We Demand Transparency for Donations Collected by Religious and Nonprofit Organizations in Georgia — It’s Time to Strengthen the Law!
Across Georgia, numerous nonprofit legal entities (N(N)LEs), informal community associations, and nontraditional spiritual or religious groups regularly collect financial and material donations — often through unregulated channels, foreign funding, or informal internal practices.

❗ Note: This petition does not target the Georgian Orthodox Church or any official Orthodox parishes under the Patriarchate of Georgia. The focus is on nontraditional or loosely organized religious/spiritual groups and nonprofit organizations that operate without adequate financial oversight.

Many of these organizations function under vague or hybrid legal statuses and are not subject to strict donation tracking or independent financial audits. This creates fertile ground for:

financial manipulation,
hidden foreign influence,
and even money laundering in more severe cases.
While freedom of association and belief must be protected in any democratic society, financial transparency is essential — especially when an organization:

collects public donations,
influences vulnerable individuals,
or benefits from tax exemptions.
 
⚖️ Why Is This a Problem?
Some groups act as religious or spiritual communities while being legally registered as NGOs, thereby avoiding stricter oversight.
Individuals are sometimes pressured into donating money or assets, believing it is required for spiritual healing or moral duty.
In many cases, no public record exists of how donations are used, who manages the funds, or where the resources go.
Some organizations receive foreign funding — including from ideological or political actors — without disclosing this to Georgian authorities.
 
🛑 The Solution — What We Are Demanding:
✅ Mandatory Financial Transparency
All nonprofit, religious, or spiritual groups that collect public donations must be legally required to:

Publish annual financial reports;
Disclose major sources of income;
Undergo independent audits if their annual revenue exceeds a set threshold.
✅ Donation Registration and Receipts
All donations — financial or in-kind — must be registered.
Anonymous or undocumented donations must be capped or prohibited above a minimal threshold.
✅ Public Access to Financial Data
Citizens should have the right to access information about how funds are collected and spent — especially by organizations that claim to serve the public or vulnerable communities.
✅ Clear Legal Classification
Organizations must operate under clear legal statuses, without ambiguity between NGO, religious, charitable, or community-based operations.