Polish civil funding agency reforms spark controversy over misuse of grants
Michał Braun says the National Freedom Institute's civil society fund was overhauled by the Tusk government, but some NGOs have spent money on unrelated projects like a jacuzzi and Airbnb rentals.
The National Freedom Institute - Civil Society Development Centre, founded in 2017 by the Law and Justice party to allocate state money to NGOs, was reformed after the 2023 election by the coalition led by Donald Tusk, with Michał Braun appointed as its head. Braun told a panel in Budapest that the overhaul introduced stricter eligibility criteria, such as a two-year activity requirement for larger grants, and gave NGOs a majority voice on the supervisory council.
Despite these changes, he cited a scandal in which a Kraków-based NGO received €100,000 intended for office setup, then purchased a jacuzzi and turned the premises into an Airbnb rental. Braun said dozens of cases are under financial recovery procedures and stressed the need for NGOs to rebuild public trust while remaining transparent and politically neutral. The institute now manages about €80 million annually across ten programmes, including youth, civil defence and capacity-building projects, and plans to expand its budget and introduce a new civil defence law.
