Famed philanthropist George Soros, chairman of Soros Fund Management, will donate $100m (£60m) through his Open Societies Institute to help communities and young people in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union that have been hit by the global economic downturn.

The funds are a one-time gift to be spent over the next two years in the Balkans, the Baltics, Central Asia, the Caucasus and Ukraine.

“We want to help those communities most at risk. My priority is helping young people. We need to help the next generation,” says Hungarian-born Soros. He added that no funding decisions have been made yet.

A committee made up of people from Eastern Europe will evaluate the severity of the crisis in each country. In cooperation with Soros foundations located in the 20 countries, the group will consider proposals for funding.

The countries eligible to receive funds are Albania, Armenia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Tajikistan and Ukraine.