BCIF :: Grant Programs :: It Takes Two

It Takes Two

By It Takes Two program we wish to encourage civil society organizations to develop and implement Buddy projects in Serbia, as a form of volunteer support to the vulnerable groups, fore mostly the children and the youth with disabilities, thus contributing to their inclusion in the society.  The program is based on the experiences from The Netherlands and it conveys successful Dutch model.  The program is being implemented simultaneously in three countries: Serbia, Montenegro and Ukraine.  The program is financed by The Scan Foundation and Cooperating Netherlands’ Foundation for Central and Eastern Europe (CNF CEE) from The Netherlands.


What does Buddy project encompass? 

Web page Be a Buddy

Buddy project model is designed for the people in need of social support.  The goal of implementing that model is to provide an opportunity for the vulnerable groups (in this case the children and the young with disabilities) to be actively included in the society.  It can be implemented in the work with various vulnerable groups such as children without parental care, the homeless, persons with disabilities and others, with a goal to expand their social contacts network.

Projects based on this model connect vulnerable groups with volunteers – the people who are willing to invest their time and to dedicate themselves to hanging out and mutual activities.  To be a buddy simply means to be there for someone else.  A buddy should never replace the person who provides expert support.  A buddy is someone you can trust, who can listen, and who will spend time with the beneficiaries on various activities, such as e.g. going for a coffee or to movies, theatre, for a walk.  It is expected of the volunteers who wish to be buddies to regularly spend their time with beneficiaries, periodically, e.g. three hours per week or twice a month, but long-term.
On the basis of the assessed needs and wishes of both, the children and the youth with disabilities are paired up with the volunteers in order to have mutual activities.  The chosen volunteers are trained, and after that connected with the children or the youth with disabilities according to their own capacities and needs.  Both target groups, the beneficiaries and the buddies, will make use of those contacts.


About It Takes Two program

BCIF is implementing this program in Serbia with an idea to support civil society organizations in developing concrete projects, which will be based on Buddy project model, which is dedicated tothe children and the youth with disabilities.

The competition is aimed atcivil societiesfrom Serbia who have experience and who have accomplished significant results in direct work with the youth and the children with disabilities, and civil societies with developed volunteer programs and experience in engaging volunteers.

The amount of the grant for project realization is up to9.500 euros. 
Who is currently implementingBuddy project model? 

Based on competition applications, the following ten civil societies which are implementing Buddy project model were selected:

The selected organizations have already been trained by Dutch experts.Apart from the training in the implementation of Buddy project, the training also had the goal to encourage the cooperation between the organizations from various Serbian regions, and their mutual mentor support.


Grant awarding procedure

BCIF has distinct rules and procedures for awarding grants for all programs.  During public selection process, project proposals for It Takes Two program are reviewed on the following levels:

1. BCIF’s office (reviewing project proposals), 
2. Independent Selection Board (selecting 10 best project proposals),
3. Training-module for developing a project proposal into the final draft,
4. Independent Donation Board (selecting 10 best project proposals).