[WATCH] President launches l-Istrina fund for NGO projects

President launches l-Istrina fund for NGO projects • Video Ray Attard

President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca has launched a fund that aims to support projects by Non-Governmental Organizations.

The Voluntary Organisation Fund, part of the l-Istrina b'Soledarjeta' 2014 initiative, will depend on donations from the public. As such, the amount available for these projects will be announced at the end of January, when NGOs may put forward the proposals for their projects.

Applications for funding will close on 2 March and the projects awarded funding will be announced on 4 May.

A board will be set up to establish the criteria for the selection of projects. Those dealing with social issues – including education, work, poverty, health, migration, disability, social dialogue and ecology – will be given preference. Projects that involve the collaboration of two or more NGOs will also be given preference, as will those that include mechanisms to measure their success, and those that can sustain themselves when the Istrina funds dry out.

An appeals board will also be set up, allowing NGOs to defend their projects if they have not been selected for funding.

Funds will be made available in three instalments – 25% at the beginning of the project, 50% in the middle, and the final 25% once the project is complete. In exceptional circumstances when the projects require expensive apparatus or infrastructure, NGOs will be eligible to receive more funds at the beginning of the project.  

The President said that the focus of this fund was to encourage volunteers to work together.

“We want to invest, not to spend,” she explained.

Coleiro Preca promised transparency and accountability in the distribution of funds, as the public has a right to know how their donations are being spent.

Making reference to Church NGOs, which are not currently registered with the Commissioner for Voluntary Organizations, Coleiro Preca said that according to information she has, the organizations will soon be registered with them.