The USAID-funded Framework for Giving project is implemented by the Coalition for Giving, led by the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation. Other Coalition members are the Trag Foundation, Catalyst Balkans, SMART Kolektiv, the Serbian Philanthropy Forum, the Responsible Business Forum, and the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The Framework for Giving Activity support efforts to make giving easier. The activity will help Serbia make adjustments that provide incentives for giving.
- Develop a strong philanthropy infrastructure to support the sustainable growth of the philanthropy ecosystem;
- Improve legal and policy framework for the development of incentivized and transparent corporate and individual giving;
- Expand transparent culture of giving among citizens, companies and non-profits;
- Remove obstacles to giving/philanthropy that include: unclear tax regulations; lack of official data on giving and reporting standards; limited payment mechanisms to facilitate easier and faster donations; and others.
The Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation, together with the most recognized corporate social responsibility (CSR), philanthropy and business support organizations in Serbia, formed the Coalition for Giving with a solution designed to build upon existing assets and scale infrastructure for an expanded and more sustainable giving ecosystem. The Coalition synergizes the philanthropy public awareness prowess of Divac Foundation with the CSR and social innovation expertise of Smart Kolektiv, fusing them with the in-depth philanthropy know-how and enabling environment capacities of Trag Foundation and the data and technology competencies of Catalyst Foundation. The collective skillsets of these four organizations act in concert to support the Serbian Philanthropy Forum, the Responsible Business Forum and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia to engage in dialogue, develop partnerships, craft and advocate for improved policy, and promote the mutual benefits of a more generous and responsible society.
The Framework for Giving Activity aims to broaden and strengthen philanthropy and charitable giving in Serbia. The activity focuses on deepening cross-sector partnerships, improving the legal and policy framework to make giving easier and more transparent, and will increase public awareness of philanthropy efforts in Serbia.
The Coalition for Giving proposed and established the Philanthropy Development Council of the Prime Minister. Its establishment represents the most important cornerstone for the development of philanthropy during and beyond the course of the program.
Within the Philanthropy Development 3 working groups and 1 working body were established:
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Working group for improvement of the legal framework for food surplus donations
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Working group for improvement of the legal and fiscal framework for corporate giving and better implementation of existing regulations
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Working group for improvement of the legal framework for individual giving
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Working body for defining criteria for VAT relief for individual donations
The Philanthropy Development Council is chaired by Prime Minister and compromises of members ministry level members and Coalition is represented with 7 members and the secretary of council: Minister of Finance, Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy, Minister of Health, Minister of Culture and Information, Minister of Education, science and technological development, Minister of Public administration and local self-government, Minister of Youth and sports, Minister without portfolio responsible for demography and population policy, Director of Tax administration, Mayor of Belgrade, Director of Chamber of Commerce, Manager of Sipru team, Director of Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation, Chair of Serbian Philanthropic Forum, Director of Trag Fondacija, Cofounder of Catalyst Foundation, Director of Smart Kolektiv, Chair of Responsible Business Forum.
The Coalition for Giving conducted series of researches, surveys and reports: research on attitudes towards philanthropy segmented by HNWIs, an annual survey on community investment, public opinion survey on philanthropy in Serbia, research on Diaspora giving and research on attitudes towards philanthropy segmented by decision-makers, Annual Report on the State of Philanthropy in Serbia,
In order to develop philanthropy ecosystem, develop multisector partnerships and promote the culture of giving, the Coalition for Giving organized many promotional and awareness raising events: Our Belgrade - corporate volunteering event, Social Innovation Forum, Philanthropy Festival in Belgrade and Novi Sad, Round table on Diaspora Giving, National cross-sectoral Conference on Philanthropy, CSR Forum, Virtus Award Ceremony.
Two campaigns were developed and launched - National Giving Day (Nacionalni dan davanja) and Race of Goodness (Trka dobrote). National Giving Day was celebrated under the patronage of Prime Minister Ana Brnabic on October 9, the birthday of famous Serbian and American scientist and philanthropist Mihajlo Pupin. National Giving Day campaign reached more than 1,170,000 citizens and during the campaign led by the Serbian Philanthropy Forum, with strong support by other Coalition for Giving members, 3,2 million dinars was successfully raised for the innovative spectrometer for Petnica, that was the beneficiary of the first National Giving Day.