NGO Programme in Bulgaria

The 2009-2014 financial period of the NGO Programme in Bulgaria ended on April 30, 2017. Between 2012 and 2016 the Programme supported 454 initiatives carried out by 387 NGOs. A total of 618 organizations worked in partnership, including public institutions and municipalities, business organizations, universities and schools. In the same period 53 bilateral initiatives with the donor countries (Island, Lichtenstein and Norway) were also supported.

Тhe overall objective of the NGO Programme in Bulgaria was civil society development and enhanced contribution to social justice, democracy and sustainable development.

The Programme supported projects in the following fields:

  • Democracy/Participatory democracy;
  • Active citizenship;
  • Good governance and transparency;
  • Combating racism and xenophobia;
  • Human rights including minorities’ rights;
  • Gender equality;
  • Social inequalities, poverty and social exclusion;
  • Provision of welfare promoting services;
  • Meeting specific needs, including of the Roma;
  • Environment and climate change;
  • Capacity building for NGOs;
  • Advocacy and watch-dogging;
  • Networking and coalition building.

In the period 2013-2016 three open calls for proposals were organized in the following priority areas:

  • Democracy, human rights and good governance;
  • Social inclusion and empowerment of vulnerable groups;
  • Sustainable development and environment protection;
  • Capacity building for NGOs.

At the end the Programme’s team conducted a large-scale survey among 785 active NGOs. You may find the results in the report Active NGOs in Bulgaria in 2017.

You can find information about the projects funded by thematic areas on the website of the NGO Programme in Bulgaria (www.ngogrants.bg) in the Results section, as well as in the Events and Results  subsection.

The NGO Programme in Bulgaria is part of the implementation of the EEA Financial Mechanism. It is worth €11.8 million provided by the donor states Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Funds have been earmarked to provide funding to eligible NGOs, registered in Bulgaria with the aim to foster an enabling environment for the sector, strengthen its capacity and enhance its contribution to social justice, democracy and sustainable development of the country.

Fund Operator of the NGO Programme for Bulgaria is the Open Society Institute – Sofia in partnership with the Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation.