Country profile

Poland

Definition
There is no expicit legal definition of a foundation in Polish law. Foundations are understood as assets dedicated to some social cause and registered as a foundation. However, there is a very low amount of assets demanded for setting up a foundation. For this reason, a vast majority of Polish foundations do not have an endowment and are used as a vehicle for collecting external funding for their activities. The basic act that regulates the principles for the establishment and operation of foundations is the Law on Foundations, which is part of the administrative law. Foundations in Poland can be established only with the aim of serving a public benefit purpose.

Poland’s philanthropy profile

€1.4 billion

Pool of assets

€1.7 billion

Total expenditure

49% of foundations employ 1 to 5 employees, 44% have no paid employees, only 7% have more than 6 employees.

Total employment

Poland’s foundations

31,000

foundations