"You can have an open society only when you are ready to fight for it. Otherwise you can't have it. Because there will be always people like, for example, the communists, who will be enemies of that open society. And the better it is established, the less people will be really seeing that it is in danger, in constant danger. A society cannot really establish itself forever against power. If it is an open society, it has to be ready for the enemy."
(Karl Popper, Prague, May 23, 1994)

The Open Society Fund Prague

The Open Society Fund (OSF) Prague was established in 1992 as a member of the international network of Soros foundations. Since the very beginning it has been a significant independent organization with a number of specific features giving it a unique position among Czech foundations: receiving support from a private international donor, it is able to take a flexible approach to the current needs of society; to accept a healthy amount of risk when supporting projects; to support long-term projects aiming to initiate system changes and responding to some controversial issues; to bring into the Czech Republic successful innovative methods, and give systematic support to international cooperation.
The OSF Prague – like any other Soros foundation in the new member states of the European union – has recently gone through transformation, and this primarily resulted in a sharp drop in the financial support received from the Open Society Institute. The reduction is part of the strategy designed by the founder of the Soros Foundation Network: new EU member states are believed to possess a satisfactory level of democracy, well-developed institutions and mechanisms of a democratic society, and to be able to draw money from local sources as well as European funds. This has affected the way the Foundation is funded and the way it designs its program schedule. There has been a significant reduction in the extent and quantity of programs supported, and emphasis has been laid on program areas that seek to achieve system changes, or programs that are unable to draw support elsewhere but at the same time their implementation is crucial to the development of an open society.

Main Program Areas of the OSF Prague

  • rule of law
  • human rights and antidiscrimination
  • strengthening the civil sector and civil society
  • international cooperation


Most of the programs and projects that the OSF Prague is supporting and intends to support seek to help achieve systemic and/or legislation changes, or major changes in the current practice. The important thing about the programs run by the OSF Prague is that they are backed by the partnership with a number of organizations and that they are mostly long-term schemes.

The OSF Prague has helped establish new non-profit organizations and given institutional support to programs and organizations to for further growth and stronger stability. Many of these non-profit organizations pursue further cooperation with the Foundation.

In terms of funding, the Foundation¢s principal donor is the Open Society Institute. In 1992–2008, the OSF received more than 1.1 billion crowns from the OSI.
The OSF Prague passed both rounds of a selection process for grants awarded by the Foundation Investment Fund that aims to support the development of Czech foundations with one per cent of the income from the privatisation of Czech industries. In 1999 the first round brought the OSF 26 million crowns, the second round provided 20.4 million in 2002 and 12 million in 2003. Any financial resources that the OSF Prague has gained and is going to gain from the Foundation Investment Fund become part of the endowment of the OSF Prague. Revenues from the endowment are distributed as grants on an annual basis.

Moreover, the OSF cooperates with a number of local donors, especially corporate entities that support the Foundation¢s programs, and minor donations come from local businesses and individuals.
The OSF Prague is a member of the Czech Donors Forum (Association of Foundations) and observes the Foundations¢ Code of Ethics.