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Since the spring of 2010 civil society has emerged not only as an array of social protests, but also as a series of collective initiatives for providing social solidarity. This development occurred while state funds, on which NGOs relied before 2010, were almost completely depleted. Further on, in August 2012, the government froze all state funds earmarked for NGOs, through a letter sent by the Deputy Minister of Finance to all Ministries. And in February 2014 it was revealed that a criminal investigation was under way for the misuse of funds dispensed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Greek humanitarian NGOs throughout the 2000s.

Yet, despite such negative publicity, after 2010 some not-for-profit foundations, Greek annexes of international NGOs and local parishes of the Greek Orthodox Church mobilised to help people hit by the crisis. They used donations by individuals and sponsors and embarked on the provision of basic staples, medical and social services to people in need. In contrast to the past, when only formal associations used to engage in charity work, informal groups were also active in the field. Large not-for-profit foundations, such as the Niarchos Foundation, coexisted with small informal social networks which neither had a formal organisational structure nor were they registered with any official authority.