Example of Civil Society Endowment: EstoniaUrmo Kübar,

Network of Estonian Nonprofit Organizations (NENO)

Photo: Discussion forum on the concept of Endowment in June 2007, Tallinn

Estonia: some key factsPopulation: 1,4 million

Number of registered CSOs: approx. 26 000 (almost half of these housing associations)

Public benefit status: approx. 1600

People working in CSOs: approx. 5%

GDP per capita: USD 19,600 (2006)

Acc. to USAID Index for CEE and Eurasia one of the most sustainable CSO sectors in the region

Estonian Civil Society Development Concept as a strategy that defines complementing roles, principles and priorities for cooperation between public authorities and CSO sector (adopted by parliament in 2002)

International Conference on Public Funding of NGOs │Bucharest, Romania │September 13-14, 2007

Problems with public funding of CSOs in Estonia dependence on short-term project-funding, shortage of operational costs that hampers professionalization and bigger social impact of CSOs

little money for advocacy and cross-sectoral activities (e.g. EKAK implementation)

poor clarity on objectives and poor capacity of assessment among public funders, different practices for application and reporting that makes it more difficult for CSOs to cope with and prevents from getting comparative data

decisions sometimes politically driven (e.g. Estonian Lottery Tax Board, some government foundations, etc)

International Conference on Public Funding of NGOs │Bucharest, Romania │September 13-14, 2007

Towards the Endowment2001-06: several attemps to create the Endowment

2007: Manifesto of Estonian CSOs prior to the parliamentary elections (www.ngo.ee/11854): “[---] To create a foundation for developing civil society in order to guarantee the sustainable development of organizations.”

2007: Programme of the Government for 2007-2011, chapter “Civil society and statehood” (www.valitsus.ee/?id=1468): “[---] 1) realise the positions of the Estonian Civil Society Development Concept; [---] 5) not later than by 1 January 2008 form the Civil Society Endowment aimed at supporting civil society and finance it from the state budget with 20 million Estonian kroons annually. Distribution of support shall be delegated to the umbrella organisations of civic associations; 6) [---] create an integrated vision and common principles for financing non-governmental associations.”

International Conference on Public Funding of NGOs │Bucharest, Romania │September 13-14, 2007

Consultations

A participatory process from June-Sept 2007, led by NENO: public discussions, meetings with umbrella organizations, experts, political parties and ministries, Internet consultations, analysis of CSO funding in Estonia and experiences of similar foundations elsewhere

Cornerstones:

strategy needs assessment focuses

impact consulting and monitoring

transparency and accountability

sustainability

International Conference on Public Funding of NGOs │Bucharest, Romania │September 13-14, 2007

Concept for Endowment

Goal: to strengthen Estonian CSOs’ capacity in building civil society and creating favorable environment for civil activism

Focuses:

operational costs of public benefit CSOs

innovative programmes and projects that help to improve favorable environment for CSOs

local projects that promote civil activism

Board will consist of 3 politicians and 6-8 experts nominated by CSOs and selected by joint committee for EKAK implementation; staff 3-4 people + experts for evaluation of the applications

International Conference on Public Funding of NGOs │Bucharest, Romania │September 13-14, 2007

Threats

Threats to keep in mind:

unrealistic expectations from both public sector and CSOs (“now should all the problems be solved”)

temptation to cut down other (e.g. sectoral) support

centralization, monopolization (too much funding concentrating into one institution)

stagnation, no development

International Conference on Public Funding of NGOs │Bucharest, Romania │September 13-14, 2007

Thank you!

Urmo KübarExecutive Director

Network of Estonian Nonprofit Organizations (NENO)www.ngo.ee

e-mail: urmo@ngo.eeSkype: urmokybar