Poland: NGO funding in crisis

Has the credit crunch already hit the Polish non profit sector?

Yet it has. Many Polish organizations have already experienced the implications of the world economic crisis as the generosity of private companies and individuals has significantly decreased.

And how about the government funding for NGOs?

It is going to decrease significantly as well. Since the GDP is going to be lower this year than in the previous years, the government has had to cut on many budget programs. One of the programs that will suffer the most will be the Civic Initiatives Fund, a government-run program that supports nonprofit organizations. The budget of this Fund is going to by decreased by half. This Fund has been especially important to the sector as it is one of the few programs that gives organizations quite high levels of freedom when it comes to deciding on what to spend the awarded money, so organizations could use this fund to fill gaps in their budgets that were not being covered by any other projects. Also local authorities are going to receive less money from the central government, so it is very likely that their funding for local NGOs will be lower as well.

How is the sector preparing for these budget cuts?

It is trying to rely on European Union funding. Actually, unlike in the previous funding period 2006-2008, where only large and very professional organizations could, in fact, apply for funding to realize large-scale programs, the funding period 2009-2013 favours smaller organizations and gives funding for smaller programs. Many organizations apply for such funding then. But although the amount of funding is quite high, it is not much, given the scale of needs. 

What will the effects be if charities fail to find enough funding?

Many nonprofits have already had to lay off some of their staff or many employees leave themselves seeing how insecure their employment is. Most nonprofit employees work on limited-time contracts, and the contracts can be terminated with two weeks’ notice. It’s very insecure. The department I work for at the SYNAPSIS Foundation lost 5 out of 10 workers within last 6 months, and we have to look for new, inexperienced in the field of autism, and younger staff, eager to work for salaries we can afford. 

What steps can be taken, in your opinion, to ensure that charities continue their very important social work?

I really don’t know. The fact that nonprofits have smaller budgets in times of economic constitutes an exemplary structural problem of NGOs or a paradox. Many organizations help the poor and other people who have financial problems because they have no job, have to pay for expensive therapy of their children with disabilities, or for many other reasons. In times of the world crisis there are more people in need and organizations have less funds available to help them.

 

Agnieszka Rymsza, PhD in Sociology, is manager of Advocacy Department at the Synapsis Foundation, a Polish foundation that helps people with autism and their families. The foundation created the first social enterprise for adults with autism in Poland. The main goal of the advocacy department she manages is to convince the law and policymakers to create or adjust laws and policies so that they take into account the specific needs of people with autism. Agnieszka Rymsza is also a lecturer at the International School of Business Economics – Higher School of International Commerce and Finance in Warsaw.