Spotlight on civic space – EFA | European Fundraising Association

Slovakia’s “Russian Law” episode: How a government tested the limits of civic space

Melanie May — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 10:45:43 +0000

When the fourth government of Robert Fico returned to power in late 2023, civil society in Slovakia quickly became a central political target. The confrontation that followed was structured and escalating – moving from rhetoric to legislation, and from legislation to administrative pressure when the courts intervened. Eduard Marček, EFA executive director and head of the Slovak Fundraising Centre, reports on the situation.

From its first days in office, the fourth government of Robert Fico framed a segment of Slovak NGOs – particularly those watchdogs active in anti-corruption, rule-of-law advocacy, and public policy – as politically biased and foreign-influenced. Organizations such as Transparency International Slovakia, Stop the Corruption Foundation and Via Iuris were repeatedly portrayed as actors operating “like political parties” but without public accountability. This narrative laid the groundwork for regulatory action.

The “Russian Law”

In 2024 and 2025, the coalition advanced an amendment to the NGO law with no expert discussion that soon became known domestically as the “Russian Law.” The original proposal required organizations receiving foreign funding of more than €5,000 to label themselves as “organizations with foreign support,” disclose donors publicly, and comply with expanded reporting obligations. Early drafts also considered classifying NGOs (and only NGOs, not businesses or other actors) as lobbyists. The parallels with Russian and Georgian legislation were widely noted, and international criticism swiftly followed. Under mounting pressure – including concerns raised at EU level – the government softened the terminology at the last minute, removing the explicit “foreign agent” label. Yet the core obligations remained, and Parliament passed the law in April 2025.

Civil society fights back

The proposal and ultimate adoption of the law triggered an immediate backlash. Civil society organizations coordinated across platforms, organized public protests, issued joint statements, and mobilized legal expertise to challenge the legislation. The response was unusually cohesive: NGOs formed broad coalitions, engaged European partners, and framed the issue as a constitutional matter rather than a sectoral dispute. Within days of adoption, opposition parties and the Public Defender of Rights filed a motion to the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic requesting constitutional review.

The most controversial element was the mandatory donor disclosure – with NGOs receiving significant contributions required to publish the names of donors above a €5,000 threshold. Critics argued that this endangered privacy, exposed donors to harassment, and created a chilling effect on philanthropy. Additional reporting and registry requirements also increased compliance burdens, particularly for mid-sized and smaller organizations.

Even before the Constitutional Court ruled, the political campaign translated into practice. Government-initiated financial audits targeted selected NGOs, presented publicly as evidence of systemic misuse of public funds. Yet the official audit findings revealed irregularities amounting to roughly 0.5% of the total controlled sum – hardly indicative of widespread abuse. Despite this, the narrative of suspected misconduct persisted. Within the sector, these waves of inspections and public statements were widely described as harassing and bullying – designed less to correct financial mismanagement than to intimidate and discredit non-governmental organizations.

Circumventing the Court ruling

In December 2025, the Constitutional Court struck down the law as unconstitutional, holding that mandatory donor disclosure violated privacy and fundamental rights protected under the Slovak Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. The ruling rejected the framework in its entirety, and the law formally lost effect on 4 February 2026.

The government, however, did not abandon its approach. On 18 February 2026, it adopted a new resolution – this time not a law, but an executive directive – ordering intensified oversight of NGOs across multiple state authorities. District offices, tax authorities, labour inspectors, ministries, the Public Procurement Office, and the Data Protection Authority were instructed to expand controls over NGOs’ financial management, use of public funds, labour law compliance, and GDPR adherence. Annual reports from these inspections are to be consolidated and presented to the Cabinet each October.

Rather than labelling organizations as foreign agents, the state is mobilizing existing regulatory instruments to subject NGOs to heightened scrutiny. The formal justification remains transparency and proper use of public funds.

Further undermining of the sector

Other tactics are also being used to undermine the sector, including a deliberate strategy of defunding critical areas of civil society – designed specifically to limit and weaken nature protection, human rights protection, culture, and development aid. Analysis by the Platform for Democracy with the Open Society Foundation shows that funding losses in these areas reached €16m in 2024 and 2025. These were caused by a range of state interventions from administratively excluding NGOs from eligibility for the Green Education Fund (a loss of €823,000), to blocking approximately €5m from the European LIFE program by refusing mandatory co-financing, and negative intervention in the expert committees of 513 projects by the new Arts Support Fund Council (losing €3.5m).

