N G O F I N A N C I N G
Keeping "Green Line" in the black
By Lee Davis and Nicole Etchart
Slovak NGO is a good example to follow for sustainable NGO financingThe last issue of The Bulletin reported on the NGO Venture Forum: Profits for Nonprofits. The forum assessed how non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the region can maintain self-sufficiency in the face of decreasing donor and philanthropic funding. One of the cases of NGO "self-financing" documented as a part of the Sustainable NGO Financing Project was Green Line (Zelena linka), an environmental NGO based in Puchov, Slovakia. Green Line's experience illustrates some of the innovative approaches NGOs are using to cope with the lack of sufficient funding sources and to further their mission.
Established in 1992 as a project of the Tree of Life organisation, Green Line has been an independent civil association since March 1996. Its mission is to attain the widest involvement of the inhabitants of the Slovak Central Vah River Basin Area through ecological and educational programs leading to positive changes in the state of the region's natural environment. Green Line is particularly concerned with natural protection in the Strazov, Kusuce and White Carpathian Mountains as well as in the Mala Fatra National Park. Reducing municipal waste in Puchov and improving water quality along the Biela Voda River also top the priority list.
The association now has three key programs. Pathway is a tour program where kindergarten and grammar school students learn about the natural and cultural sights of their region. Sights include the beautiful Manin Gorge, a National Natural Reserve with its unique limestone geomorphology carved out by the Manin stream, boasting over 530 species of plants. Others are the Sulov Rocks, also known locally as the "rocky town" because of its unique rocky towers, in the Strazov Mountains, and the geologically unique Vrsatec Rocks in the White Carpathians.
The importance of good communications for children is not lost with Green Line. For example, Pathway's tour of the medieval Castle of Trencin comes with the mythical tale of its lord who once imprisoned the beautiful princess Fatima. A Turkish prince, Omar, who loved Fatima, came with a load of gold to pay ransom but the lord was willing to free the princess only under one condition Ñ that Omar dig a well in the courtyard. After three years of digging, Omar finally hit water and said to the lord, "Lord, you have water but not Fatima's heart." Green Line's other two programs are Mysterious Live Planet, an environmental education program for grammar school scholars, and Alarm Clock, a program for the development of young people's abilities.
In 1998, self-financing activities generated 80 percent of Green Line's annual income of SK 2 million (USD 57,000). Currently, over 50 members pay contributions of 240 Slovak crowns annually and receive benefits such as a free quarterly information bulletin and reductions on various activities. Members are invited to the annual Green Line campfire in the spring and a beneficiary concert held each August. They can also volunteer on weekends to help with programs such as cleaning the Biela Voda River or digging holes for amphibians in the endangered wetlands of the Mala Fatra National Park.
Payments for services include organised tours of the natural and cultural heritage of Slovakia and seminars for primary school teachers with fees paid by educational authorities. Schools in the Puchov countryside and children's summer camps also pay Green Line for practical ecological education programs. Product sales include teaching manuals with detailed information about activities, games and stories for young people, distributed with the help of other NGOs who receive a share of sale profits. The occasional sale of T-shirts and stickers also bring in a regular flow of Slovak crowns.
Finally, Green Line members have free use of space in the Green Line building, which dates back from the late 19th century, and its lovely surrounding park. Green Line was granted free rent for the building by its private owner in 1995. The building is occasionally rented out as accommodation for a symbolic rent and when the space is not being used for ecological education, it serves as a recreational centre.
Green Line is now busy working to conserve the cultural artifact and adapt it for use as an "ecocentre" in the near future. School groups will stay at the ecocentre and learn more about the local pond, marsh, meadow, forest and fruit tree orchard and their environmental problems. The ecocentre will also hold ecotourism trips so that interested observers learn more about the heart of Slovakia's Central Vah River Basin.
(For more info on Green Line: Marian Labaj, M.R. Stefanika 817, SK-020 01 Puchov, Slovakia, (42-1) 8254-1207, zelenalinka@changenet.sk. For more info on the Sustainable NGO Financing Project: Lee Davis at Nesst@igc.apc.org).
