CSO SUSTAINABILITY: 3.3

CSO sustainability in Bulgaria has improved over the past year, largely as a result of successful CSO advocacy initiatives in 2012. CSO coalitions are active and have achieved significant impact during the year, and CSO representatives have been invited to participate in various stages of the decision-making process. Most notably, the adoption of the Strategy for Support to CSO Development in September 2012 is an important achievement that is expected to strengthen the sector.

CSOs also saw a minor improvement in terms of funding opportunities this year. Two new foreign grant programs for CSOs were announced in 2012 - the Swiss Cooperation Program and the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA)/Norwegian Financial Mechanism. In addition, donations, particularly from corporations, increased in 2011, the last year for which data is available.

Although these achievements signal progress, their effects may not be fully realized for years. In particular, legislative and other policy-making initiatives are likely to slow down, or even stop, in light of the 2013 parliamentary elections.

There were over 35,000 CSOs registered in Bulgaria in 2012, an increase of 1,850 since 2011.