisation based in Hungary this time, Soltész said.

Source: MTI