We’ve selected the winning projects participating in this year’s Mazowsze Lokalnie competition! In 2024, 138 projects will receive micro-grants of up to PLN 7,000 for projects in the Masovian Voivodeship. Congratulations to all the winners! The “Mazowsze Lokalnie” program is an initiative implemented by four non-governmental organizations: the Cooperation Fund Foundation, the Europe and Us Association, the BORIS Association, and the SOKiAL Association. The competition is co-financed by the National Institute of Freedom – Center for Civil Society Development under the NOWEFIO program and the Masovian Voivodeship Government. This year’s edition is the 11th in a row. Over the past few years, over 5,300 applications for funding initiatives in Masovian municipalities have been submitted. The organizers have allocated nearly PLN 6.5 million for the implementation of the 1,419 projects selected so far.
Selection Process
In 2024, 514 applications were submitted to the competition in two thematic tracks – “Grassroots Initiatives” and “Organization Development.” Of all the applicants, 198 projects qualified for the second stage, in which representatives were invited to meetings with experts.
The Evaluation Committees were held both online and in person in Warsaw, Siedlce, Ostrołęka, and Radom. Over the course of 13 days, 29 experts conducted 26 committees, with over 400 people representing 195 applicants participating!
A total of 54 projects in the “Organizational Development” track and 84 projects in the “Grassroots Initiatives” track were funded.
Thematic Priorities
In this year’s call, applicants could receive additional strategic points if their projects addressed two crucial areas:
Initiatives aimed at environmental education in the local community and shaping the right attitudes of children and adults related to environmental protection/promotion of sustainable development.
Initiatives aimed at promoting, educating, and supporting the mental health of the local community and shaping the right attitudes of children and adults related to mental health.
Strategic points were awarded under the above-mentioned criteria to 19 projects in the environmental education category and 15 projects in the mental health category.
Moreover, the competition organizers placed particular emphasis on supporting projects implemented in municipalities that have not yet participated in the Mazowsze Lokalnie program. Projects from such localities accounted for 10% of all initiatives selected for support, which will translate into the activation of additional local communities in Mazovia.
Highest-Rated Projects
In the “Grassroots Initiatives” track, the highest-scoring project was “Library Refuge,” implemented by the “Youth in Action” group. This project involves developing the area around the library in the Tczów commune and creating an outdoor meeting place where residents can engage in creative, imaginative, and enjoyable activities. The project implementers plan to plant ornamental shrubs and flowers, install tables and benches, and then organize outdoor meetings there, including bird feeder-making workshops.
In the “Organization Development” track, the project “www.Strachomin.pl – with a History in the Background,” submitted by the Strachomin Rural Women’s Association, took first place. The aim of the project is to disseminate knowledge about the history, culture, and ongoing activities of the village of Strachomin. The KGW plans to create a website at www.strachomin.pl and publish content on the website in collaboration with residents and local institutions: the Volunteer Fire Department, the library, the municipality, and the museum. The project’s authors write: “Currently, there is a persistent myth that Strachomin is a ‘dead village,’ where nothing happens and little can be done. This is, of course, a stereotype that our KGW is strongly combating, as the village has enormous untapped potential – for example, in tourism.”
Congratulations to all the groups and organizations included on the list of funded projects! Thank you for your creativity, commitment, and energy. We are delighted to have had the opportunity to meet with you and work together to develop our local communities.
We invite you to view the full ranking lists available on the official project website: https://mazowszelokalnie.pl/
Thank you to all the applicants for participating, and we look forward to seeing you in the next edition of the competition!
