Beginning with the concept of social exclusion and poverty, we explain what they mean, the difference between them, which social groups are at risk and what are the reasons for that. Poverty and social exclusion have a different meaning, and even though a person can be poor it doesn’t have to mean that the person is socially excluded. The concept of social exclusion is a broader concept than poverty, also social exclusion covers the term of poverty. Social exclusion means poor social status in society and not participating in social activities, and for that reason in this paper we are researching the two concepts, and the differences between them. Certain groups of population are at greater risk of poverty and social exclusion than the rest of the population. Those groups are more endangered, and they are more frequently mentioned in the context of poverty and social exclusion. The particularly vulnerable groups are the young people, women, migrants, single parents and others. Education, healthcare and employment are foundations for a normal life, and if a person has an access to those benefits, he will have a much better chance for social inclusion and avoiding poverty. The EU 2020 Strategy is a fundamental document for the fight against poverty and social exclusion in the European Union. The EU 2020 Strategy is devoted to the consequences of the global economic crisis, as well as the challenges the European Union faces, including the risk of poverty and social exclusion. One of the forms of poverty is energy poverty, which affects the health of individuals and the growth of energy prices sin recent years just adds more to it. Energy poverty prevents people with participation in normal life activities, in other words it socially excludes them. The European Union has a number of institutions that are dealing with the issue of poverty and social exclusion, some of them are European Social fond (ESF), Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD), EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI), and all of them in cooperation with humanitarian organizations deliver concrete measures of help. In addition to the institutions of the EU, more humanitarian organizations are addressing the issue of social exclusion and poverty, and their help is more accessible for individuals in Croatia, especially trough the concept of social self-service stores.