Abstract:

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are often called the third sector or non-profit sector.
There are various definitions of these terms, but they all refer to institutions operating independently of governments, on a voluntary basis and for the community and its members. They are usually not-for-profit, primarily concerned with providing services, including the cooperation of community members, with their activities often focused on people who are socially or economically excluded. Their impact on societies is continuously growing, and their importance in national economies is also growing. The analysis of the sector's performance is necessary, but complicated, especially at the level of international comparisons.
In this paper, an attempt was made to analyze the functioning of the two most popular organizations of the third sector in Poland, i.e. associations and foundations. The analysis is based on the year 2022, but the changes in selected factors between 2010 and 2022 are also presented and discussed. The paper focuses mostly on the social and economic capital of the organizations studied. The results of the conducted research are summarized at the end of the paper.