For many in the sector, the cumulative effect of these measures constitutes a sustained campaign of pressure – intended not only to regulate but to intimidate.

Diversifying to build resilience

At the same time, the pressure has generated an unintended consequence: rising resilience within the sector. Many organizations have accelerated diversification of revenue streams, strengthening individual fundraising to reduce dependency on state resources. Crowdfunding campaigns, small-donor programs, and community-based giving have expanded. The process is exhausting, but also empowering.

For fundraisers and philanthropy leaders across Europe, Slovakia illustrates how restrictions on civic space can unfold incrementally – through rhetoric that reframes NGOs as political adversaries, through legal experiments that probe constitutional limits, and through administrative escalation when courts intervene. The Slovak case shows how civic space can be pressured inside the European Union without formally dismantling democratic institutions, testing not only constitutional safeguards but also the resilience of activists and organizations, donor trust and independent fundraising ecosystems.

Eduard Marček

UK civil society in 2026 – resilient, resourceful, but under strain

Melanie May — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 11:40:21 +0000

In 2026, UK civil society remains resilient and trusted, but it is operating under mounting financial strain, heavier compliance demands and rising needs at home and abroad. The sector’s future will depend not on its capacity to endure, but on whether policymakers, funders and corporate partners commit to long-term, sustainable support rather than short-term fixes, warns Ceri Edwards, executive director of engagement at the UK’s Chartered Institute of Fundraising and EFA president.

The real test for the coming years will be whether policymakers, funders, corporates and philanthropists move beyond short-term fixes and commit to long-term partnerships that match the scale of the challenges ahead.

In 2026, UK civil society is neither collapsing nor comfortable. It is resilient, adaptive and still deeply committed to the communities it serves – but it is also operating under sustained pressure that is reshaping what it can do, how it works, and who it can reach.

Recent analysis, including the February 2026 report from Bond on UK civic space, paints a picture of a sector navigating tightening funding, increased scrutiny and growing demand. The question is not whether civil society still exists in strength – it does – but whether the conditions around it are becoming more fragile.

A sector tested by funding shocks

The aftershocks of the USAID cuts continue to ripple through the system. The initial shock was immediate: organisations heavily reliant on US development funding were forced to close offices, reduce programmes, and scale back their geographic footprint. Those with diversified income streams – a mix of grants, individual giving, and corporate partnerships – fared better. Smaller, grassroots organisations felt the brunt.

But the bigger story in 2026 is the domino effect.

Reduced US funding influenced UK government international development spending priorities, while UN agencies – many of which relied on US contributions – tightened their own allocations. Funding agreements now often come with more stringent reporting requirements and compliance demands, increasing administrative burdens at precisely the moment organisations are trying to stretch limited resources further.

Civil society is surviving – but it is spending more time proving impact than delivering it.

Domestic pressures mirror global ones

While international NGOs recalibrate, UK-based charities are facing parallel strains at home. The cost-of-living crisis may no longer dominate headlines in the same way, but its effects persist. Demand for food banks, mental health services, housing advice, and refugee support remains high. Climate-related emergencies and geopolitical instability continue to drive humanitarian need abroad.

Yet public giving has not risen in line with need.

This mismatch – rising demand and constrained income – is the defining tension of 2026. Civil society is increasingly asked to plug systemic gaps while operating without long-term financial certainty.

Adaptation: Philanthropy, corporates and new models

One of the most striking shifts is strategic rather than reactive. Organisations are not simply trying to “replace” lost government funding. They are rethinking how they generate income.

There is greater focus on:

Deepening relationships with philanthropists aligned with mission and values
Building meaningful corporate partnerships with socially conscious businesses
Exploring blended finance and public-private partnership models
Using existing infrastructure to develop earned-income services

However, these approaches require investment. Developing a corporate partnership or launching a social enterprise arm demands upfront capacity – specialist staff, due diligence, legal support. Larger institutions can often absorb this transition; smaller charities struggle.

Blended finance and alternative models are promising but remain unevenly accessible. Without careful policy support, there is a risk that innovation benefits the already well-resourced, widening inequalities within the sector itself.

The civic space question

Beyond funding, there is a broader issue: civic space.

