What Social Platform wants to achieve

The European Union has helped bring prosperity to Europe, yet 96.5 million people are at risk of poverty or social exclusion and millions more face inequalities.

We must do better. The EU has the power to help lift all people out of poverty and build more equal, inclusive, sustainable, prosperous societies and economies. But too often, EU policies focus on the economy and getting people into jobs. EU decision-makers don’t speak to the concerns of many of the people living in Europe, and don’t listen to those people when they have something to say.

Social Platform wants to change the status quo. In a nutshell, Social Platform’s mission is a more Social Europe for all and with all.

Find out more about partnering with us in our ‘Case for Support’ and our ‘Partnership Policy’.

If you are a socially responsible company that is interested in partnering with us, please email Laura de Bonfils (Secretary General) at laura.debonfils@socialoplatform.org for what we offer and our donorship policy.  

To achieve our mission, we advocate for:

  • A sustainable socioeconomic system that promotes social justice, including a just distribution of wealth, respect for human rights and dignity for all.
  • A clear recognition that the founding values (human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights) of the EU must be central to all policies.
  • A reinforced democratic system where representative democracy is underpinned by social and civil dialogue.

Why partner with Social Platform?

People power & strength in numbers

As the largest, leading civil society network working on social justice in the EU, we give voice to hundreds of millions of people in all their diversity – men and women, the young and old, families, people from ethnic and religious background, Roma, LGBTI people, people with disabilities, carers, people experiencing poverty and discrimination and the people that provide invaluable services for a more inclusive society and work in social enterprises that want to create a better world.

A megaphone for the intersectional realities of people, service providers & social enterprises

Our diverse membership is unique – no other organisation can speak with one voice and tell the full story of the diversity of Europe from the collective voices of people, service providers and social enterprises in all EU Member States. Together with our members we represent tens of thousands of organisations at local, national, regional and European level.

When you partner with Social Platform, you are partnering with all our members too and will truly be investing in intersectional equality. You can find a list of our members here.

We achieve impact

Building consensus to achieve impact
We build consensus in the social sector and have a clear theory of change and proven track record of achieving the impact we seek.

Our profile gives us privileged access
As the leading civil society organisation in the social space, we have privileged access to key decision making spaces that others do not (including the EPSCO council, EU presidencies, Parliamentary groups, European Commissioners etc.).

Expertise and solutions
Through our membership and Secretariat, we gather expertise on social issues from across a variety of perspectives and we focus on real solutions to the problems that keep people excluded and in poverty.

Examples of our successes

  • After years of advocacy and uptake of our work on EU social standards, the Commission, Council and Parliament adopted the framework of the Social Pillar to make a more social Europe a reality.
  • We are the leading civil society organisation when it comes to the Social Pillar. We were the only civil society organisation to negotiate and co-sign the Porto Social Summit Declaration, alongside Presidents of the Council, Commission and Parliament, the Portuguese Prime Minister, and business and employee representatives.
  • The social perspective has been strengthened in the socioeconomic governance of the EU thanks to our input to meetings of the EMCO committee and Social Protection Committee.
  • We set up the Social Pillar Champions group in the European Parliament with a broad membership of MEPs across the political spectrum and committees.
  • We are the unique voice of civil society organisations in the EPSCO council.

Some of the solutions we push for

  • A minimum wage directive that guarantees that work pays for all.
  • A minimum income directive that protects everyone from poverty.
  • A care strategy to make sure that everyone who needs care receives it, and to support and value the people who provide care.
  • A social services strategy to create the right environment so that social services reach the people who need them and enable actors that provide them.
  • Funds to make sure that everyone can transition safely to a greener and more digital future.
  • An EU socioeconomic system that balances social, green, economic and fiscal considerations fairly.

For our theory of change, you can check out our Strategy for 2021-2024.

Who we partner with

Social Platform has a partnership policy that details the types of partners we look for and the kind of partnership we can enter into. In line with our partnership policy, the following principles must be applied to all our partnerships:

  • Partnerships are mutually beneficial.
  • Partnerships are managed and communicated in a transparent way.
  • Both partners carry out due diligence to ensure that the partnership is ethical.

We look for partnerships with foundations, institutional donors (like the EU, ministries or authorities from Member States), and corporate donors provided they demonstrate social responsibility, have a record of socially responsible behaviour, have a positive public image, have a history of commitment to diversity and inclusion, employ responsible environmental, social and labour rights practices, and are genuinely committed to equality, inclusion and better social standards for all. All partnerships progress through a due diligence process and must fulfil the partnership criteria. More information is available upon request.

Gift acceptance policy 

Social Platform can accept unsolicited donations from companies and individuals, provided that they do not contain any unreasonable conditions, expose Social Platform to liability nor pose a significant reputational risk. Social Platform reserves the right to return any unsolicited donations. Unsolicited gifts do not mean that a donor can use our name or logo and our logo or name can only be used under specific conditions and through agreement.