Charity Insights: Bulgaria
21 септември 2026 г.
Тема: Демокрация и гражданско общество; Международни и европейски въпроси, политики и изследвания
Категория: Анализи и доклади
World Giving Report 2026: Charity Insights of Charities Aid Foundation (CAF)
https://www.worldgivingreport.org/
Welcome to this new snapshot of the Bulgarian civil society sector, capturing organisations' self-assessments of their achievements and challenges, as well as their interactions with individual donors, funding institutions, and the Government.
According to the participating organisations, the demand for their activities and services continues to grow. They operate with a clear understanding of the expectation to measure and communicate the impact of their work, performing significantly above the global average in this regard. Consequently, individual and corporate donations are integrated into the funding mix of over 60% of the surveyed organisations. Furthermore, more than two-thirds of the sector's total revenue comes from domestic sources within Bulgaria.
However, the data also highlights current anxieties within the civil society space. Many respondents describe the state of the sector as unhealthy and report experiencing financial difficulties. Additionally, there is a rising perception that the Government exerts a negative influence on their operations.
To address perceptions and the real, worsening situation, leaders must intensify their efforts towards long-term sector development strategies and pursue them collectively. Such vital steps have already been initiated by leading civil society organisations and donors over the past two years. Moving forward, these strategies must build upon and expand the sector's strong reputation, leverage established cross-sector partnerships with business, strengthen links with government, and continue to mobilise support among them and the wider public.
The results of the report we present here, explore charitable giving behaviour in Bulgaria during 2025. The data on donors, causes, frequency of giving, and volunteering allow us to compare ourselves with citizens of 104 other countries.
Beyond comparison and specific dynamics observed in relation to the 2024 data, we would like to focus on the opportunity this data presents to civil society organisations to clearly hear the voices of their donors.
The report shows that through giving, we form communities, we unite and strengthen our support for one another. It is our social media circles and our friends and close acquaintances who raise our awareness of charitable organisations, and we most often support local organisations, followed by national ones. We volunteer primarily to support elderly people in our communities and to improve our immediate surroundings. The vast majority (85%) of us either participate or wish to participate more actively in driving change through engagement with causes.
This presents a picture of donors’ attitudes and behaviours very similar to those of citizens in other European countries. This similarity is reflected in the choice of causes people support, the ways in which they donate, the share they spare for donations, their motivation for giving, their trust in civil society organisations, and their perception of the role these organisations play.
These attitudes also carry a message to civil society organisations: a need for greater transparency and closer connection to people. Citizens who want to belong to the community of those who are shaping our shared reality say they need to be more familiar with those local organisations so they can trust and support them fully. The same applies to religious organisations, which in Bulgaria have three times less influence on donors and their motivations — compared to other European countries.
We believe that the results of this study will create meaningful conversations and inspire new initiatives — for the benefit of society.
Elitsa Barakova
Executive Director
BCause
Година на издаване: 2026
Eзик: английски
Автор: Charities Aid Foundation (CAF)
Издател: Charities Aid Foundation (CAF)
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