Bond’s 2025–26 analysis highlights concern about the regulatory and political environment in which civil society operates. Increased compliance requirements heightened political polarisation, and public discourse that sometimes questions the legitimacy of advocacy work all contribute to a more complex landscape in which we operate.

This does not amount to a closed civic space – the UK remains a functioning democracy with a vibrant voluntary sector – but it does signal a subtle shift. Scrutiny has increased. The margin for error has narrowed. The tone of debate has hardened.

In this environment, charities are balancing service delivery with advocacy, mindful of reputation, funding relationships, and public trust.

A sector still anchored in trust

Despite these pressures, civil society retains one of its most valuable assets: public trust at a community level.

Local organisations remain embedded in the communities they serve. National charities continue to mobilise volunteers at scale. When crises hit, civil society is still among the first to respond. And this is what makes the long-term funding question so urgent.

The long view: Demand is not going down

If 2026 has made anything clear, it is that demand for civil society services will continue to rise. Climate change, conflict and migration and inequality are not short-term trends. The funding model, however, remains short-term and reactive.

The central challenge now is not simply replacing lost income. It is building sustainable, multi-year funding structures that allow organisations to plan, invest in staff, innovate responsibly, and maintain standards without being consumed by compliance.

Civil society in the UK is holding up – but it is doing so through ingenuity and sheer effort rather than structural stability.

The narrative of resilience can be comforting. It suggests adaptability, strength, perseverance.

But resilience should not be confused with sustainability.

In 2026, UK civil society is still standing, still delivering, still advocating. Yet it is navigating an increasingly complex funding ecosystem, heavier reporting demands, and rising need – all at once.

Civil society is holding up. The question is whether the system around it will hold up too.

Ceri Edwards

Main picture by Getty Images for Unsplash+

Czech Republic: nonprofits must beware the turning tide

Melanie May — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 11:32:32 +0000

Jana Ledvinová, CEO of the Czech Fundraising Center, reflects on the evolving role of civil society in the Czech Republic, drawing parallels between the authoritarian constraints of the 1980s and emerging pressures today. She highlights how nonprofit organizations, once restricted to ideologically aligned activities, have become independent pillars of democracy, warning against recent government measures that echo past patterns, and calling for vigilance and the active defence of civil society to ensure the hard-won independence and influence of nonprofit organisations is preserved.

I have a persistent sense of déjà vu. The language and reasoning of parts of today’s political representation increasingly remind me of the 1980s. For many of us, that is a period we either did not experience or remember only vaguely. Yet it is worth recalling – especially when old patterns of thinking about civil society are resurfacing in new forms.

Pre-1989 – the reality of living under a totalitarian regime

Before 1989, there was essentially only one official space in Czechoslovakia where civic initiatives and associations could operate: the National Front. Access, however, was limited to organisations that shared and actively promoted the values of the socialist regime. Everything else was pushed into a grey zone or outright dissent – a small, forbidden, and constantly threatened space.

The backbone of the “civil society” at that time was formed by mass organisations controlled by the state: Pioneers for children, the Socialist Youth Union for young people, and the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia for adults. Participation was de facto a prerequisite for civic engagement and often for professional advancement. Alongside these were numerous other associations – firefighters, hikers, amateur theatre groups, nature conservation groups, associations for people with disabilities, and many more. On the surface, the array of associations appeared vibrant and diverse, yet all operated under constant supervision. Secret collaborators were present in every organisation, and each association had to regularly demonstrate that it fulfilled “socialist goals and commitments.”

The totalitarian regime thus created the illusion of freedom of association. People could collaborate, strengthen local communities, maintain traditions, care for the environment, or educate younger generations – but only within strictly defined ideological boundaries. Freedom was permitted, but only insofar as it served propaganda and control.

Images from events of the association Tereza in the 1980s (https://terezanet.cz/english/)

Post-1989 – space for an independent nonprofit sector to thrive

Paradoxically, it was from this environment that a strong and dynamic civil society emerged after 1989. Suddenly, space opened for a truly independent nonprofit sector that could professionally contribute to the development of society. It became clear that nonprofit organisations were neither appendages of the state nor the market, but independent pillars of a democratic system. They can counterbalance centralising tendencies of state power, respond flexibly to people’s needs, and complement the market where it fails.

