ABSTRACT
The Czech Republic is a country of 10.5 million people located in central Europe. It is a parliamentary democracy, which became a member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. Two major issues need to be addressed in the Czech Republic: the lack of seed money to start a responsible social venture and a lack of support at the regional and local government level. Social entrepreneurs complain that both public funds and private bank loans are difficult to obtain due to a complicated and onerous system of required guarantees. In the Czech context, a "social enterprise" is a legal entity or a physical person that pursues a specific locally relevant public welfare goal that is clearly stated in its mission and vision. Hnuti Duha is the most influential Czech ecological not-for-profit organization. It employs 40 permanent staff members and is financially supported by almost 5,000 individuals.
