Balkans

Regional Reviewer: Nathan Koeshall
Institutional Affiliation: Indiana University, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

Overview

The overall regional score for the Balkan Countries was 3.74 for the period of 2021 to 2023 which reflects a continuing and slightly improved environment for philanthropy throughout the region from the previous period of 2018-2020. The regulatory environment for forming and operating a philanthropic organization (PO) remains favorable, with consistent regulations and clear guidelines across all countries. Tax incentives for giving and receiving charitable contributions are in place in most countries for corporate giving but are available in only a few countries for individual philanthropy.  However, even in countries with tax incentives, there remains a need for improvement to either the administrative processes or to educate companies or individuals that give in how to obtain take advantage of the incentive. The environment for cross-border philanthropic flows remains broadly positive; there are no active restrictions on cross-border giving in the region, but tax incentives are limited for sending or receiving cross-border donations in some countries. However, while some limited progress has been made in the regulatory framework regarding state-civil society dialogue, the actual relationship between governments and POs has become more fraught with conflict or inaction as some governments choose to bypass such mechanisms or prevent them from being effective. Countries, by and large, continue to struggle with recovery as a result of the post-pandemic inflationary period which has lasted for the entirety of the reporting period. This has negatively impacted levels of giving, specifically corporate giving. While the regional overall score shows slight improvement throughout the region, this is indicative of small increases in several countries, while being counter-balanced by small decreases in other countries.  Nonetheless, the future of philanthropy continues on a positive trend when looked at over a longer period of time, with a clearer understanding emerging within each country-level ecosystem of what needs to be done within the regulatory environment to help facilitate more giving and what might be reliant on ecosystem actors themselves to change. 

View the full 2025 GPEI Balkans regional report:

View Balkans Report