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 management quality in third-sector organizations and strengthens their potential, leading to improved effectiveness of social 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. The year 2022 witnessed a new record – the number of portal users passed the 5 million mark. The portal database contains information about just under 200,000 Polish NGOs. The system also has an Information Centre with a free Infoline at 801-646-719 (more than 4,000 consultations in 2022), plus research papers and publications.
The second path, “EURO-NGO+”, aims to increase NGO capacity for acquiring EU funds. This is the continuation of the 2003-2006 PAFF “EURO-NGO” program which helped Polish non-governmental organizations obtain knowledge about structural funds and raise their competencies, thus enabling them to apply for EU grants with greater effectiveness. NGOs were granted support for building partnerships, advocacy, and participating in planning structural funds for 2007-2013 and then 2014-2020. In this respect, the National Federation of Polish NGOs (OFOP) is responsible for information and advocacy.
The third path, “NGO Training”, has two components. The first, “Financial Management for NGOs” (FIMANGO), consists of providing training, guidance, and publications to persons responsible for financial management in non-profit organizations, mostly those operating outside major metropolitan areas. In total, nearly 6,000 representatives of almost 4,200 organizations across Poland participated in such training in the years 2000–2022. Training sessions were provided by the Civil Society Development Foundation.
The second part, launched in 2013, is a comprehensive educational offer for NGO managers, consisting of the “PROMENGO” training program, the “Kursodrom” e-learning platform that has been used already by 6,300 persons, and workshops in NGO management whose important component is the Fundraising Education Program addressed to people who are focused on obtaining funds for non-profit organizations. The Third Sector quarterly completes the offer. It is a scientific publication wholly dedicated to research and analysis of issues pertinent to the development of NGOs in Poland. This part is implemented by the Academy of Civic Organizations Foundation created by PAFF.
Additionally, PAFF co-organized the annual nation-wide meetings of rural civic organizations in Maróz under this program. Each event, aimed at integration, experience exchange, cooperation, acquiring knowledge and skills, was attended by 300 to 500 representatives of several hundred organizations from all over Poland. The meetings were organized by the Rural Development Foundation and the “Nida” Development Foundation.
PAFF also supports regular research on the overall condition of the third sector in Poland.
The Foundation has disbursed $15,888,142, including $474,485 for the current edition.
