Navigating the landscape of giving in 2022, the corporate sector experienced a notable 17.4% surge in donated amounts, while Mass Individual donors led the way with an impressive 21.9% increase in their giving value.
Graph 1: % of Instances of Giving disaggregated by Type of Donor – 2018 – 2022
On the flip side, individuals saw a decrease of 42.7% in their donated amounts. Nonprofits remained steadfast, contributing consistently to the common good.
In the past period, nonprofit organizations consistently held the forefront as the primary recipients of donations in Croatia, and this trend persists in 2022. The country witnessed a substantial surge in support for nonprofits during the year, marking a 12% increase in frequency when comparing 2021 and 2022. Specifically, nonprofits received 37% of donation instances in 2021, which rose to 49% in 2022.
According to the "Giving Serbia 2022" research by the Catalyst Balkans Foundation, in 2022, citizens and companies donated 33.3 million euros for charitable purposes, which is a decrease of 21.5 percent compared to the previous year. As before, most donations were made to treat children and fellow citizens, and the biggest drop in donations was recorded in the business sector.
The use of donations can be categorized based on the intended effect that a donation has on the issue that it aims to help. Accordingly, the use of donations is categorized as either donations with intended short-term effects or long-term effects. Donations with intended long-term effects refer to support that is supposed to provide beneficiaries with strategic solutions to their problems, while donations with intended short-term effects aim to address immediate issues in society.
In previous years, donations directed to individuals and families were most frequent. This trend changed in 2020 when nonprofits became the most active channel of support. Since 2020, the support of the nonprofit sector has gradually increased, reaching 45.2% of all donation instances in 2022.
Citizens (through mass-individual giving) have consistently been the most prominent donor type, with citizens actively participating since 2015. However, the year 2020 saw a significant increase in corporate sector giving as they focused on mitigating the impact of the pandemic. Nevertheless, in 2021, there was a decrease in corporate sector contributions, continuing the trend observed over the past two years. More specifically, the decline was noted in giving through calls for applications from companies.
In 2022, healthcare remained the primary cause of giving in Serbia, as it was in the previous year. Giving for healthcare accounted for more than one-third of all donation instances and approximately two-thirds of the total amount. Donations intended for providing medical treatments were the most common form of support for healthcare, following the trend observed in previous years. Several nonprofit organizations played a crucial role in raising funds for medical treatments, which often required substantial sums.
Since its founding ten years ago, Catalyst Balkans has been committed to living up to its name by applying concepts of transformation and catalytic collaboration to its program activities, its external partnerships, and how we operate internally.
While founded by two experienced and strong-minded individuals, Aleksandra Vesić and Nathan Koeshall, Catalyst Balkans was built to be an engaged intermediary that complements and serves Western Balkans' philanthropy and nonprofit ecosystems. This implied that Catalyst Balkans recognized itself as needing to engage with its staff, stakeholders, and community in a way that would provide added value and increased know-how as the product of each interaction with Catalyst.