In the end of 2005 a Law on Donations for Arts was adopted and came into force. The law regulates the social relations connected with making donation, aiming to create, preserve and promote the works of culture. According to the law Maecenas donation is gratuitous granting of aid from physical and legal persons for creation, preservation and promotion of works of culture, direct and/or through the organizations, supporting the culture, registered according to the law.

The Civil Society Development Foundation Hungary (CSDF Hungary) and Fundraising Competence Group GmbH introduce a new award for celebrating fundraising success stories of the recent years and promoting best practices of the emerging nonprofit sectors in Central and Eastern Europe.

BCNL's affiliate the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) is pleased to announce the first-ever Global Forum on Civil Society Law on November 17-19, 2005 in Instanbul, Turkey.

According to the Non-Profit Legal Entities Act, NGOs with public benefit purposes, registered in the Central Registry are obliged to submit information about their activity for the previous year to the Central Registry until May, 31st of each year.

A group of 14 NGOs submitted a request to the Minister of Finance Mr. Milen Velchev to reconsider the instructions on the rules concerning VAT exemption of EU PHARE projects.

The Resource Center Foundation, The Bulgarian Association for People with Intellectual Disabilities and the Bluelink Information Network are the three organizations which are awarded with free legal services by the Bulgarian Center for Not-For-Profit Law for a period of four months’. These are the three organizations which assisted us in receiving the biggest number of filled-in questionnaires on the research of the legal problems of NGOs in Bulgaria.

On the 1st of March 2005 the Law on Crises Management was promulgated in the State gazette. In Part Two, Chapter IV of the law there is a definition for “volunteer” and further regulations of volunteer status. According to the law any natural person, above the age of 18, who is capable to carry out legal activities and is a party to a contract, can be a volunteer. Anyone can receive a volunteer status irrespective of his or her employment.

On April 1st, 2005 a new Law on political parties was published in the State gazette. It revoked the Law on Political Parties which was in force so far. The new Law provides more strict requirements on incorporation, raising of property and the financial control on the activities of the political parties.

For the first time, despite direct subsidies from the central budget for certain non-profit legal entities there is a subsidy reserve in the State budget for year 2005 is created for funding of projects of non-profit legal entities designated for performing activities in public benefit, registered in the Central Registry with the Ministry of Justice.

The Ministry of labor and social policy (MLSP) published a call for participation in the “Child Welfare Reform” Project. The activities on the Project will be carried out in nine Municipalities – Stara Zagora, Targoviste, Bourgas, Plovdiv, Rousse, Shumen, Sliven, Varna and Sofia. There is a newly established Complex for Family and Child Social Services (CFCSS) in each of these Municipalities, where child welfare/protection community-based services will be provided.