Czech Republic plans billions for "nonprofits", but half will go to sports - targeted Romani projects will receive exponentially less money

The Czech state is planning to provide nonprofit organizations CZK 8.49 billion [EUR 332 million] next year for their publicly beneficial projects. More than half of the nonprofit subsidies are meant to be used for sports, 17 % for social services, and 12 % for culture. 

The remaining one-fifth of the nonprofit funding is meant to be used for activities for children, anti-drug policy, family policy, education, environmental protection, support for national minorities and the fight against corruption. The amount of money designated for nonprofits working directly with the Romani minority is CZK 27.4 million [EUR 1.07 million] and of the 18 main areas, Romani people are fifth from the bottom in terms of the volume of the financing to be made available, with combating corruption the very least-financed field. 

That is the upshot of the subsidy policy that will apply next year (2022). The Czech Government has published the approved plan on its website. 

According to the official material, all of the amounts are still just tentative. The total amount of nonprofit subsidies planned for this year (2021) was CZK 8.02 billion.

Nonprofit subsidies in 2018 amounted to roughly CZK 7.07 billion. In 2019 they were 7.68 billion.

Subsidies for nonprofits in sport have gradually increased recently by more than half a billion crowns over the last two years. More money has also made its way into social services provided by nonprofits. 

On the other hand, funding for nonprofits working on the environment, housing, equal opportunities for men and women or educational projects have been cut. The 2021 subsidy plan did not even list the allocations by sectoral field.

When comparing the estimated amount of nonprofit support planned for next year (2022) with last year’s (2020) amounts, about CZK 300 million less is meant to be spent on sport and roughly CZK 570 million more on social services. “From the standpoint of the distribution of financial resources among the individual sectoral fields, the most distinct segments are physical education and sport, social services/activities, and culture. Those providing other services will be given subsidies that are substantially lower in terms of volume,” the plan for next year states. 

According to the 2022 plan, these amounts are still just estimates because the ministries, the Office of the Government, and the two agencies that will administer them do not yet know exactly how much money for such subsidies they will have to work with from the state coffers. “The financial resources for 2022 have to be arranged by each central body of the state administration as part of the standard preparation and approval of the budget,” the authors state in the background materials prepared for the Government. 

Nonprofit programs that aim to directly support the Romani minority are estimated to be allocated CZK 27.4 million next year, or just 0.3 % of the overall volume of the financial resources. According to the Government material, that support will flow through three programs.

The Czech Culture Ministry will support nonprofit integration projects for Romani community members, the Czech Education Ministry will manage a call for nonprofits to support the integration of the Romani minority, and the Office of the Government will continue its program for community work and the prevention of social exclusion implemented by nonprofits.

Romani people will also be supported by other Government programs for nonprofits included, for example, in the fields of supporting national minorities or social services/activities. More than CZK 4.43 billion of the nonprofit funding is meant to flow to sports next year.

Nonprofits providing social services/activities are slated to receive CZK 1.43 billion. Cultural nonprofits should receive CZK 999.5 million.

For development projects implemented abroad, nonprofits could be able to access as much as CZK 416 million. Nonprofit programs for children and youth could receive about CZK 253.7 million from the ministries. 

Roughly the same amount of funding as for children and youth is being counted on for anti-drug policy nonprofits. For the support of family policy nonprofits there will be CZK 150 million available, while about CZK 139.9 million will be available for educational nonprofits. 

Environmental protection should receive CZK 55 million for nonprofits to draw on. Nonprofit public benefit projects to support housing are meant to receive CZK 7 million and the same amount is available to support nonprofit work on equal opportunites for men and women.

Next year the ministries, the Office of the Government, the Agency for Sports and the Agency for Development will open a total of 88 calls for nonprofits to apply for subsidies. Five of the programs will be new.

There will be a new program to support children’s meals at nursery schools and another new program for exhibition projects. The Czech Culture Ministry is meant to open the highest number of nonprofit subsidy programs, 21 in total.