A fundamental turning point was the ability to finance activities not only from public but primarily from private sources. Fundraising brought nonprofits real freedom – the ability to decide their own direction, professionalise, and grow according to their own vision. Today, tens of thousands of nonprofit organisations demonstrate that civil society can function voluntarily and professionally, with responsibility, enthusiasm, and creativity. It has become a natural, indispensable, and often joyful part of our daily lives.

Now – an insidiously turning tide

It is all the more worrying when the current government starts systematically making life difficult for nonprofits. Proposals to introduce central registers, limit funding for so-called “political nonprofits,” mandatory transparent accounts, and other administrative hurdles strikingly echo the past.

Vaguely defined terms and deliberate ambiguity about who these measures apply to raise fears that the real aim is to silence critical voices and eliminate those who hold views different from those in power. This process is subtle and creeping. It is presented as an effort to save money, maintain order, or increase efficiency so that the public will accept it without resistance. That is precisely why it is dangerous.

This is not only about nonprofits themselves – it is about the level of freedom in society as a whole.

A time for vigilance & active defence

We must not be deceived by the “boiling frog” method. Once we become accustomed to small infringements on freedom of association, it may be too late to resist larger ones. History teaches us where the attempt to confine civil society to a single, centrally controlled ideology leads. We must not allow this path to be repeated.

Jana Ledvinová

Wave photo by Marie Pankova on Pexels

Key takeaways from EFA’s European Fundraising4Democracy Tour

Melanie May — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 11:27:07 +0000

September’s European Fundraising4Democracy Tour showcased campaigns from across the continent that illustrated how fundraising, crowdfunding, and civic action are defending democracy, with tips for mobilising supporters and raising funds for democratic causes. Featuring speakers from seven countries, including Slovakia, Germany, Finland, and Poland, the event drew participants from across 19 nations.

Civic space is being eroded across Europe, and with this civil society is increasingly under attack. Threatening the foundations of democracy, this crisis is unfolding against a global backdrop marked by rising inequality, wars, and the escalating impact of climate change. At the same time, we see the rise of the far-right, nationalism, and polarisation, truth becoming harder to discern, and nonprofits being portrayed as ‘agents of evil’. To survive, civil society must regroup, and rethink strategies to find ways of responding to these new and challenging realities.

Here’s some inspiration, with six key takeaways from EFA’s recent European Fundraising4Democracy Tour.

Turn crisis into opportunity

Some nonprofits are successfully turning attacks into opportunities, using them to mobilise supporters and open doors. For example, Greenpeace International has been targeted by multiple SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) from oil giants. It’s used these attacks to rally support, with a responsive global campaign team and centrally produced fundraising and mobilisation materials that can be adapted locally helping Greenpeace organisations raise millions and strengthen solidarity. Consequently, it’s currently using the EU’s new anti-SLAPP law to challenge one oil giant, Energy Transfer, in the Dutch courts.

“We’ve aligned our fundraising with the spikes of public attention that come with the big verdicts and media coverage, and by combining those earned media moments with rapid, coordinated fundraising, we’ve seen the strongest engagement,” said Global New Supporters & Fundraising Lead Russell Harvey. “Every SLAPP, every attack, is meant to silence us, but we’ve shown that people power can turn intimidation into fuel. When we’re under attack, our movement doesn’t shrink, it grows stronger.”

Mobilise & build momentum

Successful campaigns share four key traits: a clear call to action, resonant storytelling, collaboration, and tangible goals. As Rally’s Paul de Gregorio said: “To combat the threats we all face, we need to be able to inspire action from as many people as possible. One way to do this is to focus heavily on our target action, to think about how we can create entry-level actions that appeal to a broad set of people with values in common.”

Finland’s first large-scale Women’s Day March in 2025 saw three feminist NGOs collaborate, led by Finnish Women’s Association Unioni. Uniting people to fight the gender backlash, they inspired action by drawing on changes taking place under the Trump administration and sharing stories of surviving harassment. Aiski Ryökäs, Finnish Women’s Association Unioni, said: “This took place when Google had removed dates like Women’s Day from its calendar. We tapped into this with messages like ‘you can erase calendars, but you cannot erase a movement, are you with us?’, and worked our socials to build this idea of a movement and build the momentum.”

Combining the three NGOs’ resources and ensuring a strong social media presence helped achieve reach and engagement. Over €16,000 was fundraised in just over a month for the march, while 131 organisations and 10,000 people took part.

