The mission of the Batory Foundation is to build an open, democratic society – a society of people aware of their rights and responsibilities, who are actively involved in the life of their local community, country and international society. We want to co-create a Poland that is law-abiding and just, open and tolerant, that protects the rights of all citizens, and that respects the richness of its diversity.
The Stefan Batory Foundation was established in 1988. Since 2003 we have had the status of a public benefit organization. We are registered in the National Court Register under the number 0000101194.
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improving the quality of Polish democracy
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strengthening the role of citizens and civic institutions in public life
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developing international cooperation and solidarity
Our principles:
- we are independent of state and political institutions
- we do not replace the state and local governments in carrying out their basic duties
- we take action where there are no other actors or our participation can add value
- we respect the transparency of rules and procedures in the grant-making process
- we inform the public about our activities, including the possibility of applying for support, grants awarded and projects implemented, on our website and in annual reports.
Methods of action
We financially and substantively support civic initiatives undertaken by civic organizations and informal groups. We also carry out our own activities: we conduct campaigns and social actions, monitor the functioning of public institutions, undertake advocacy activities, organize conferences and debates, workshops and meetings, issue analyses, expert studies, reports and other publications.
Our affiliations
The Foundation partners with many institutions from Poland and abroad. We are a member of the European Foundation Centre in Brussels and European Civic Forum. We are a part of the network of foundations – the Open Society European Network and to the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). We participate in the work of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, and the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum and Civitates. We are a Polish partner of Transparency International.
Foundation’s activity is financed from income on endowment and grants from foreign institutions, from gifts of individual donors and 1,5% personal income tax designations.