Non-profit organizations in the perception of Belgorod residents: realities and delusions

The article is devoted to the analysis of the attitude of Belgorod residents to non-profit organizations (NPOs), which are one of the institutions of civil society. The empirical basis of the article is the results of a sociological study “Assessment of the effectiveness and efficiency of the activities of executive authorities and local governments in the Belgorod region”, which was conducted by the Department of Social Technologies of the Belgorod National Research University in 2018 in all districts of the Belgorod region. The results of the study show that the attitude of the population of the region towards NPOs is characterized by a one-sided awareness of their work and a weakly expressed desire of citizens to participate in it. This is explained not only by the general socio-political passivity of the majority of the population, but also by the fact that many NPOs either do not reflect the interests of various social groups, or cannot adequately inform the public about their activities. The article proposes an original typology of NPOs, the criterion of which is the grounds for their creation. It is emphasized that at present in the region it is advisable to form a mechanism for the institutionalization of the public communications system, which will at least partially strengthen the influence of non-profit organizations and improve their image.