At the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC), we give passionate, committed people around the world the tools, skills, and resources they need to make their communities better places to live.  Since 1991 ISC has led 73 projects in 21 countries, with support from individuals, private foundations, corporations, and the United States Government. Headquartered in Vermont, USA, ISC has had a long presence in the region with offices in Serbia, Macedonia, and Kosovo.  For additional information on ISC activities worldwide, go to www.iscvt.org.

ISC has been active in Serbia since 2002, when we began helping young people, many of whom were unemployed and discouraged after a decade of wars and sanctions, develop leadership skills and create positive change for themselves and their communities.  In 2006, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded ISC the five-year Civil Society Advocacy Initiative (CSAI) to help civil society organizations (CSOs) better represent the needs of ordinary people, and for civil society to become a more influential and trusted partner of businesses and the government. The overall goal of CSAI is for the citizens of Serbia to take responsibility for defining their future while building a more democratic and prosperous Serbia moving towards European integration.

Our Partners

CSAI is being implemented with the assistance of four partners who greatly improve the impact and sustainability of the work we do:

• Balkan Community Initiatives Fund (BCIF) provides assistance through innovative grassroots and advanced community programs throughout Serbia, enabling citizens to make a difference in their communities by addressing issues such as cleaning up rivers and illegal dumps, revitalizing school yards and playgrounds, and promoting human rights for all communities. BCIF is also a pioneer in promoting philanthropy in Serbia through the establishment of the corporate philanthropy Virtus Award and in advocating for the adoption of the Law on Endowments and Foundations.
• Civic Initiatives promotes sustainable democratic change by educating citizens about their rights, democracy, and civil society. Civic Initiatives advocates for the establishment of an enabling environment for CSOs by encouraging the adoption of the Law on Associations.  They also work intensively on youth-related issues and have played a role in advocating for the establishment of the Ministry for Youth and Sports, the creation of more than 70 youth offices throughout Serbia, and the implementation of the National Youth Strategy.
• European Center for Not-for-Profit Law provides technical expertise that contributes to the establishment of a supportive environment for civil society by addressing the legal issues affecting CSOs and citizen participation.  ECNL works on the development of the Law on Associations, the Law on Volunteerism, legal issues concerning corporate philanthropy, and, in collaboration with Civic Initiatives, publishes educational materials such as the Manual on Freedom of Association and the Manual on Tax and Accounting issues impacting CSOs.
• SMart Kolektiv is dedicated to promoting and establishing corporate social responsibility in Serbia as well as finding innovative ways to promote long-term sustainable development of civil society.  Smart Kolektiv launched the Business Leaders Forum, comprising 14 of the leading companies active in Serbia, to encourage corporate social responsibility, and is continuously working on improving cooperation between civil society and the business sector.