Non-governmental organisations, foundations, and associations appeared in Poland at approximately the same time as in the countries of Western Europe. Initially, they were predominantly involved in charity work, later they also took up corporate, cultural, educational and scholarly work, together with activities related to the promotion of the idea of social development and solidarity. Some were religious in character, some totally secular. During the Second Republic (1918 - 1939), non-governmental organisations enjoyed rapid development. The Second World War and the period of Communist domination that followed caused an enormous drop in social activity and organisation, and a part of the NGOs were abolished and their assets confiscated by the state, while others were assimilated by ideologically-oriented institutions.

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In independent Poland, non-governmental organisations have entered on educational activities for young people, establishing private schools or foundations to support state schools. Scholarship funds and aid programmes were created to provide help for gifted students from poor backgrounds and other applicants (the Foundation for Polish Science, the Polish Foundation for Science Advancement, the Stefan Batory Foundation). Student unions such as NZS (the Independent Student Association) and ZSP (the Polish Students' Association) operate at Polish universities. International student unions (e.g. European Student Forum, AEGEE or AISEC - the International Association of Economic and Trade Science Students) have their representations as well. NGOs drawing directly on the scouting tradition, ZHP (the Polish Scouting Association) and ZHR (the Republican Scouting Association), work with children and young people:

The Culture Foundation, the Frederic Chopin Foundation, and the foundations and associations for the preservation and promotion of the Polish cultural heritage are some of the largest non-governmental organisations involved in cultural affairs.

Poland is a country with numerous specialist organisations for the protection of human rights (e.g. the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights or the Polish branch of Amnesty International), monitoring the observance of human and civil rights in Poland and working for the protection of those rights (including prisoners' rights) in countries regarded as non-democratic.

There is a large pro-ecological group of NGOs involved in environmental protection and the promotion of sustainable development (e.g. a Foundation called "Our Earth" , which coordinates the Clean up the World movement, the Social Ecological Institute, the Foundation for the Support of Ecological Initiatives, and the Citizens' Ecological Movement).

Important work is being carried out by the ITAKA Foundation, which searches for missing persons and supports and provides assistance to their families, as well as by the Res Humana Polish foundation of humanitarian aid, the Solidarni Plus association, the TADA society for the prevention of HIV/AIDS, operating in communities particularly exposed to sexually transmitted diseases, and for the counteracting of paedophilia.

The biggest non-governmental charity organisations include:

- The Polish Red Cross (PCK)

- Caritas Polska - a Roman Catholic charity and aid organisation

- The Polish Humanitarian Organisation

- The SOS Foundation

- WOSP : The Great Christmas Charity Orchestra Foundation

Community organisations sometimes perform administrative functions, replacing government administration in some strictly defined aspects of public life. For instance, the Polish Hunting Association, an association of hunters, manages game hunting, sets restrictions on game hunting, sees that the close seasons are kept and helps in the raising and feeding of wild animals. The Polish Fishing Association has similar responsibilities for freshwater fishing and licence-issuing.

Some NGOs have transformed into professional associations, whose autonomy is guaranteed by separate provisions. Membership of professional corporations is mandatory in some profesions, e.g. for lawyers, notaries, medical doctors, or architects. These organisations are obligatory, i.e. anyone who wants to practice in a profession subject to corporate regulations must meet conditions set by these bodies. In such cases the state has devolved a part of its authority to non-governmental organisations. The advantage of this is that it is less expensive than the creation of a separate governmental department and, in accordance with the standards in democratic countries, interested parties themselves are given the right to decide about the conditions for practice in the free professions

Trade unions are a separate category of non-governmental organisations - their members are workers, usually from a single branch of industry.

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International non-governmental organisations are also active in Poland. Some of them (e.g. the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Robert Schuman Foundation, the Education for Democracy Foundation, the Friedrich Bert Foundation, the Polish-American Freedom Foundation) support Polish NGOs in the process of implementing social dialogue and developing a civic society in democratic Poland.

In science and technology, Polish engineers and scientists cooperate with their colleagues within the framework of non-governmental organisations like the Pacem in Maribus International Ocean Institute (IOIPM), International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD), the International Academy of Aeronautic and Space Medicine (IAASM), the International Dairy Federation, the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the International Geographic Union (IGU), the International Political Science Association (IPSA), the International Commission of Scientific Management of Agriculture (ICSMA), the International Union of Architects (IUA), the International Federation of Surveyors (IFS), and the International Association of Medical Laboratory Technicians (IAMLT).

International cultural organisations, working with Polish non-governmental organisations or cultural institutions, include the International Council of Music (ICM), the European Association of Music Festivals (EAMF), the International Theatrie Institute (ITI), the International Arts Association (IAA), and the International Association of Art Critics (IAAC).