About NISC

Non-Governmental Organizations' Information and Support Centre (NISC) - is the non-governmental organization, established by the Lithuanian Open Society Fund in 1995, under the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme.

VISION - NISC is the main institution in the country, seeking to ensure a balanced cooperation between non-governmental organizations and institutions of public administration as well as the representation of NGO interests.

MISSION - to unite the non-governmental organizations of the country for the sake of the own interests' representation and strengthening of the NGO sector at all levels.

STRATEGIC AIMS:

Strengthening of the NGO sector (organizations) - information dissemination, consultations, trainings, methodical tools, databases, various conferences, and forums.

Establishment and strengthening of the NGO coalitions - establishment of NGO coalitions in various fields of public administration, development of the NGO Centers' Network, establishment of the organization uniting national NGOs, creation of the coalitions' accountability system.

Strengthening of Government-NGO Cooperation - monitoring of the legal acts connected with the NGO activities, bills' preparation and submission to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and the Government, improvement of the 2% income tax donation mechanism, improvement of the NGO funding system at the national and local authorities' level, establishment of the NGO representation mechanism

Improvement of the NGOs' environment - to increase the NGO visibility in the society, develop the NGO informational bulletin "The Third Sector", disseminate information about the Lithuanian NGO sector in national and international publications, administrate and update NISC's web-sites, develop the positive image of the NGO sector

Development of voluntary work traditions - develop the law regulating the voluntary work and initiation of its validation, develop the conditions ensuring the system of voluntary work compensations, raise public awareness about the voluntary work, to strengthen the public institution "Volunteer Centre" established by NISC

NISC WORK PRINCIPLES:

• We care about every NGO
• Results beneficial for the NGO sector may be reached only via common co-operation
• We care about clear aims and meaningful results, that are value-added to the NGO sector
• Every organization that co-operates with us or/and supports us is our partner
• Future success of our organization depends on the transparency and accountability of today's activities

ENGAGEMENTS WITH THE NGO SECTOR:

• NISC pledges to be a partner and not a competitor to any other non-governmental organization;
• NISC pledges to work for the sake of the stronger NGO sector and not to avoid the co-operation with the governmental and business sectors;
• NISC pledges to remain independent from the sponsors and politicians, and to remain loyal to the NGO sector;
• NISC pledges to be an objective non-governmental organizations delegate when regularizing and representing their interests.

NISC IN 10 YEARS:

• Administration of the EU PHARE Civil Society Development and EU PHARE ACCESS programmes;
• Technical support to the European Union Programmes, providing financial support to the non-governmental organizations;
• Annual organization of Lithuanian non-governmental organizations' forum since 1996;
• Publishing of the informational bulletin "The Third Sector" since 1995, which was replaced by the informational portal in 2007;
• Creation and administration of the public database of non-governmental organizations;
• Publications - "Writing Winning Grant Proposals. Step by Step"; "Foreign Support to the Lithuanian NGOs"; "Practical Guide for Lithuanian Non-Governmental Organizations'"; "A Handbook of NGO Governance"; "Non-Profit Organizations: Nature and Regulation", etc.
• Implementation of tens of researches regarding the Lithuanian non-profit sector;
• Coordination of the Lithuanian NGO Centers Network's activities;
• Establishment of the Lithuanian NGOs coalition for philanthropy. This resulted in the opportunity for the citizens to donate 2% of income tax to the non-profit organizations;
• Initiative to establishment of the Platform of Non-Governmental Development Organizations' in Lithuania and the National Anti-Poverty Network.