In March 2004, a questionnaire on the profit generating activity of NGOs was placed on the Portal.

Profit-based activity of NGOs is one of the main ways by which NGOs can fund their work. 85.71% of those who took part mentioned that the charter documents of their organisations stipulate that profit-based activities can be undertaken. However, only 29.17% of those taking part said that their organisation was involved with such activities this year and only 35.03% of those capable of profit-based activities indicated that they were in actual fact undertaken. Interestingly, the number of positive responses regarding the existence of profit-based NGO work was much higher last year (35.01% of those who took part).

In 1998, in Russia, 237 thousand NGOs were counted, although only 1 in 10 of them was undertaking profit-based activity. This led many to believe that a certain portion of registered organisations did not in reality do anything. The idea may appear debatable, because this kind of activity is of course not mandatory for an NGOs existence. One of the main funding sources for NGO work however, is profit gained as a result of commercial activity in cases where an organisation’s charter makes a provision for this kind of work.

Detailed statistics in Belarus have so far not been produced.

Between February and March 2004, a questionnaire was distributed amongst those attending the publication launch of the Belarusian NGO “United Way”. The questionnaire was designed to find out the basic issues and problem areas encountered by NGO activity in Belarus. It included a section on how much NGOs needed each basic source of financing. You can see the results here.