Financial Position and Sustainability of Associations in Croatia

Abstract

This paper emphasizes the economic importance of the civil society sector in the national socio-economic context. There is a systematic neglect of the economic and financial components of civil society organizations and non-profit sector in Croatia even though a significant volume of civil society organizations’ activities is funded from public sources and there is a high possibility of exploitation of their relatively privileged tax position. The purpose of this paper is to present research results of the funding sources, the financial potential and the elements of economic performance of citizens’ associations in the Republic of Croatia. The survey sample includes over 20,000 citizens’ associations which have submitted financial reports to the Registry of Non-profit Organizations in accordance with the statutory obligation. The research is based on aggregated data reported in the Balance Sheet and Performance Report for 2015 and 2016. The scientific contribution of the paper is reflected in the assessment of the financial performance and financial transparency of the activities of civil society organizations in the Republic of Croatia and their sustainability in comparison with Serbia and Slovenia.

The Financial Aspect of Non_Governmental Organizations:

“…We find that the share of government funding in NGO budgets is negatively associated with lobbying expenditure (Bloodgood and Tremblay-Boire, 2017). While some authors have researched the financing structure of NGOs in specific countries (like Tkachuk and Shvets, 2020, Vašiček at al., 2019, Đorđević et al, 2019, Haltofová, 2011, a bibliometric analysis of the research on accounting transparency was also performed by Zhang at al., 2020.…”

Exploring the service learning program in the transition country context from the students' philanthropic behaviour vantage point: Case of Croatia

“…From the Croatian perspective, only a few universities encourage students' active involvement in solving the community's problems, most often through various volunteer activities and rarely through institutionalized SL in the form of courses or programs (Peric, 2012). The reason for the latter can be found in the sector specificities and systematic neglect of its components (Vasicek et al, 2019). A large number of organizations with insufficient resources and skills are trying to fill in the gap and satisfy the needs of the beneficiaries (Najev Čačija, 2013) with poor effect.…”

Fundraising competitive forces of small art and cultural NGOs during the crisis

“…While implementing a tactical plan not all of organizational fundraising ideas will work out and, or it may appear new sources along the way. Moreover small non-profits entering new markets and engaging new donors with new activities take a high level of risk (Heng, 2019;Vasicek et al, 2019). So, they could plan in a shorter period, test if their small steps help them to meet the goal, be ready for changes along the way.…”