Funding a nonprofit project in Morocco: sources, rules and the diaspora

An association running a project in Morocco rarely has a problem of usefulness. It has a problem of proof. A funder, a foundation or a diaspora member ready to give all want to know the same thing: does the association really exist, and what will it do with the money?

Key points

• In 2025, 241 associations declared 846 foreign funding receipts, totalling MAD 580.6 million, against MAD 765 million the year before (General Secretariat of the Government data reported by Le Matin, 2025).
• Morocco had 257 associations recognised as being of public utility in 2025, 7 of them recognised that year (same source).
• Donation crowdfunding is capped at MAD 450,000 per project (AMMC).

What funding sources are open to a Moroccan association?

An association usually combines several resources, and that's a good thing: none is enough alone, and depending on a single funder makes you fragile.

These sources don't open in the same order. Donations from relatives and diaspora members often fund the early days. Programmes and institutional funders come once the association can show a first track record.

How do you set up an association properly?

It all starts with the declaration. Dahir No. 1-58-376 of 15 November 1958, amended in particular by Law 75-00, governs the right of association in Morocco. The declaration is filed with the local administrative authority, which immediately issues a provisional receipt; the definitive receipt is issued within a maximum of 60 days.

That receipt is not a formality. Along with the articles of association, it's the first document any serious partner asks for. Keep legible scanned copies: you'll provide them dozens of times.

Why aim for public-utility status?

It remains rare. 257 associations held it in 2025, and only 7 obtained it that year, against 6 in 2023 and 4 in 2024 (Le Matin, 2025). It's a demanding status that assumes sound governance and accounts over time.

Public fundraising appeals follow the same logic of oversight. The General Secretariat of the Government granted 8 authorisations in 2025, against 18 in 2024 and 23 in 2023, a year shaped by the mobilisation after the Al Haouz earthquake (same source).

For most associations, then, the point isn't to obtain that status right away. It's to operate now as if they'll apply for it one day: general meetings held, accounts approved, activity report published. Those are exactly the things funders look at.

Can an association receive funds from abroad?

Yes, and it's common. Associations that receive them declare them to the General Secretariat of the Government: in 2025, 241 associations declared 846 foreign funding receipts, totalling MAD 580.6 million, about 24% less than the year before (Le Matin, 2025).

For an association backed by diaspora members, the practical rule is simple: money from abroad must be traceable. A bank transfer to the association's account, with a receipt, is far better than cash handed over during the summer holidays. Check with the SGG which declaration obligations apply to your case.

Is donation crowdfunding an option?

Law 15-18 created a framework for crowdfunding, including a donation-based form. The ceilings are MAD 450,000 per project and MAD 250,000 per individual contributor, and donation platforms must be licensed by Bank Al-Maghrib (AMMC).

Before launching a campaign, check with the platform that your association can run a project on it, and that the platform is actually licensed. Operating without a licence exposes the operator to criminal penalties, and your donors to a risk they didn't choose.

How can a diaspora donor check an association?

Giving from a distance raises the same question as investing from a distance: who are you dealing with? Four checks cover the essentials.

The receipt and the articles. Ask for them. An association in good standing provides them without fuss.

The activity report. What did it do last year, with what means, for how many beneficiaries?

The project budget. What does it cost, item by item, and who else is funding it?

The receiving account. The donation should land in an account in the association's name, never in a board member's.

That's exactly what the M Invest portal requires from an associative project before publishing it: the articles and the receipt are mandatory, while the activity report and budget are recommended and count towards file completeness. Associative projects can be browsed publicly, with no account, on the associative projects page.

How do you present an associative project that convinces?

A funder pays for a result, not an intention. An associative project file on the portal is built around that principle: funding goal, deadline, jobs target, direct and indirect beneficiaries, environmental impact, and up to three of the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals.

That data has a second life. The owner can generate a PDF impact report adding up the beneficiaries, jobs targeted, funding goals and SDGs of their associative projects. It's the document you attach to a grant application, or send to donors at the end of the year.

As for visibility, each document of an associative project can be made public or kept for members. The activity report gains from being public; a detailed budget can stay reserved.

Publish your associative project

If your association runs a project, submitting it on the portal gives you a structured file, a visible verification level and a public page to share with your donors. A cooperative follows a different, commercial logic: our portrait of the argan sector shows what's specific to it. For the wider picture, see investing in Morocco from abroad.

Choose my project-owner plan: the Gold plan lets you publish up to three associative projects, featured on the portal.