pricelessland

Monday, 09/12/2022 – 9:00 a.m. Excited and a little excited, I pressed the button to go online with the volunteering portal. The form for submitting an application for the volunteer budget was thus released. Just a few seconds later, "Bing" made it into the volunteer mail account for the first time. The first application has been received. The next ones followed in a matter of seconds. I thought back to March 28 of this year with trepidation. We were flooded with applications. 350 applications in 20 minutes. Then we already had to close the portal because the budget was exhausted. Shortly after 9 a.m. it looked like it could happen again this time. When would the available funds for the fall probably be exhausted?  

Always keeping an eye on the budget

A total of 160,000 euros was available this year for the direct support of voluntary actors. Approx. 95,000 euros were approved in the spring, and approx. 65,000 euros could still be awarded in the autumn. The volunteers had the opportunity to submit applications for more than 200 euros and more than 500 euros. The 200 euro applications would be evaluated by an ENO working group, the 500 euro applications must face the verdict of a jury. The jury can confirm the 500 euros, reduce the application amount to 200 euros or reject the application. In recent years, the rate of the 500 euro approval was around 50 percent. Each association and each applicant may only submit one application per year. So anyone who was already considered in the spring will no longer receive an allowance in the autumn. As soon as the applications were received, we checked whether it was a double application or whether the applicant came from a region outside the district. These requests were immediately removed from the list. Based on the applications remaining in the list and assuming a 50% approval rate from the jury, we were able to make a constant forecast of budget utilization. Around 9:30 a.m., the “Bing” notifications became less frequent. Budget was still available. Applications could also be submitted in the evening and the following morning. On Tuesday at 11 a.m. we closed the portal. 225 applications have been received by then.

Fast support is the goal

For four years, the ENO has been able to implement the volunteer budget on behalf of the district of Görlitz. During this time we have developed the ambition to be fast. We don't want the applicants to have to wait long for their approval (very rarely also a rejection). Already on Wednesday, the 3-strong ENO working group independently viewed the more than 100 submitted 200 euro applications. Is it a voluntary commitment? Does the project benefit the common good in the district of Görlitz? Is there a plausible description of what the money is to be spent on? If we were able to answer “yes” to these questions, the application was approved. There were ambiguities with some applications, mostly about the specific use of the requested money. Many could be clarified on the same day by telephone inquiry. Some had to hand in their details later.  

This Friday, three days after the application deadline, 86 symbolic checks for 200 euros are already in the mail .
At the same time, the first round of the jury begins today. The first 25 applications over 500 euros are to be evaluated. The 11 jury members can give their verdict until next Thursday. The jury consists of five representatives from clubs in the district, five employees from the district administration and one press representative. The checks to the applicants from the jury rounds are sent on a weekly basis .

Impressive variety 

The projects that are to be supported with the volunteer budget are as varied as the club life in #Pricelessland. The spectrum ranges from plants to beautify the village square to jerseys and equipment for the sports club to support for festivals and meetings with partner clubs. The appreciation of the commitment of particularly active club members also plays a major role. In addition, many exciting projects can be found in the descriptive texts.

The Friends of Museum Sagar eV would like to make a saw frame from 1895 functional again. The Lausitzer Sterngucker eV wants to build a video telescope to give visitors a view of the starry sky even in bad weather. And the Kemnitz youth fire brigade needs respiratory masks for realistic training of the youngest comrades.

When reading such projects, we ourselves are always amazed at how much inventiveness, creativity, passion and attractiveness volunteering in the district of Görlitz has. Therefore, a big THANK YOU from us to the many committed actors in #Pricelessland.

Greetings from the #unbezahlbarland service point,
your Ingo