Since the introduction of restrictive amendments to the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) law in 2014, civil society work in Azerbaijan has become a game of cat and mouse. Most NGOs developed self-sustaining mechanisms to continue operating, while others continue working by dodging the law or have chosen to rely on government funding. These new ways of modus operandi meant shifting their areas of focus, switching to humanitarian, environmental, or agricultural issues rather than sensitive political issues such as election transparency, media freedom, corruption, or human rights. Having invested 18 years in training people and lobbying the Azerbaijani government to provide services to children with disabilities, the NGO United Aid for Azerbaijan (UAFA) eventually ran out of funding opportunities due to the restrictions introduced by the Azerbaijani NGO law in 2014. Since then, its founder, Gwen Burchell, has been developing several strategies to generate income, including investing in social enterprises and partnerships with the government. Several provisions introduced with the new legislation hampered NGOs’ ability to seek foreign funding. In an interview with Global Voices, Mahammad Guluzade, Director of MG Consulting LLC, who spoke in his capacity as an independent expert, explained that although the requirement to register grants has been in place since 2004, it was not until the 2014 amendments that the new requirements forced NGOs to register their donors and donations information with the Ministry of Justice. In addition to registration requirements, the law imposed a de facto prohibition on NGOs receiving cash donations and made it nearly impossible to receive anonymous donations or solicit contributions from the public. There are other constraints as well, says Guluzade, such as restricting bank account access as “dozens of NGOs are unregistered as a legal entity, making it quite difficult for them to receive foreign funding because they cannot have bank accounts.” For years, NGOs faced bureaucratic hurdles for years, which often delayed the registration process, due to the Ministry’s multiple refusal letters, based on ever-changing requirements. These requirements often meant requests for further information about the organization itself, the project, or organization documents and further updates. In some cases, it took months, if not years, to complete the process, if it was finalized at all. This was especially common among NGOs working on matters related to democratic development, according to the Civil Society Organization Sustainability Index for Azerbaijan 2021, published in November 2022. Probably, as a result of the international pressure to address this issue, the government implemented the “Individual e-cabinets,” an online platform to submit grant registration, service packages, contracts, and donation packages. The results of the survey conducted by MG Consulting LLC within USAID's Empowering Civil Society Organizations for Transparency (ECSOFT) project in April 2022 showed the timeline for registering grants had significantly reduced when applications were submitted online; in most of the cases, no additional documents were requested. Yet, today to avoid the Ministry of Justice's jurisdiction, donors often prefer to work through individual service contracts. As a result, NGOs engage more in research-oriented activities rather than directly assisting targeted groups and communities, such as women, internally displaced persons, people with disabilities, and so on. Another practice to navigate the restrictive legislation has been providing funds to affiliated commercial entities, an alternative less appealing for donors due to the tax and VAT deductions businesses are subject to in Azerbaijan. According to the most recent report on “Social Economy in Eastern Neighborhood and in the Western Balkans” by AETS Consortium and the European Union, there are a few hundred organizations specializing in providing social and health services to vulnerable groups in Azerbaijan. An estimated 10 percent have established social enterprises to reduce their dependence on foreign funding and strengthen their financial sustainability. These micro and small enterprises employ fewer than 25 people with an annual income below AZN 200,000 (EUR 100,000). UAFA, the NGO United Aid for Azerbaijan, is among that 10%. Gwen has created four social business models; the online shop ENJOY Chocolates; the foundational course implemented in partnership with Georgetown University; “Mektebim” (My School), a child-oriented and inclusive preschool education model run by women entrepreneurs all over the Country, and “Braille Teach,” a device that teaches the Braille alphabet in any language.