28.05.2025 / News
Făgăraș, May 28, 2025 – The Făgăraș Research Institute is pleased to announce that our colleagues, Ștefan Cibian and Zoltan Levente Fejes, contributed to the 2025 Global Philanthropy Environment Index (GPEI), published by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
The GPEI is a global research effort evaluating the philanthropic environment across 95 countries. It examines legal, fiscal, political, economic, and socio-cultural factors that affect philanthropic activity. For the 2025 edition, Romania’s assessment was conducted by Ștefan Cibian (Făgăraș Research Institute) and Zoltan Levente Fejes (Center for the Study of Civil Society).
Romania scored an overall 3.89, indicating a moderately favorable environment for philanthropy, though significant challenges remain, especially in fiscal incentives and economic stability.
Key findings regarding the 2021-2023 period include:
- Legal accessibility for forming and operating philanthropic organizations is high, with fundamental freedoms mostly protected.
- Tax incentives for giving are limited and declining — as of 2025, individuals can no longer redirect a share of their income tax to nonprofit organizations.
- Cross-border philanthropic flows are largely unrestricted, with foreign donations welcomed and exempt from taxation.
- The political environment is generally stable and open to collaboration, though a strategic vision for philanthropy is lacking at the national level.
- Socio-cultural attitudes toward giving and volunteering are increasingly positive, especially in response to recent crises like COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, which reinforced public trust in nonprofits.
The authors recommend strengthening civil society networks, streamlining bureaucratic procedures, improving fiscal policies, and prioritizing the well-being of nonprofit staff and leaders.
The 2025 Global Philanthropy Environment Index covering the period 2021 – 2023 is available via the Indiana University Indianapolis website.
Departments: Society, Crisis, and Resilience Program; Policy Analysis and Outreach Department; Research Department; Center on Global Affairs and Post Development.
Themes: Economy and Trade; Philanthropy and Community Development; Public Policy.