Altogether, 63 civil society organizations and 21 networks in Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland will receive financial grants amounting to more than 2,9 million euro from the Stronger Roots Program, starting in January 2026. The supported organizations and networks will strengthen their communities of supporters and deepen their collaboration with public institutions. The Stronger Roots Program is jointly implemented by Open Society Fund Prague (Czechia), Glopolis (Czechia), Open Society Foundation Bratislava (Slovakia), NIOK Foundation (Hungary) and Stefan Batory Foundation (Poland) and funded by the European Union from the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme.

The results of an open Call for Proposals were announced on November 10, 2025, based on a profound 2-round selection process. The supported organizations and networks are working on a variety of topics, such as education, environment protection, social services or human rights, and within their theme, they promote, protect or raise awareness of the EU values and principles of fundamental rights, democracy, and the rule of law. They are of different sizes and seated in different locations in all four countries.  

The supported organizations and networks will be provided not only with financial support for their projects, but they will also participate in an intensive expert and peer support program that includes mentoring, individual consultations from experts as well as a variety of training and experience sharing sessions. 

“We sincerely thank all those who applied. The large number of applications demonstrates that civil society organizations in Central Europe recognize the importance of building a community of supporters and partners, especially at a time when democracy is under pressure. Therefore, we will continue to share practical tips and experiences on social base-building and network collaboration through the Stronger Roots Academy webinars, which are accessible to all interested parties in the civil sector,” said Marie Peřinová, the program director of Open Society Fund Prague, on behalf of the consortium. 

There has been an immense interest in the Stronger Roots Call for Proposals. The consortium has received 810 applications from across Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland, out of which 693 organizations applied for the social base building pillar and 117 applications focused on transversal collaboration with public institutions.