During the four editions of the POP Fund Grant Competition, 79 projects from 72 organizations across Poland were funded – including both small towns and large cities. The Fund allocated a total of over 9 million PLN for this purpose.
The Polish Centre for International Aid Foundation (PCPM) launched Poland’s first pooled fund in October 2023 to finance humanitarian projects. Why?
The Polish Non-Governmental Organizations Fund (POP Fund) was created to address the growing humanitarian needs related to the war in Ukraine. Since October 2023, PCPM, which operates the Fund, has conducted four editions of the competition. Each edition was unique, tailored to the most urgent needs at the time, but all shared one goal – to effectively support various groups in need of assistance, from Ukrainian refugees to individuals affected by last year’s flood.
The first and second editions aimed to support Polish non-governmental organizations assisting refugees from Ukraine, particularly women with children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. The third edition supported organizations offering educational and integration activities for children with refugee experience from Ukraine. The fourth, special edition, focuses on providing aid to flood victims.
Adjusting the budgets of individual POP Fund editions to the scale of projects.
POP Fund adjusted the budgets to the scale of the projects in each edition. For example, in the first edition, the Fund financed smaller projects (up to 50,000 PLN). In the second edition, with larger funding, three grant categories were introduced: small (up to 50,000 PLN), medium (up to 200,000 PLN), and large (over 200,000 PLN), which allowed for the implementation of bigger and more complex actions. This approach effectively supported projects of various scales, tailoring assistance to the actual needs of organizations.
1st Edition – Budget: 784,385 PLN. Funded 16 of the best projects.
In the first edition of the competition, projects from organizations working in areas particularly important for refugees from Ukraine were funded. The priorities of this edition included:
• improving the living conditions of refugees,
• assisting with voluntary relocation from collective accommodation centers,
• providing educational support for children with refugee experience,
• assisting the elderly, people with disabilities, and groups at risk of marginalization, such as ethnic and sexual minorities.
Initially, the competition budget was set at 500,000 PLN and was intended to finance the 10 best proposals. After analyzing the projects rated highest by experts, and in consultation with the POP Fund Steering Committee, the Board of the PCPM Foundation decided to increase the funding pool.
2nd Edition – Budget: 6,000,000 PLN. Funded 27 of the best projects.
In the second edition of the competition, with a funding pool of 6 million PLN, support was provided for 8 small projects, 12 medium-sized projects, and 7 large projects. Similar to the first edition, the priorities included:
• improving the quality of life for refugees, especially those outside major cities,
• assisting with voluntary relocation from collective accommodation centers,
• integrating refugee children into the Polish education system,
• helping the elderly, people with disabilities, and other groups at risk of exclusion.
3rd Edition – Budget: 1,200,000 PLN. Funded 12 of the best projects.
In this edition, the funds were divided into 8 small projects (up to 50,000 PLN) and 4 medium projects (up to 200,000 PLN). Only projects related to the education of children with refugee experience from Ukraine were eligible for funding. Priority actions included:
• organizing “Saturday schools” for children learning the Ukrainian language,
• providing educational support for high school graduates and students of post-secondary schools,
• integration projects for Polish and Ukrainian children in schools,
• activities for parents and students related to integrating into the local community, carried out in cooperation with educational institutions and local authorities.
4th Edition – Budget: 1,000,000 PLN. Funded 24 of the best projects.
The fourth edition of the competition, with a budget of 1 million PLN, was aimed at those affected by the flood disaster in Poland. In the end, funding was allocated to 24 small projects (up to 50,000 PLN). The priorities of this edition included: • rebuilding non-governmental organizations and Volunteer Fire Departments in crisis response and coordination efforts,
• supporting child caregivers and organizing daycare centers in flood-affected areas,
• assisting people with specific needs, particularly the elderly and people with disabilities,
• preparing homes for winter conditions, including securing them against winter damage
POP Fund is an example of a well-designed and responsible initiative that effectively addresses local needs in the face of crises.
POP Fund is a project that achieves high effectiveness through collaboration across different sectors. The partnership between non-governmental organizations, UN agencies, and local governments allows the Fund to gain broad expertise and support. A key element of POP Fund’s success is its focus on local organizations, which have the most accurate knowledge of their communities’ needs, making their initiatives the best response to the most urgent challenges.
The process of allocating funds is transparent and based on open grant competitions, where applications are evaluated by independent experts. Additionally, decisions on fund distribution are made by the Steering Committee, which includes representatives from non-governmental organizations, donors, and government and local authorities, ensuring an objective selection of the best projects. This system guarantees high quality and full transparency throughout the process.
The success of POP Fund – more than just numbers.
As emphasized by Dr. Wojtek Wilk, CEO of the PCPM Foundation, the success of the project depended on the effective cooperation of non-governmental organizations, business, the diplomatic community, and local authorities. It was this collaboration that the PCPM CEO focused on, creating a space for collective engagement in support of those in need.
Although the numbers speak for themselves – several dozen projects, thousands of people receiving support – the true success of POP Fund lies in the stories of individuals who were able to change their lives thanks to this initiative. Through our ongoing contact with organizations implementing the funded projects, we learn that, thanks to POP Fund, many people have found employment or improved their quality of life by accessing psychological support. It is these specific changes in the lives of the project participants that measure the true success of the Fund.
We would like to thank all of our donors for their support: Meta, Google.org, the Biedronka Foundation, the Pfizer Foundation, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, the PKO Bank Polski Foundation, Orbis S.A. owned by AccorInvest and Globalworth.
We encourage you to continue contributing to future editions of POP Fund.
We invite everyone interested in learning more about the projects funded by the Fund to visit the POP Fund dashboard available at: https://popfund.pl/.
