Anticorruption Endowment

The Anticorruption Endowment (Czech: Nadační fond proti korupci, NFPK; originally Nadační fond pro boj proti korupci) was a Czech endowment fund founded on 15 March 2011 by businessman Karel Janeček, brewer Stanislav Bernard and television presenter Jan Kraus. Its stated mission was to support the fight against corruption and to educate Czech civil society, with the motto "Nebát se a nekrást, a ne nakrást si a nebát se" (roughly, "not to fear and not to steal, and not to steal for oneself and not to fear"). It operated as a non-profit endowment fund rather than a commercial company, but functioned as a public-facing institutional brand in the Czech anti-corruption and good-governance space. The fund supported projects that uncovered corruption with significant economic impact on public administration, awarded the annual Cena za odvahu (Courage Prize) to whistleblowers and civic activists, issued grants to support investigative journalists, sought to push published corruption cases to their conclusion, contributed to building ethical values in a democratic society, and applied pressure on politicians to adopt necessary legislative changes. It was a member of the Government Council for the Coordination of the Fight against Corruption and of the Network for the Protection of Democracy. It officially launched its activities on 23 March 2011 at the Vratislav Palace in Prague, in the presence of US Ambassador to the Czech Republic Norman Eisen, by awarding its first two prizes to Renata Horáková, Libor Michálek and Ondřej Závodský for reporting corruption suspicions at their offices despite the lack of legal protection. Over more than a decade the fund worked on more than twenty cases and claimed to have saved the Czech state over two billion Czech korunas. Its case list included Prague's overpriced transit tickets (2011), MPSV information systems (2012), the Klaus amnesty and the Chamber of Commerce (2013), the Kalousek and Nemocnice Na Homlce cases (2014), the Office for the Protection of Competition (2017), Hadí lázně (2019), the Sotolář and SZIF cases (2020), Pavel Hubáček and the Šumperk case (2021), Smíchov City and the Jemnice case (2022), and the Prostějov case (2023). On 4 August 2020 it was announced that key collaborators Stanislav Bernard, Jan Kraus and Karel Randák were leaving the fund. In December 2024 NFPK announced the termination of its activities and published its final project, the book Dějiny korupce (A History of Corruption), including an online version. The fund was formally dissolved on 23 October 2025 by deletion from the Czech endowment register. Its legacy includes the Courage Prize laureates and dozens of supported projects and individuals who stood up to injustice, clientelism and unfair practices.

The Anticorruption Endowment (Nadační fond proti korupci, NFPK) was founded on 15 March 2011 by Karel Janeček, Stanislav Bernard and Jan Kraus as a Czech endowment fund originally named Nadační fond pro boj proti korupci. Its purpose was to support the fight against corruption and to educate Czech civil society. It officially began operations on 23 March 2011 at the Vratislav Palace in Prague, in the presence of US Ambassador to the Czech Republic Norman Eisen, by awarding its first two Courage Prizes to Renata Horáková, Libor Michálek and Ondřej Závodský, who had reported corruption suspicions at their offices despite lacking legal protection. The fund's activities included supporting projects that exposed corruption with significant economic impact on public administration, awarding the Cena za odvahu (Courage Prize) for proving or standing up against corruption, issuing grants to support investigative journalists, seeking to bring published corruption cases to conclusion, contributing to the building of ethical values in a democratic society, supporting publishing activities, and creating pressure on politicians to implement necessary legislative changes. It was a member of the Government Council for the Coordination of the Fight against Corruption and of the Network for the Protection of Democracy. Over its active years the fund worked on more than twenty cases and claimed to have saved the Czech state over two billion korunas. Its published case list includes: 2011 overpriced transit tickets in Prague; 2012 information systems at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MPSV); 2013 the Klaus amnesty and the Chamber of Commerce; 2014 the Kalousek case and Nemocnice Na Homolce; 2017 the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS); 2019 Hadí lázně; 2020 the Sotolář case and the SZIF case; 2021 Pavel Hubáček and the Šumperk case; 2022 Smíchov City and the Jemnice case; and 2023 the Prostějov case. The Courage Prize was awarded annually to individuals and organizations who were not afraid to draw attention to corruption regardless of personal consequences. Laureates across the years included Tomáš Petráček (2023), Za dobrý život na Jemnicku z.s. (2022), Ivan Prchal (2021), Eva Vorlíčková and Petr Pithart (2020), Vimpersko z.s., Za krásnou Olomouc z.s. and Hana Naiclerová (2019), Jana Moravcová, Lukáš Blažej and Spolek občanů Permanent (2018), Miloslava Pošvářová, Jakub Čech and ROMEA, o.p.s. (2017), and Martina Uhrinová (2016), among others. On 4 August 2020 it was announced that key collaborators Stanislav Bernard, Jan Kraus and Karel Randák were leaving the fund. In December 2024 NFPK announced the termination of its activities and simultaneously published its final project, the book Dějiny korupce (A History of Corruption), including an online version. The fund was formally dissolved on 23 October 2025 by deletion from the Czech endowment register. Its stated aim was a society that perceives corruption as a crime and treats corrupt individuals accordingly, and it claimed to have supported dozens of projects and personalities who stood up to injustice, clientelism and unfair practices.

• Founded by Karel Janeček, Stanislav Bernard and Jan Kraus as Nadační fond pro boj proti korupci.

• Officially launched at Vratislav Palace in Prague; first two Courage Prizes awarded to Renata Horáková, Libor Michálek and Ondřej Závodský.

• Case: overpriced transit tickets in Prague.

• Case: information systems at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MPSV).

• Cases: Klaus amnesty and Chamber of Commerce.

• Cases: Kalousek and Nemocnice Na Homolce.

• Courage Prize awarded to Martina Uhrinová.

• Case: Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS); Courage Prize to Miloslava Pošvářová, Jakub Čech and ROMEA, o.p.s.

• Courage Prize to Jana Moravcová, Lukáš Blažej and Spolek občanů Permanent.

• Case: Hadí lázně; Courage Prize to Vimpersko z.s., Za krásnou Olomouc z.s. and Hana Naiclerová.

• Key collaborators Stanislav Bernard, Jan Kraus and Karel Randák announced leaving the fund.

• Cases: Sotolář and SZIF; Courage Prize to Eva Vorlíčková and Petr Pithart.

• Cases: Pavel Hubáček and Šumperk; Courage Prize to Ivan Prchal.

• Cases: Smíchov City and Jemnice; Courage Prize to Za dobrý život na Jemnicku z.s.

• Case: Prostějov; Courage Prize to Tomáš Petráček.

• Published analysis of anti-corruption mechanisms and legislation in Israel and their possible use in the Czech Republic.

• Announced termination of activities and published final project, the book Dějiny korupce (A History of Corruption).

• Formally dissolved by deletion from the Czech endowment register.

Non-profit Czech anti-corruption endowment fund and civic watchdog brand, known for the Courage Prize and high-profile corruption cases.

• Cena za odvahu (Courage Prize)

  Annual award to individuals and organizations who reported or stood up against corruption regardless of personal consequences.

• Investigative journalism grants

  Grants to support investigative journalists.

• Corruption case support

  Support for projects exposing corruption with significant economic impact on public administration.

• Legislative advocacy

  Pressure on politicians to implement necessary legislative changes.

• Dějiny korupce (A History of Corruption)

  Final project, a book including an online version, published in December 2024.

1. 1NFPK official websitenfpk.cz
2. 2Anticorruption Endowment on Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Nadační fond proti korupci on Czech Wikipediacs.wikipedia.org