Even though greater transparency could create better financing opportunities for non-governmental organisations (NGOs), Slovakia still does not have a register providing detailed information about the financing and spending of NGOs. After the signing a memorandum between the Finance Ministry and non-governmental organisations in May 2015 on bringing more transparency into their financing, such a compulsory register of NGOs should be launched within two years.
Currently there are several tools that enable tracking the data of NGOs financed from public resources. These include a central registry of agreements, central registry of projects, an IT monitoring system, an EU funds module, a donation scheme module, and a portal of open data. However, a compulsory register of NGOs funded from private resources is still in development.
The Interior Ministry confirmed that work on the new register of NGOs began at least half a year before signing the memorandum. Expected release of the register is planned for 2018, informed Marta Fabianová from the press office of the ministry.
“This single register will replace all existing registers of the foundations, non-investment funds and non-profit organisations with an international element,” said Fabianová, adding that it will include statutory data, such as the name of the organisation, its headquarters, tax identification number and activities.
Such information could increase the trustworthiness of the NGO sector in relationships with the general public.
“Civic society is the carrier of progressive values and transparency is one of them,” said Fedor Blaščák from the Association of Corporate Foundations and Funds (ASFIN), adding that greater transparency opens better financing opportunities for NGOs.
