On February 7, 2012, experts from Pontis Foundation, a Slovak organization, shared their experience in corporate philanthropy and volunteering with Georgian civil society representatives in the office of the Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF).
The development of corporate social responsibility will contribute much to the financial stability and efficient operation of Georgian non-governmental organizations. Currently, the Georgian civil society depends basically on financial support provided by foreign donors. The diversification of sources of funding as well as the mobilization of local resources is now on the agenda of non-governmental organizations.
Learning about philanthropy and corporate volunteering from the experience of Eastern European states is important to Georgia. Georgian organizations had an opportunity to learn from Slovakia’s experience at the 7 February workshop.
The workshop was run by Pavel Hrica, Programme Director for Corporate
Philanthropy at the Pontis Foundation, and Monika Smolova, the Corporate Volunteering Program Coordinator of the same foundation. Founded in 1997, Pontis Foundation is a member of the Slovak Donors Forum, the Platform of Development NGOs, Corporate Social Responsibility Europe, the International Business Leaders Forum, as well as an active representative of a number of other associations and initiatives. The purpose of the organization is to connect the sectors of Slovak society with one another and to link sources of financial support (private individuals and entrepreneurs) with those who need it.
Pavel Hrica, Programme Director for Corporate
Philanthropy at the Pontis Foundation, who helps companies in Slovakia develop a strategy for philanthropic activities, made a presentation on corporate philanthropy, providing definition of corporate activities, philanthropy and social responsibility. He considered related legislation and tax regulations, relationships with companies, ways of conducting negotiations with them, drawing their interest to corporate social responsibility, the ways and means of getting financing. It was also noted that companies can provide support through allocating their or their employees’ time (help civil society with qualified consultations). The non-governmental sector gets this type of support more often than financial support, although they apply most frequently for the latter. 
Ms. Smolova talked about corporate volunteering. She provided specific examples of drawing companies’ interest and involving them in CSR activities. She introduced to workshop participants the web-page on volunteering in Slovakia.
The workshop was held in the interactive regime. Around 30 representatives of Georgian civil society shared their expectations and interests with the Slovak experts. Moreover, workshop participants considered the situation in Georgia in terms of corporate social responsibility. They made comparisons with Slovakia to identify similarities and differences.
Slovak experts visited Georgia as part of the project – “Sharing Experience of Eastern Europe in Social Entrepreneurship and Corporate Social Responsibility” – which is financed by The East East: Partnership Beyond Borders Program. As part of the project Slovak experts will help Georgian specialists develop the action plan and strategy for CSR development. This will contribute to the efficient introduction of CSR standards by local entrepreneurs, connection of the entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial sector and stability of local NGOs.
