Enabling the Flow of Donations

International Standards that Safeguard Cross-border Giving

PUBLISHED: OCTOBER 2019

This ECNL paper aims to empower civil society organizations, activists, donors, researchers, and others to counter restrictions on international funding and advocate for a more enabling environment for civil society’s activities and impact.

Since 2013, over 18 countries have proposed or passed laws or policies that restrict the access of civil society organizations (CSOs) to funding from other states, private donors, individuals, or international organizations. ECNL has analyzed over 36 relevant laws, by-laws, and practices from 26 countries globally to understand the scope of restrictions and provide legal arguments based on international and regional standards to counter them. The paper aims to empower CSOs, activists, donors, researchers, and others to counter restrictions on international funding and advocate for a more enabling environment for CSOs’ activities and impact.