Similarly, the ‘Slovakia is Europe’ movement mobilised 100,000 people in 50 cities and raised €220,000 by turning frustration against the Fico government into collective action. The key to this movement’s success was showing people that together, their individual actions had a big impact. “Instead of weakening us, attacks open doors – to greater media reach, invitations to protest. We have something stronger than fear: trust, vision and support,” noted Lucia Štasselová, Peace for Ukraine Civic Association.

Turn short-term action into long-term support

Attacks on democracy can spark waves of public support that result in ‘revenge giving’. But this surge often fades as emotions cool, particularly when donors are motivated by a cause rather than a specific organisation.

Some Polish NGOs working on democracy, human rights, and minority support have successfully transformed this short-term momentum into steady, long-term support. Andrzej Pietrucha from Fundacja Akademia Organizacji Obywatelskich (FAOO) explained how: “It requires clear systems and processes to collect donor data with proper consents and to encourage regular giving; and defining the problem your organisation addresses in the long run. It’s very important to frame the cause beyond one emotional moment.” Poland’s Batory Foundation achieved this with a clear message: “If you support the foundation, you support democracy.” This framing helped them turn an initial investment of under €22,000 into an annual return of €440,000–€550,000.

Encouraging longer-term support also requires relationship building, as ComingOut discovered when it launched a storytelling campaign to share the lives of LGBTQ+ people in Russia. The campaign reached 700,000 people but collected just €280, with ComingOut’s Georgy Kalakutskii noting, “We learned that fundraising takes time. It’s about building a lasting relationship with the audience. You’ve got to build a foundation, to make sure that people know and understand you, and only then start asking for money and other input.”

Shift from defence to vision

Activism is often about reacting, but there must also be a focus on driving longer-term positive change. Civil society needs safe spaces to imagine these new possibilities. Unhack Democracy’s REWIRE incubator in Hungary is doing just that – leveraging the collective wisdom of citizens, and using neuroscience, art, and entrepreneurship to help activists move from defending democracy to reimagining it.

“There can be no change without a new mindset and radical imagination. We need to break the rules like artists and build a new system like entrepreneurs because we cannot just keep fighting for the status quo of democracy as it is,” said Unhack Democracy’s Zsofia Banuta. “By 2030, we aim to help 100 nonprofits in Europe activate 1 million citizens to become engaged community members and resources of intelligence, imagination, and money for democracy.”

Projects incubated by Unhack Democracy in 2025 include Impossible Conversations – a workbook for navigating difficult dialogues, and CrossCover – a cultural collective tackling social issues.

Inspire participation & engagement

When budgets are limited, nonprofits must find creative ways to activate interest and participation. Social media amplifies calls to action and inspires support as shown by the Finnish Women’s Day March and Slovakia is Europe. Other successful strategies include using humour, influencers, and authentic voices: as used by Slovakia’s Donio platform in campaigns that have successfully raised over €2m for Ukraine, and over €46k in support of the Slovak Media Monitor. “We can use humour to build emotional connection and to fight misinformation, and public figures to help draw attention. We can also ask influencers to multiply our voice and donations,” said Donio’s Zuzana Suchová.

It also pays to think laterally. Familiar fundraising methods like crowdfunding can bring in more than donations – providing a route to building awareness, trust, and participation. “Crowdfunding is a way for us to engage and activate, to build awareness about a topic or project, to fund projects – and to do it all transparently,” said Valeria Vitali, Rete del Dono.

Build resilience & sustainability

Restrictive laws, reduced funding, and challenging environments make bolstering organisational resilience and sustainability essential. Diversifying funding, forming new partnerships, and working with supporters and beneficiaries helps with both.

While some funding streams are shrinking or disappearing altogether, significant opportunities remain – including through foundations abroad that support democracy and make funding available to organisations operating elsewhere. “Don’t rely solely on local funding,” said Erik Detiger, Philantropia BV. “There are 200,000 foundations in the US and 170,000 in Europe – plus many more worldwide. Some fund democracy, and it doesn’t all stay in-country. This international perspective can provide security – funding from other countries may not be as easy to influence by the government where you work.”

Partnerships and alliances are vital for amplifying collective influence and providing protection and legitimacy. By working together – pooling expertise, resources, and advocacy power – CSOs can strengthen their collective voice and resilience against political or financial pressure. Detiger added: “Not only is there strength in numbers but what’s also important is the protection this offers – partners can provide a shield.”

