In early April, the Bulgarian Fund for Women, represented by co-director Gergana Kutseva, participated in the Ariadne 2025 Annual Reconnect conference in Zagreb, held from April 8–10 and co-organised by the Solidarna Foundation.
Ariadne, a European peer-to-peer network of over 600 funders and philanthropists committed to social change and human rights, brought together over 80 European funders under the theme “Philanthropy at the Tipping Point: Courage and Community for Rights and Justice.” The gathering served as a call to action for the philanthropic community to leverage its collective knowledge, remain agile and collaborative, and respond to emerging global challenges with courage and unity.
The conference provided BFW with a valuable opportunity to engage in the global dialogue on how philanthropy can effectively respond to contemporary challenges. It also served as a platform for knowledge exchange, where Gergana Kutseva shared the fund’s achievements, including securing over 17 million BGN in EU funding. These funds have already been or will soon be allocated to civil society organizations through key programs that offer comprehensive support: ensuring organizational sustainability, providing project funding for marginalized and underrepresented issues in the socio-political sphere, including gender-based violence prevention, and offering emergency funding for crisis response and unforeseen opportunities.
Another aspect of BWF’s work shared at the conference was the feminist practices it applies and promotes. These practices include the active participation of women in decision-making processes, implementing transformative strategies for social and structural change, and working towards the inclusion of marginalized groups in social and economic processes. Increasingly, progressive donors aiming for social and structural change are adopting these approaches.
The conference recognized 2025 as a pivotal moment for democracy, human rights, and civic action, as the sector faces an unprecedented funding crisis and a global backlash against human rights. It offered an important space to reconnect, recharge, and renew a shared commitment to fostering a world that values diversity and individual contribution.
Participants engaged in dynamic plenaries, site visits to local human rights organizations, and open sessions that fostered deep reflection on the state of civic space and grantmaking.
Central themes included resilience and resistance in times of uncertainty, the impact of recent cuts in US and EU national funding, and the closing civic space for human rights activists—particularly in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.
Equally valuable were the opportunities for closer cooperation between funding organizations, including the creation of a solidarity fund and creative strategies for mobilizing resources in an increasingly constrained environment.
We sincerely thank the organizers for creating such high-level platforms for exchange of experiences. As a community, we left with strengthened relationships, renewed clarity, and a shared commitment to actionable next steps.
