Statement of the problem: Despite the recently introduced Charities and SocietiesrnProclamation by the government to ensure the constitutionally guaranteed right to the freedomrnof association and giving support and facilitating the role of the Charities and Societies in thernoverall development of the peoples of Ethiopia, there continues to be wide 5pread perception ofrnthe threat and insecurity on the parts of the civic society. Considering the indispensable rolernCivic society plays in the development and democratization process of the country, this study isrnundertaken to assess the question whether the recently introduced Charities and SocietiesrnProclamation has an impact on growth and engagement areas of Ethiopian and Internationalrnnon-governmental organizations.rnRationale: One of the rational is studies measuring the actual impact of the proclamation on thernscope of work of the Ethiopian and International non-governmental organizations from legal andrneconomic point of view is missing in the literature. Secondly, the Charities and SocietyrnProclamation law imposes vague and arbitrary criminal sanctions on those who violate itsrnprovisions and are punishable under the criminal code as well as by administrative sanctions.rnHowever, the impact of the law on criminal prosecution of the officials, members and voluntaryrnis an important legal issue that requires critical investigation. Thirdly, the CSOslNGOs law hasrncreated a state of controversy and lack of trust between the government and the civic societyrnsector. However, the actual perception of the CSOslNGOs sector towards the law on importantrnaspect of the law is not measured so far and this demands critical investigation. Finally, the lawrngoverning the Civic Society is found in different titles and in different proclamations on piecernmeal basis. This faci opens up for an excellent opportunity to study the legal knowledge of thernEthiopian and International CSOslNGOs and identifYing the gap between the perception and thernlaw.rnObjective: The main objective of the study is to assess Ihe impact of the charities and societyrnproclamation on the growth and engagement areas of Ethiopian and International nongovernmentalrnorganizations.rnMethods: Both primary and secondary data are used for the purpose of this study. Descriptivernand statistical tools such as Chi-square tests and independent sample t- test are used inrnanalyzing the data collected.rnMajor findings: One major finding is change of the name of registration of most local NGOsrninto Ethiopian Resident CSOsINGOs. Moreover, the research has found out that there is arndecrease in the total number of CSOsINGOs. In addilion to this, majority of the respondent 'srnnumber of beneficiaries and employee of the non-governmental Organizations have beenrnaffected. Almost half of CSOslNGOs have already been obliged to reduce the number of theirrnbranch offices and source of fund. Most organizations have made important evaluation andrnrevision of their establishment documents, area of intervention and made readjustment on theirrnmandate in accordance with Ihe new proclamation to cope up with the impacl of Ihe law. Therernare significant numbers of cancelation of organizations license involved in child developmentand care. There are also significant numbers of closing down organization due to failure of thernorganizations to be reregistered as per the new law.rnRecommendation: Creating an enabling environment for the operation of CSOslNGOs cannotrnbe guaranteed by the enactment af the law by itself unless it is complemented by reducing thernrestrictian on foreign fonding. In this regard it is better to intraduce that Ethiopian ResidentrnCharity and Societies can decrease the percentage af their dependence on foreign source afrnincome by 15 percent annually and then ultimately raise 90 percent from local sources.