Legal needs are rising for NGOs amid attacks on civil society and funding cuts, our latest report finds

A new report from the Thomson Reuters Foundation finds that legal needs amongst NGOs have risen significantly over the last year as they face fresh waves of threats and attacks.

Sweeping cuts to international aid budgets have hit organisations across the board, autocratic states are increasingly weaponising the law to cut local non-profits off from their vital sources of international support, and influential voices have even painted the sector as inefficient and fraudulent.

Surveying the world’s largest pro bono network

Rising Pressure, Rising Needs spotlights the findings from a rapid survey of civil society members in the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s TrustLaw network, the world’s largest pro bono service, to assess how the legal needs of NGOs are evolving in this increasingly complex environment. 

The survey sampled around 150 organisations working in the civil society sector across Latin America, Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. The majority of these were smaller, grassroots organisations with fewer than 50 staff or volunteers.

Their perspectives are published today in the next edition of our TRF Insights series, which draws on our extensive global network to take the pulse of major developments in the sector.

What we found

Overall, 50% of respondents reported increasing legal needs, a figure that rises to 65% in Asia and 70% in North America.

Among those experiencing rising legal challenges, 36% cited new and/or stricter laws targeting civil society as the most serious driver, followed closely by funding changes or cuts (34%).

When comparing specific areas of critical legal need over the next 12 months versus the previous year, the survey found that:

• ‘regulatory compliance’ (up 4.5 percentage points)

• ‘navigating political restrictions’ (up 7 percentage points)

• ‘data protection’ (up 9 percentage points)

were all now viewed to be significantly more risk-laden.

Notably, for organisations working specifically in human rights defence, ‘navigating political restrictions’ was up even higher (11 percentage points) on the previous year.

Encouragingly, many organisations are responding to the current moment by leaning in. Over the next 2–3 years, top priorities include:

• expanding and scaling programming (25%)
• developing new funding streams (36%)
• launching new programmes and projects (16%)

How we are responding

Over the past few months, the Foundation has been working closely with many of the leading law firms and in-house legal teams in our TrustLaw network to identify new ways in which their expertise can help strengthen NGO resilience and allow them to expand their activities and continue delivering their critical impact.

This has included setting up legal clinics for NGOs on how to strengthen their regulatory compliance in the face of increasing government scrutiny, workshops on navigating the post-USAID funding landscape and ramping up legal guidance for organisations in the crosshairs of ‘foreign agent laws’.

However, we understand legal support is just one piece of the puzzle. These types of threats to civil society are existential, affecting just about every aspect of an NGO’s operations. As such, they demand a holistic response.

Through the wider Foundation’s work with independent newsrooms around the world for more than 40 years, we have developed a tried-and-tested model for building 360° organisational resilience.

We are now also working to adapt and replicate this model specifically for NGOs. This will include communications advice, financial planning, digital security guidance, AI adoption training and much more.

To realise this at the scale the moment demands, the Foundation is seeking committed partners who want to protect a vibrant, resilient civil society. Those interested in being part of this work are invited to learn more and register their interest via the online form below.