Volunteering – About Experts

Beata Hirt 23 years ago she helped to establish the Healthy City Community Foundation, the first community foundation in the CEE region. Since that time she is the executive director of the Foundation.
She graduated at the Technical University and during socialism had worked at the state wood processing company. After the democratic revolution (1990-1994) she was invited to work for the Local Municipality in Banská Bystrica. She also had an experience as an elected member of the City Council in Banská Bystrica (2006 – 2010).
She is active as a volunteer in several nonprofit organizations and serves as an expert advisor for several Slovak corporate foundations in the area of community development. Currently she is the President of the Association of the Community Foundations in Slovakia.

The Healthy City Community Foundation was established in 1994 as the first community foundation in Central and Eastern Europe. Since its beginning, the Foundation helps to build and develop social capital, improve communication, cooperation and responsibility for the environment where we live and the way how we live.
The Healthy City Community Foundation brings together people who care about positive development of our region.

The main Foundation’s activities:

• Grant making – small grants up to 700 €) to local nonprofit organizations, informal citizens groups. Since 1994 the Foundation supported more than 1200 projects.
• Creating the space and mechanism for donors to meet their interest and at the same time to use money given to solve community needs or opportunities in the most effective way.
• Promoting volunteerism, mutual understanding, inclusion, and solidarity in our community