The State Grants Management Agency has published a list of organizations that are set to receive 1,657,775 GEL in grants from the state budget.
Each organization selected by the ruling Georgian Dream government will receive a grant of 100,000 GEL.
Who are the representatives of these organizations that the Georgian Dream government selected and awarded as non-governmental organizations? Batumelebi spoke with representatives of some of the winning organizations. Contacting others proved impossible, as no contact information was listed in their registration documents.
One of the NGOs awarded by Georgian Dream is the Peace Research Center, which was founded on July 22, 2025.
We asked the organization’s director, Nugzar Grzelishvili, whether he had prior experience working in the NGO sector and why he decided to establish an organization at a time when the Georgian Dream government has adopted a series of repressive laws targeting civil society.
“First of all, this is not a Russian law for me… It is a lie to say that this is a repressive law. This law has not restricted the activities of NGOs; no one has disappeared, they are functioning perfectly well. It simply required NGOs to disclose their funding,” Grzelishvili says about the Russian-style law adopted by Georgian Dream, adding that he himself had established an NGO years ago.
When asked whether he had disclosed finances during his previous NGO work or hidden anything, Grzelishvili responded that this topic should no longer be discussed.
Grzelishvili says the state grant was awarded for conducting a sociological study in Marneuli Municipality.
“We plan to conduct research on various topics, including identifying the level of social distancing, assessing language proficiency, examining relations among different ethnic groups, and attitudes toward foreigners,” Grzelishvili says.
“So, are you studying xenophobia?” we asked.
“Why xenophobia? Can’t there be positive attitudes?” Grzelishvili replied.
Why is it necessary to examine these issues specifically among ethnic minorities? Grzelishvili answered: “Why are you looking for problems everywhere? Marneuli was chosen so the government can better plan integration processes. We need to know what is happening in every ethnic group living in Georgia.”
According to him, the study also includes research on media influence.
“This will give us quantitative data, after which we will conduct focus groups — six focus groups in total — which will provide qualitative results. We will then compile a report and present it to the government,” Grzelishvili says.
When asked whether a research team had already been selected and how many people would be involved, Grzelishvili did not specify details, saying only that “everyone we need is in place.”
Asked again about his prior experience in civil society, Grzelishvili said he has experience working in many fields.
“Should I tell you my biography? Should I send you my CV? I can email you my CV and the details of others involved in the project,” he said. However, the promised information was never sent.
The Center for Participation and Engagement (CPC) was founded in 2020. Batumelebi spoke with Mariam Vershinina, a representative of the organization.
Her project aims to strengthen local self-government bodies, specifically municipal councils, and improve the efficiency of their internal operations.
According to Vershinina, the organization plans to create a “standard regulation” for local governments.
“There are legislative changes that are not reflected in council regulations. We plan to collect all legislative amendments made to the Local Self-Government Code since 2014, which will help all municipalities implement them,” Vershinina says.
Given that the Legislative Herald already exists, why is separate work necessary? we asked.
“When legislative changes are not reflected in regulations, council members are left in an information vacuum, and public participation suffers,” Vershinina responded.
She says that the association NALA will assist with implementation and that municipalities will most likely have online access to the resource.
Vershinina says she has experience working in the civil sector and has collaborated with various NGOs and donor organizations in previous years.
“I have worked with UNDP, women’s rights organizations, and on various projects. I’ve received different grants before, but this is my first state grant,” she says.
She was also asked about the Russian-style law.
“We registered in the registry under the Russian law; no one forced us, but we did it anyway,” she says. When asked whether she considers the so-called foreign influence law repressive, Vershinina declined to answer.
Another organization awarded a state grant by Georgian Dream is Public Defender. According to the registry, the organization was founded in 2011. Batumelebi spoke with its representative, Irina Putkaradze.
Putkaradze says she has implemented numerous projects over the years with funding from international donors, and that the current project is financed by the German Federal Foreign Office.
This project is also listed in the registry under the Russian law, meaning that Public Defender is registered as an organization carrying the interests of a foreign power. As a result, Georgian Dream is allocating 99,688 GEL from the state budget to an organization registered under the foreign agents registry.
We intended to ask Putkaradze about this issue, but she ended the call, saying: “Sorry, I’m busy. I can’t answer any more questions.” She referred us to a website which, according to her, is currently inactive.
The Center for Demography and Health Research will also receive a state grant of 97,900 GEL.
The organization was founded on June 20 of this year. Its representative, Natalia Kopaleishvili, told Batumelebi that she works at the National Center for Disease Control and now plans to work in the NGO sector as well.
“Our organization has existed for only a few months. It is newly established, and we will conduct research on declining birth rates, the causes specific to Georgia beyond global trends,” Kopaleishvili says.
“The study will be conducted nationwide. We will survey people aged 18–45 about attitudes toward having multiple children, age of marriage, reasons for declining birth rates, demand for having children, and why we no longer meet the simple reproduction coefficient. The results will be published.”
“I am a demographer,” she says. “I worked at Geostat for 20 years in the Demography Department and have extensive experience working with data. I currently work at the National Center for Disease Control in the Medical Statistics Department. I have no prior NGO experience. This is my first study as an NGO.”
She was also asked about the repressive environment in the country that has driven many civil society organizations including those working on women’s and children’s rights and social issues toward closure.
“We made our first attempt and succeeded in obtaining a grant on the first try. Therefore, I do not have a negative attitude,” Kopaleishvili says.
Asked whether NGOs should be able to receive Western grants without being labeled in a humiliating and degrading manner as required by the Russian-style law she replied:
“I have no experience in this regard. I haven’t dealt closely with this law yet, and I haven’t thought much about it. I do not believe there are repressions in the country. I work on demography, and I cannot connect demography and politics.”
The National Institute for Debates and Education is also a state grant recipient. The organization was founded in 2023. Batumelebi contacted its representative, Tinatin Tsertsvadze, who declined to speak, citing lack of time.
“I’m in interviews right now and can’t talk. Contact me in three days,” she said before ending the call.
According to information published by the agency, the organization will receive 100,000 GEL to promote soft skills development among youth, including organizing a series of public speaking events and discussions.
Another organization receiving a state grant is New Georgian Hub, which was founded on March 25, 2025, during a period of mass protests in the country against the Russian law and other repressive legislation adopted by the Georgian Dream government.
The organization’s representative, Nutsa Kokhrashvili, told Batumelebi that this is their first grant.
“We have not had grants before. Our project focuses on empowering parents of persons with disabilities. A psychologist will conduct trainings on how parents can support their children’s socialization, among other issues. I cannot provide more information at this stage,” she said, adding that the trainings are planned only for Tbilisi.
She also noted that she is currently employed at Silknet and has no prior experience working in the field of human rights.
Asked whether the repressive legislation adopted by Georgian Dream would hinder her organization from seeking other grants, including Western funding, Kokhrashvili replied:
“I can’t answer that right now. I can’t say anything about future plans at this point,” adding that they have no issues with the “transparency law.”
The Agency for Democratic Development was founded in 2016.
We contacted its representative, Tea Esartia, who said she was busy and asked us to call “after 9 p.m.” However, she did not answer Batumelebi’s calls at the agreed time.
According to documents published by the agency, Esartia’s organization is set to receive 99,980 GEL for a project aimed at promoting democratic institutions, good governance, human rights and fundamental freedoms, education, science and youth, reconciliation, and civic equality.
However, it remains unclear how such a broad thematic scope will be covered within 11 months.