Civicus

CIVICUS is an international non-profit organisation, which describes itself as “a global alliance dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society around the world." Founded in 1993, the organisation today counts more than 8500 members in more than 175 countries, with its headquarters in Johannesburg and offices in Geneva and New York.

Brief history
In 1991, an international group of 20 leaders from Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and social movements met to explore how to support citizen participation in governmental decision-making processes. This process culminated in 1993 when a founding board established CIVICUS from the Latin term meaning "of the community".

Campaigns
In an open letter of 25 July 2022 addressed to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, CIVICUS sought the UN chief's intervention to protect human rights in Nicaragua. The letter raised concerns over the continuous attacks on civil society organisations by the President Daniel Ortega's regime and his Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) party. CIVICUS also urged its members to sign the letter which was available online.

Structure and Governance
CIVICUS has approximately 70 members of staff and is led by Lysa John who replaces Dr Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, who led the organisation from January 2013 to December 2018. Previous Secretary Generals of the organisation also include Miklos Marschall (Hungary), Kumi Naidoo (South Africa) and Ingrid Srinath (India)

The governing body of CIVICUS is an International Board of 13 civil society leaders from 13 countries.

Funding
Civicus receives institutional support from a variety of sources from organizations with similar goals such as the Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundations. Revenue to support the operations of CIVICUS is derived from multiple sources, including institutional funders, individual contributions, membership fees, and registration fees for the CIVICUS World Assembly. Aggregated income from 2017/2018 was roughly US$9.6 million.