Armenia's civil society sector plays a critical role in democratic development, participatory governance, and community resilience, yet local organizations continue to face severe structural sustainability challenges. According to official metrics, despite having approximately 9,000 registered public organizations and foundations, many remain financially vulnerable, institutionally fragile, and heavily dependent on short-term international project funding. This donor-dependent model, coupled with broader shifts in international aid priorities, has exposed systemic vulnerabilities, leaving local CSOs with weak organizational resilience, insufficient funding diversification, and a limited culture of long-term strategic planning.
The project “Strengthening Armenian CSOs through V4 Partnership” aims to address these structural vulnerabilities by enhancing the long-term sustainability, institutional resilience, and strategic independence of civil society organizations in Armenia. Implemented by “Eurasia” charity public organization, the project will draw on the tested sustainability models, post-socialist transition experiences, and civil society development practices of the Visegrad (V4) countries. The initiative is carried out in close collaboration with three key partner organizations: the Institute of New Europe (Poland), the Strategic Analysis Think Tank (Slovakia), and the Institute for Politics and Society (Czechia).
Through a structured four-phase methodology, the project will establish the “V4-Armenia Civil Society Sustainability Hub” in the Lori Region to provide 35 selected Armenian CSOs with hands-on, expert-led capacity building. Following the hub, participating organizations will receive applied mentorship from V4 experts to help them develop and begin implementing customized organizational Sustainability Action Plans and donor diversification strategies. The project's findings, methodologies, and practical templates will ultimately be consolidated into a bilingual, digital “V4-Armenia CSO Sustainability Toolkit” to support long-term replication and institutional governance reform across the sector.
The project is being implemented with the financial support of International Visegrad Fund.
This project is led by:
This project is implemented in partnership with:
INSTITUTE FOR POLITICS AND SOCIETY
Kick-Off Meeting for “Strengthening Armenian CSOs through V4 Partnership” project
On October 5, 2026, within the framework of the “Strengthening Armenian CSOs through V4 Partnership” project, a kick-off meeting took place. The meeting focused on the project’s key priorities, upcoming activities, division of responsibilities and strategic planning of the next steps.
The project aims to strengthen the long-term sustainability, institutional resilience and strategic independence of civil society organizations (CSOs) in Armenia. It will address key challenges faced by local CSOs, including limited funding diversification, institutional capacity gaps and the need for stronger long-term strategic planning.
The project will draw on the experience, tested sustainability models, and civil society development practices of the Visegrad countries — Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Through expert-led capacity building and mentorship, 35 selected Armenian CSOs will develop practical approaches to organizational sustainability and donor diversification.
The project will ultimately contribute to the development of a bilingual digital “V4-Armenia CSO Sustainability Toolkit,” bringing together practical methodologies, templates, and lessons learned to support the wider sustainability and institutional development of Armenian civil society organizations.
The project is implemented by “Eurasia” Charity Public Organization with the financial support of the International Visegrad Fund.
This project is being implemented in partnership with the Institute of New Europe (Poland), Strategic Analysis Think Tank (Slovakia), and Institute for Politics and Society (Czechia).
