FoRS

What FoRS does

FoRS – České fórum pro rozvojovou spolupráci is a Czech non-profit platform founded in 2002 that serves as the unified representative body for approximately 37 Czech non-governmental non-profit organizations active in development cooperation, humanitarian aid, and global education. Headquartered in Prague with a secretariat of about 13 staff, FoRS coordinates collective advocacy toward the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, CzechAid, and EU institutions, distributes policy analysis and publications, and operates a job board for the development sector. Its core service is institutional intermediation: aggregating civil society positions, convening working groups, and channeling the Czech NGO voice into national and European policy processes, including through its founding membership in CONCORD Europe (2003), which represents more than 2,600 NGOs across the EU.

The organization's product surface is non-commercial and consists of five main offerings: the GearUP! international project (an EU DEAR-funded sub-granting program targeting youth aged 15-30 across 8 European countries, with 31 sub-grants distributed to Czech NGOs and municipalities), a publications and press-release portal, a news and grant-opportunity feed, a membership platform, and a sector job board. Technology is limited to a standard content-management website and collaboration infrastructure; no proprietary software, APIs, or data products are disclosed. Revenue is sourced from three primary institutional donors visible on its 2024 donor page — CzechAid, the European Commission (DEAR program), and the Active Citizens Fund (EEA/Norway Grants) — supplemented by recurring membership contributions from its 37 member and observer organizations. The business model is therefore best characterized as a grant-dependent coalition platform rather than a commercial entity.

Name

FoRS

Legal name

FoRS – České fórum pro rozvojovou spolupráci

Website

https://fors.cz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

FoRS is a Prague-based non-profit platform founded in 2002 that coordinates approximately 37 Czech NGOs working in development cooperation, humanitarian aid, and global education, advocating with government and EU institutions and running the EU-funded GearUP! youth program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Development Cooperation / Humanitarian Aid Advocacy Platform

NAICS

Business Associations (81391), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAJAKAD

International & Local Implementing NGOs

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Public Health, Government & Regulators/Global Health & Development Agencies (NGOs/Multilaterals)

SECONDARYBPAGAKAE

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Philanthropy, Foundations & Grantmaking

SECONDARYEDADALAC

NGO/Nonprofit Education Programs & Service Delivery

Education/Education Administration, Accreditation & Policy/Education Partnerships, Intergovernmental & NGO Programs

Keywords

• Development cooperation
• Humanitarian aid
• Global education
• NGO coalition
• Policy advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Prague

HQ country

Czechia

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Membership contributions from member and observer organizations
2. EU grants and project funding: European Commission funding through DEAR program, other EU grants for development education and awareness raising
3. Donor funding: Funding from Czech government (CzechAid), European Union, and Active Citizens Fund (EEA/Norway Grants)

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

FoRS is a non-profit platform that coordinates and represents approximately 37 Czech NGOs working in development cooperation, humanitarian aid, and global education. Its core offerings include a membership-based coalition representing member interests to government and EU institutions, the GearUP! international grant program for youth global education funded by the EU DEAR program, policy publications and analyses, and a job board for the development sector. All deliverables are non-commercial and intended to strengthen Czech civil society engagement in development cooperation.

Product overview

FoRS – České fórum pro rozvojovou spolupráci is a platform of Czech non-governmental non-profit organizations and other non-profit entities engaged in humanitarian aid, development cooperation, global education, and information dissemination about these topics. The organization does not offer a unified technology product but rather serves as a coordination and advocacy platform. Its primary offerings include the GearUP! grant project for youth engagement, publications and analyses, a news portal covering development cooperation topics, a membership network of approximately 37 organizations, and a job board connecting professionals with development cooperation actors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GearUP!: International project focused on global citizenship education and strengthening youth engagement in sustainable development. Provides grants to NGOs and local government organizations to implement activities targeting young people aged 15-30.
• AidWatch

