Given the shrinking civic space in the region, protecting the work and well-being of progressive civil society actors remains essential for social resilience and cohesion. In 2025, attacks increased dramatically, while severe funding cuts reduced resources to tackle them. Our 2024 report, which mapped the most common types of emergency support in the Western Balkans, provided a basis for collective analysis and action.
Results
In 2025, a small group of funders joined forces to act on one of the key recommendations of the mapping report: establishing an emergency fund. The efforts resulted in Civic Emergency Fund for the Western Balkans, launched informally at the end of 2025. This pooled fund serves as a rapid and flexible funding mechanism led by the Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (KCSF) and Trag Foundation.
The fund is accessible to both registered and unregistered initiatives and activists and offers flexible support for diverse emergency situations. It is an important collective resource, responding to attacks on civic freedoms across the region.