Volunteering contributes to the economic and social stability, as well as strengthen the communities’ resilience, from support to the citizens and local initiatives development to acting in the crisis situations.
Volunteering through active inclusion to the society aiming at proactive initiating social changes is the new form of the volunteering in Croatia. It most often refers to active participation in political, non-profit organisations, informal civic initiatives and interest groups.
The UN, emphasizing the need to strengthen volunteerism in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in a Resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly at the end of December 2024, recognised the universal desire of people to contribute to society through volunteering, as well as the key role of young people, and welcomed the participation of people with disabilities.
Last past years the new approaches to the organised volunteering have been developing in Croatia.
Volunteer activities are mainly carried out through civil society organisations and health and social welfare institutions, which in this way increase the quantity and quality of their activities and services.
The availability of the volunteer programmes and opportunities for volunteering have been decreased, on the other hand, which could affect decreasing of the total volunteer engagement and absence of services delivery. Therefore, there is a need for further empowerment of volunteers and more effective management of volunteerism, while at the time laying the foundations for growth through new volunteer programmes aimed specifically at the educational, health and social sectors.
Furthermore, trends in the field of the volunteering development in Croatia indicate an increase in interest in online volunteering, which shows the increasing role of technology in facilitating flexible and remote volunteer engagement.
This Public Call is intended to
increase visibility of working associations in the named areas. It gives possibilities to associations for getting expert communications support in promotion of activities that they already implement, so as contribute to the promotion of volunteering and its values, as well as improving the capacity of volunteering organizers to effectively manage volunteers in order to improve the quality of community services aiming at contributing to volunteering in the implementation of reforms for social and economic growth and democratic and sustainable development.
The activities for which communication support will be provided through this Public Call have to be implemented in the period from 1 July and 31 December 2026. The associations that will apply to this Public Call have to participate in the NGOs Open Days 2026.
GOfNGOs will award three associations with the financial support amounted to EUR 4.000,00. Also, the Croatian Association for Public Relations will provide expert communication support by the public relations consultant in the design and implementation of media and communication plans for promoting activities they implement to contribute to the promotion of volunteering and its values.
The applying conditions to this Call and Award criteria are defined in the
Guidelines for Applicants.
Applications for this Public Call are to be submitted by 15 June 2026, by submitting completed forms to the e-mail address:
dovu@udruge.vlada.hr. Questions related to this Call are to be submitted to the e-mail address: dovu@udruge.vlada.hr.
