About us

Solidarity Fund PL (SFPL) activities are dedicated to development cooperation. SFPL focuses on supporting democratic transformations, building civil society, developing good governance principles and local democracy, as well as sharing experiences on economic and systemic transitions. SFPL supports free media and human rights organisations. When necessary, SFPL also engages in humanitarian relief operations.

SFPL is one of the key actors in Polish development cooperation sector. SFPL efforts are guided by its Supervisory Board chaired by the minister of foreign affairs responsible for development cooperation.  Polish aid) managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland provides SFPL with core  financing.  Ministry’s ongoing support allows for extended scale of operations, thus drawing investments from numerous donors, such as EuropeAid, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), and countries from the transatlantic community. We are EU pillar-assessed entity since January 2023.

SFPL’s key focus area covers Eastern Partnership Countries, i.e. Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. In Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia SFPL implements its actions through local Representative. To pursue its goals, SFPL collaborates with Polish administration bodies, local authorities, non-governmental organisations, and education sector.

For visual identification SFPL uses the 2011 logo of the first Polish EU presidency, designed by Jerzy Janiszewski, the author of the worldwide known “Solidarity” Trade Union graphic sign.

History

SFPL is a State Treasury foundation. It was established in 1997 at the initiative of the President of Republic of Poland, who took honorary patronage over the organisation. Initially, under the name Polish Foundation for International Cooperation for Development “Knowing How”, SFPL focused on assisting countries undergoing market transformations and implementing projects in Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and Georgia. SFPL has also issued a series of publications dedicated to Polish transformation-related experiences. In 2002 SFPL changed its name to Polish Foundation for International Cooperation for Development “Know How”. In 2005 SFPL suspended its activities. However, in 2011, in the light of Poland’s growing commitment to development cooperation and the need to support democratic transformations in other countries, Ministry of Foreign Affairs took the decision to reactivate SFPL. The Development Cooperation Act, adopted on 16 September 2011, allowed the Minister for Foreign Affairs to entrust SFPL with activities in the field of development cooperation.
Due to the amendments to the Act, from 2018 (2019?) it was possible to engage SFPL also in humanitarian activities.

Since 2012 SFPL has been sending Polish observers as part of OSCE/ODIHR election observation missions.

The name Solidarity Fund PL was adopted in 2013.

 

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