Listening to donors, and co-creating projects with supporters and beneficiaries from the outset also brings better results. This approach transforms project ideas into impactful movements that attract donor and community support as well as funding, build relevance, and strengthen democracy from the ground up. “Deliberative processes lead to stronger decisions and greater legitimacy, so we need real listening, co-creation, and to show results,” said Eva Mejtová, GrantHub. “Then participation becomes real, and outcomes last.”

The way forward

As the world changes, so too nonprofits have to change. This means restructuring the narrative to nonprofits as defenders of solidarity, democracy and human rights. Fundraising can no longer be just about raising money – now it’s about empowerment, and strengthening organisations, especially the small, the marginalised and the emerging.

By necessity then, nonprofits must also become more political: to campaign for democracy and rights, and defend truths under attack.

“Democracy is easier to defend than to rebuild once destroyed,” said Martin Georgi, Deutscher Verband Fundraising. “Civil society must regroup, respond and reimagine itself in order to empower people, sustain organisations, and defend democracy. We are all facing a situation where we need to think anew. It’s time to take on new tasks and challenges, to find new people, partners, and techniques to strengthen fundraising as a method not just to raise money, but to empower organisations.”

For more insights and actionable takeaways from EFA’s European Fundraising4Democracy Tour, catch up with the presentations here.

Picture by Derek French on Pexels

Poland: Restoring the meaning of democracy

Melanie May — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 10:17:45 +0000

For August’s Spotlight on Civic Space, Robert Kawałko, president of the Polish Fundraising Association (Polskie Stowarzyszenie Fundraisingu) describes the situation in Poland where democracy is becoming ‘increasingly procedural’, and NGOs find themselves operating in a climate of uncertainty.

Poles share the same concerns as other Western European countries. Political polarization of society, the largest-ever wave of migrants from around the world, fears of new technologies, and difficult intergenerational dialogue – these are topics that constantly recur in conversations, social media, and public media. Add to this the three-year-long war in Ukraine and the question of whether Poland will also have to defend its independence.

Democracy in regression?

For almost a decade, Poland has remained one of the main examples of the erosion of liberal democracy in the European Union. Although the country regularly holds elections, the space for free public debate, independent institutions, and civic participation is gradually shrinking. Recent events since the 2025 presidential election shed further light on this phenomenon.

Procedural externals

Poland still meets the basic formal criteria of democracy: it holds elections, there is multi-party democracy, and society uses the internet and media freely. However, as observers note, democracy is becoming increasingly procedural – limited to electoral rituals, while weakening oversight institutions, civil rights, and real public influence on reality.

The recent presidential election, which ended with a narrow majority for the candidate supported by the right-wing opposition, sparked a wave of protests and accusations of irregularities. Although no systemic abuses were proven, the scale of mutual undermining of legitimacy and the use of conspiratorial language on both sides of the political spectrum are symptoms of a deeper crisis of trust – not only in political rivals, but in the democratic process itself. Incumbent Prime Minister Donald Tusk made an unsuccessful attempt to persuade the Marshal of the Sejm to prevent the swearing-in of the new president. The term “coup d’état” is used daily across all instances, and the prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the matter. In short, a war between two tribes is underway. We know this from many countries around the world. There is even a view that nations no longer exist, replaced by two warring civilizations. Institutions in chronic conflict.

The persistent conflict between the government and a president elected from a different political camp deepens the phenomenon of a “blocked state” – a situation in which institutions are unable to effectively cooperate. This blocks key reforms and increases systemic tensions. Authorities accuse each other of violating the constitution, further undermining the authority of institutions such as the Supreme Court and the National Council of the Judiciary.

The atrophy of public media and civic discourse

Public media in Poland, for years governed by the political lines of successive governments, have ceased to function as impartial sources of information. After the centrist-liberal camp took power in 2023, attempts were made to implement a “media reset,” but these actions were often as politically motivated as the previous interventions. As a result, both right-wing and liberal voters increasingly perceive the media as a propaganda arm of the party. The public’s attention is shifting to the internet, where more and more channels with millions of followers are flourishing. The tentacles of political parties do not reach there, and the fight for reach forces them to speak with greater purpose.

