The purpose of the program is to support non-governmental organizations and community leaders in Poland, especially in small towns and villages, by providing them with information, guidance, and training. This improves the functioning of third-sector organizations and their quality of management which leads to more efficiency and effectiveness of social/civic undertakings.
The program operates along three paths.
The first, “Mutual Information Society” (“MIS@NGO”) – is an information system for civil society organizations, the main component of which is the Non-governmental Organizations Portal ngo.pl – the largest Polish portal about civil society, recognized by almost 80% of NGOs in Poland. Every year about 4 million users avail themselves of ngo.pl resources (4.4 million visits in 2023). At present, the ngo.pl database contains information about 200,000 Polish NGOs. The system also has an Information Center with a free Infoline at 801-646-719 (more than 4,000 consultations annually), plus research papers and publications.
As part of this path, the EURO-NGO+ initiative is being implemented, which aims to increase the absorption of European Union funds by nonprofit organizations. It is a continuation of the PAFF “EURO-NGO” program, implemented between 2003–2006, which helped Polish non-governmental organizations gain knowledge about structural funds and develop the skills needed to effectively apply for EU funding. Information and advocacy activities of the third sector are carried out at the national and European levels by the National Federation of Polish NGOs (OFOP). These include, among other things, monitoring and analyzing the implementation processes of national and regional operational programs under the current financial framework, supporting members of monitoring committees, and actively representing the interests of NGOs in activities preparing for the establishment of the new EU financial framework for 2027–2034.
The second path – “Financial Management in NGOs” (FIMANGO) – is a support system comprising workshops, counseling, publications, and a network of local advisors for individuals responsible for financial management in nonprofit organizations, mostly outside major urban areas. In total, between 2000 and 2025, 6,850 people representing nearly 4,700 NGOs from across Poland participated in training sessions provided by the Civil Society Development Foundation.
The third path, launched in 2013, is a comprehensive educational offer for NGO managers, consisting of an advanced program in management education, the Kursodrom e-learning platform, which has already been used by over 9,000 users, as week as workshops and training sessions on managing non-governmental organizations, the most important component of which is the Fundraising Education Program aimed at individuals involved in raising funds for the activities of non-profit organizations. The program is complemented by webinars, publications, conferences, and meetings dedicated to issues relevant to the development of non-governmental organizations in Poland. This component is managed by the Academy of Civil Society Organizations Foundation, established by PAFF.
For many years, PAFF co-organized the annual Polish meeting of rural organizations in Maróz, which was attended by several hundreds of representatives of organizations from various Polish regions. The present format of the initiative has undergone some change. It is now targeting village governors and it cooperates with the Rural Development Foundation.
PAFF also supports regular “Research about the Condition of NGOs in Poland” carried out by the Klon/Jawor Association.
PAFF has disbursed $18,520,965, including $1,782,710 for the current edition.
