ENGOs in Central and Eastern Europe

To understand the character and activities of ENGOs in the region, in 2007 I conducted a survey of environmental organizations in the countries that joined the European Union in 2004. In the summary that follows, I report the results of the survey, which represents the responses of 838 ENGOs from the Czech Republic (206), Estonia (97), Hungary (227), Latvia (35), Lithuania (20), Poland (142), Slovakia (54), and Slovenia (57), or 60 percent of those contacted.
Funding Sources and Income LevelsSince the transition, ENGOs have had to adapt to new funding realities associated with democratic societies and market economies. As Table 1 shows, when asked about the sources from which they receive funds directly, membership dues and domestic governments were the most important. Domestic government funding usually consists of grants or contract work sponsored by ministries of the environment, education, or regional development and, in some cases, subsidies from municipal funds. While the original sources of these funds vary, in many instances they are disbursed by the European Union (EU) through its associated institutional bodies, funds, and programmes to government agencies for research, education, and project-based activities. Some of these funds, in turn, are channeled by domestic governments to ENGOs to perform specific tasks. Although dues are critical to many organizations, most have struggled to generate membership even though these annual payments usually are quite modest. In contrast to domestic funding sources, the ENGOs rated transnational funders as their least common financial supporters. Early on, the field was crowded with foreign foundations and foreign governments, including their bilateral agencies. In the run up to accession, most of the funders left the region or phased out their support. This transformation is reflected in the survey results which show that foreign foundations and foreign governments are the lowest- ranked supporters. While still at the lower end of the rankings, the most active transnational funder is the EU which, in addition to channeling support through governments, makes funding available directly to ENGOs through some of its programmes.