Meanwhile, non-governmental organizations, especially those working on human rights, climate, and migrant issues, continue to operate in a climate of uncertainty. After years of open hostility from the conservative government, they now have to cope with the lack of a long-term cooperation strategy from the new authorities and limited access to stable funding. Polish NGOs already know that if they become too close to the ruling party, they will face lean years after the change of power. Therefore, few organizations are willing to take sides. Most choose neutrality, focus on their mission, and avoid conflict.

Civil society doesn’t give up

Despite these challenges, Poland still boasts an active civil society, independent judges, vibrant digital media, and local grassroots initiatives. Democracy in Poland continues to balance between formal pluralism and an increasingly polarized, distrustful society.

The shrinking democratic space in Poland is not a spectacular decline, but a gradual degradation of trust, cooperation, and informed debate. In a world of intense polarization, fragile institutions, and the politics of conflict, democracy must regain its original meaning. Poles, like many other nations, must learn to respect differing beliefs. They must learn to create a diverse community that can work toward common goals and respect the will of the majority. Poles have always been able to unite when faced with a common enemy – this was true during wars; this was true under communism. Back then, all quarrels were secondary, and people were able to reach an understanding. Now the challenge is to make this happen in times of peace.

Picture by Natalia Gasiorowska on Unsplash

Italy: civic regression & organizations’ resilience

Melanie May — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 10:40:49 +0000

For the latest instalment of our Spotlight on Civic Space series, president of the Italian fundraising association ASSIF, Michela Gaffo shares insights into how Italian nonprofits are responding to pressures.

In Italy, nonprofit organizations have been an essential pillar of welfare services for the whole community since the foundation of the Republic in 1946. In recent years, due to the emerging social challenges (such as the sharp rise of the poverty rate; the increase in the average age of the population; and the migrant crisis) this leading role has become more and more important.

Finally, after years of struggle to see this role recognized and rewarded at a political and fiscal level, a new law, the so-called “Third Sector Reform”, came into force in 2017.

The law included recognition of the role of fundraising and fundraisers, more structured tax relief for donations (in kind and in money) and for commercial activities (meaning they were no longer taboo for nonprofit organizations).

Michela Gaffo, ASSIF

However, its implementation has taken many years, and the last government also introduced a series of challenges that further limited the capacity of nonprofit organizations to sustain themselves and continue their work.

Shrinking of public investments

Even if the path to fully accomplishing the Reform seems to be in progress, steps have also been put in place to shrink public investments in social projects. 2024-25 alone saw: a confusing and punishing VAT regime introduced for nonprofit organizations, suspended for two years but without any sign of strategic thinking; continuation of the the state-imposed limit to Italy’s tax-efficient giving scheme – 5 per mille or 5×1,000; a severe shrinking in resources for the Educational Poverty Fund; and finally, a cut in tax reliefs for donations to Third Sector entities that we expect to have an impact on funds from private major donors.

In a context of reduction of public expenditure in health, civil rights and social services, this is a clear sign of a strong will to weaken the social bodies that inform our society.

Space(s) for the community

The use of public space is crucial to address the civic development of the community. That was evident to lawmakers when in 2017 they wrote the reform law about the Third Sector with a huge tax relief provided for donations to organizations that work in assets confiscated from organised crime.

The problem? It took five years to define the practical application of these dispositions, and to date only three projects have been granted financing.

This is only one example of the disregard that national and local authorities have towards the public re-use of abandoned spaces: during the last few years, many social entities and collectives that have built social projects by involving communities and beneficiaries have been ostracized and have lost their spaces. The pressure of these measures impacts fragile people and marginalized groups.

The story of the Women’s House “Lucha y Siesta” in Rome – a cultural hub and women’s shelter – is representative of this: despite being in a public abandoned building, administrations keep asking for the space back, putting many women at risk as well as the project’s innovative model of social intervention.

Organizations’ resilience

Nonprofit organizations have already started responding to these threats to their funding streams, their spaces and projects and, eventually, their own existence.

First, they are more conscious than in the past of the need to adopt a strategic thinking and approach to fundraising: ASSIF Associazione Italiana Fundraiser for example is actively involved in the development of a giving culture, among the sector and the public.

In this, they are supported by the rise of new forms of giving by private philanthropy: support to grassroots organizations, trust-based funding, and use of equalizing capital.

They are also pushed to new collective governance models, where the will to establish a solid net is strong: this is crucial to survive, and to tackle the anti-civic policies that are rising.

Picture: by Robert Casazza on Pexels