EURASIA Foundation, Regional Representative Office

The Eurasia Foundation is a privately managed non-profit grantmaking organization established in 1993 with financing from the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The Eurasia Foundation supports programs in the New Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union (excluding the Baltic States) covering a wide range of activities in economic and democratic reform. The Eurasia Foundation does not administer its own programs, but finances projects on the basis of concrete proposals designed and submitted by applicants, according to a specific set of guidelines (available on request from Kiev Regional Office). The Foundation began its grantmaking operations in May 1993.

Areas of interest:
- Economic Reform: Includes management training, business education, economic education, small business development, industrial restructuring assistance, policy advice and Information systems.
- Public Sector Reform and Development of Non-Government Organizations: Includes public administration training, public policy advice and development of non-government organizations.
- Media and Communications: Includes projects in print, broadcast and electronic media that further the Foundation's goals of economic reform and democratic institution building.
- The Eurasia Foundation makes grants for expert advice, training, educational and implementation activities, and policy research. On occasion, it may make modest sums available for items such as communications equipment required to support a technical assistance, educational, training or research program. In reviewing proposals, the Foundation is particularly interested in what sustained effect the proposed grant will produce in the NIS and in a very high degree of participation of NIS citizens or institutions in preparing and supporting the grant.

The Foundation does not generally fund programs in health care, scientific research, the environment, privatization or scholarship for long-term study abroad, except under unusual circumstances. The Foundation likewise does not ordinarily make large grants for free-standing international conferences. It may consider limited support for conferences, including travel, primarily for NIS citizens, if a meeting clearly is essential in the long-term development of specific activities relevant to the Foundation's program objectives.

The Eurasia Foundation's charter allows it to support non-profit organizations or comparable institutions in the NIS, and government entities in the NIS. It may also on occasion make grants to private for-profit institutions if the grant serves a charitable or educational purpose related to economic reform or democratic institution building and private shareholders or individuals do not benefit from the grant.

The Foundation's grant selection process is very competitive, as limited resources allow the Foundation to support only a small percentage of funds requested by applicants. On average, only 10 percent of the proposals received by the Foundation have been accepted for funding to date.

Financing projects in the areas of economic reform, public sector reform and development of non-governmental organizations, as well as media communications.

Program areas include:
- business development;
- business education and management;
- economic education and research;
- electronic communications;
- media;
- NGO development;
- public administration and local government reform;
- rule of law.

Targeted initiatives include:
- recoverable grants;
- eligibility;
- application procedure.

Foundation adminisred programs are:
- The Small Business Loan Programs (SBLP);
- The Economics Education and Research Consortium (EERC);
- The Media Viability Fund (MVF).