Today, the Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation celebrates 24 years since its establishment.
We can mark this birthday with numbers. And they speak for themselves: Since 2001, the Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation has invested over BGN 17 million in the civic sector, financed more than 2,600 projects, and supported over 2,100 civic organizations. It has attracted over BGN 3.7 million from local donors for civic initiatives. Over 3,200 people have improved their knowledge and skills through its training programs. Its impact has reached more than 4 million Bulgarians.
But we know that true success is not measured only in numbers. It is measured in the trust that remains. In the stories that continue.
In the change that happens—day after day.
That is why today we choose to tell the story of WCIF in a different way: through 24 sentences that describe its work—without naming it.
- It trains small organizations how to raise funds from private donors—sustainably and with confidence.
- It created the first and, to date, only training package for civil society organizations in Bulgaria.
- It encourages local giving – for causes close to people’s hearts.
- It works purposefully to increase the capacity of the civil sector in Bulgaria.
- It invests in the next generation of young people who believe in the power of philanthropy.
- It started talking about the profession of fundraiser when it was still an unknown word.
- It manages the first corporate donor fund in the country.
- It created Bulgaria’s first platform for fundraising in crises – FloodAid.
- It launched the first website for online donations – zaedno.bg.
- It has held 10 consecutive editions of the Zaedno Awards, which recognize inspiring donation campaigns.
- It supported young sports talents through the Sports Talents program, in partnership with Eurofootball.
- It acts as a national support organization for community foundations in Bulgaria.
- It created the country’s first Standards for Good Governance of NGOs.
- It partners with the TechSoup platform, through which it provides technology donations to civil society organizations.
- It keeps cultural heritage alive through the Living Heritage program – 10 years of supporting traditions.
- It has been promoting the preservation of traditions and Bulgarian cultural heritage for 10 consecutive years through the “Living Heritage” program.
- It is a partner in Lidl Bulgaria’s largest socially responsible initiative, “You and Lidl for Our Tomorrow.”
- Part of the consortium managing the Active Citizens Fund in Bulgaria.
- Together with the Bulgarian Donors Forum and the National Network for Children, it launched the IRIS Program to support families affected by COVID-19.
- For 10 years now, it has been a partner of SAP Labs Bulgaria in implementing the “Robotics for Bulgaria” program, which encourages students’ interest in science and technology in a fun and interesting way.
- It actively promotes the European Citizens’ Initiative in Bulgaria through its executive director, Iliyana Nikolova, who is the ambassador for Bulgaria.
- It implemented the MIraGE project, recognized as a good practice on the European integration website.
- It created comics on equality, which have been awarded the European Civic Forum’s Democratic Citizenship Award.
- It supports projects for children and young people in which they are not only the objects of care but also the agents of change.
We thank everyone who has walked this 24-year journey with us and turned words into actions, and actions into change.