On September 26 and 27, 2011, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) Moldova Civil Society Strengthening Program, and the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL), in partnership with the National Council of NGOs in Moldova, organized an International Conference on State Financing for CSOs. 

In addition to grants or assistance from international donors, Moldovan CSOs need to look at new ways to raise funds domestically, including from government sources, noted Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat in his opening remarks at the conference, adding that the government's role in backing civil society's initiatives and activities has not been fully realized. He further stated that there were many problems related to financing for non-governmental organizations, with about 90 percent of their funding coming from foreign donors.

Offering Moldovan television viewers an independent source of news coverage, a new network of regional television stations has been established with the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) Media Program in Moldova (MPM). Known as AICI TV, the network’s board includes representatives of six regional TV stations, including Drochia TV, Sor-TV, VTV Ungheni, TV Elita, Media TV and Eni-Ai.

“AICI TV is the first ‘bottom-up’-built television network in Moldova. It has national coverage, and its founders are thankful to the American people, who contributed financially to the establishment and development of the network to keep it objective, apolitical, and promoting democratic values,” said Andrei Bargan, the director of Cimislia Media TV, during a roundtable of board members held on September 29, 2011.