The Foundation for a Civil Society is a small New York-based nonprofit organization (501 (c) 3), founded by Wendy Luers in January 1990
as Charter 77 New York to respond to the needs Czechoslovakia faced as it transitioned to democracy with offices in New York and Prague. Following the split of Czechoslovakia, FCS established an office in Bratislava, Slovakia in 1993.
Wendy Luers and Václav Havel, the new president of Czechoslovakia, and Ambassador William Luers. February 1990. Image credit: FCS
In the late 90’s and continuing to this day as affiliates of FCS, these offices became the highly successful indigenous NGO’s: Nadace VIA and Nadace Pontis. At the height of its programming in 1996-97, FCS had a staff of 42. On July 31, 1999, the Foundation assumed a new form: smaller, with fewer staff and lower overhead with a major focus on the transfer of “lessons learned” by Czechs and Slovaks to other countries — particularly, but not limited to, the Balkans.
Wendy speaking at the opening of The Foundation for a Civil Society joint international Young Visual Artists Awards (YVAA) exhibition at the Slovak National Gallery in 2011, with the US Ambassador Tod Sedgwick and his wife Kate. Part of the Young Visual Artist Awards Program, the exhibition brought together artists from the ten different countries from Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans
FCS possesses strong experience in grants management, technical assistance, and training, and was pivotal in the establishment and strengthening of the non-profit sectors in the region. FCS occasionally travels to and does business for the YVAA, Iran Project and general programming in the various countries: the Czech Republic to Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Albania, and Bulgaria