Products and services

• GearUP! International Grant Program International project providing smaller grants to non-profit organizations and local government entities to fund activities targeting young people aged 15–30 in global education, sustainable development, and youth civic engagement.
• Publications and Policy Analyses (Publikace) FoRS publications, co-authored publications, press releases, statements, and additional analyses on development cooperation, humanitarian aid, and global education topics.
• News Portal (Aktuality) Current news about humanitarian organizations, development cooperation, events, and grant opportunities from FoRS and its member organizations.
• Membership Platform for Czech NGOs Platform connecting approximately 37 member and observer organizations, including Czech NGOs active in humanitarian aid, development cooperation, and global education.
• Job Board (Pracovní nabídky) Connecting job and internship seekers with actors in foreign development cooperation, including internship opportunities at FoRS.

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CONCORD EuropecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2003FoRS is a founding member of CONCORD - European Confederation of NGOs for Humanitarian Aid and Development, established in 2003. CONCORD is the main European confederation representing over 2,600 NGOs. Through CONCORD membership, FoRS enables Czech NGOs to participate in European development policy processes and contributes to Aidwatch monitoring reports.
• Czech Ministry of Foreign AffairscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey government partner for development cooperation policy. Ministry coordinates Czech development cooperation and humanitarian aid, with FoRS providing civil society perspective and expertise.
• European CommissioncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerThrough CONCORD, FoRS participates in European Commission consultations on development policy. Receives EU funding through DEAR program for development education and awareness raising projects.
• Klimatická koaliceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in climate coalition for coordination on climate policy and financing issues.
• Neon CooperationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in development cooperation network.
• GENE (Global Education Network Europe)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean network for global education, partner for sharing best practices and policy coordination.
• GEAR UP! Consortium (17 partners from 8 European countries)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational project consortium under EU DEAR program. FoRS coordinates sub-granting to NGOs and municipalities in Czech Republic. Project involves local authorities and CSOs across Europe to strengthen youth engagement in global citizenship education.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Fingo: Finnish umbrella NGO for development cooperation and global education, comparable to FoRS in its combination of CONCORD-style advocacy and operational grant-making/program coordination.
• VENRO: German umbrella association of development and humanitarian NGOs, structurally identical to FoRS as a national NGO coalition platform engaging government and EU on development policy.
• HAND (Hungarian Association of NGOs for Development and Humanitarian Aid): Hungarian national NGO platform for development and humanitarian cooperation — a Central European peer to FoRS operating in the same policy and donor ecosystem.
• Slovak Platforma pre rozvojovú spoluprácu a humanitárnu pomoc: Slovak national platform for development cooperation and humanitarian aid — the closest geographic peer to FoRS, with the same membership-based NGO coalition model, similar scale, and parallel CONCORD membership.
• Partos: Dutch umbrella of organizations involved in international cooperation; same membership-coalition model and CONCORD participation as FoRS, useful as a comparable for funding scale and member count.

Broad incumbents

• CONCORD Europe: European confederation of which FoRS is a founding member, representing 2,600+ NGOs across the EU. Directly comparable as a higher-tier coalition platform coordinating national NGO platforms on development policy and AidWatch reporting.
• Forus International: Global network of national NGO platforms for development cooperation; already a listed partner of FoRS and the meta-platform analogous to CONCORD at global level.

Emerging players

• Člověk v tísni (People in Need): Largest Czech humanitarian and development NGO and a FoRS member; comparable in fundraising scale and program delivery (humanitarian + global education) but operates as a single implementing NGO rather than a coalition platform.
• GENE (Global Education Network Europe): European network for global education already partnered with FoRS; comparable as a thematic peer in the global citizenship education space where FoRS runs GearUP!.
• Klimatická koalice: Czech climate coalition of which FoRS is a partner; comparable as another Czech civil-society coalition platform but with thematic focus on climate policy rather than development cooperation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fors_cz
• Facebookfacebook.com/FoRSPraha
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fors_3

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about FoRS