Financial sustainability stays a challenge for Moldovan CSOs. Most of CSOs are primarily dependent on funding from external donors.
The Government has recently started making modest, but steady progress in financing some areas of the CSO work, i.e. small grant mechanisms on the ministry level. In parallel other possibilities for accessing public financing are being shaped, for instance, the Ministry of Labor, Family and Social Protection are working on developing the mechanism for contracting of social service by non-state providers. These and other measures are part of the adopted Strategy for CSO Development in 2012-2015 that once implemented can positively contribute to sustainability of the non-profit sector in Moldova.
To reflect on opportunities for improving sustainability of Moldovan CSOs, ECNL together with the Moldovan NGO Council and the Slovak Atlantic Commission held a workshop on financing mechanisms for CSOs under the title In the Search for Financial Sustainability on February 28, 2013 for over 30 participants.
The workshop aimed to support local stakeholders in their search for potential sources of funding, provide an overview of mechanisms and practices available for CSOs to raise funds from as applied in Slovakia, Hungary and other European countries. Eszter Hartay from ECNL presented Hungary’s experience in financing CSOs from public funds, focusing on principles and mechanisms in place with a special focus on the National Fund for Cooperation. Milan Andrejkovic presented the Slovak experience.