Developing Community Foundations

Program Mission

The program aims to support the building of an active community foundations

movement, by supporting the set up and development of new community
foundations, strengthening existing foundations and helping develop infrastructure
and a supportive environment for the community foundations movement.

Program Vision

Community Foundations will be active centers for local philanthropy, providing a

platform for the engagement of large variety of private donors in fostering
community development.

They will act as innovative and independent funders, responding to local needs
and opportunities, balancing the interests of various stakeholders and building
sufficient material assets to play a meaningful local development role.

They will be preferred partners to local development players and build a broad
base of support for their work in the community. They will have motivated and
knowledgeable human resources involved as boards, staff and volunteers.

They will be successful in building a national profile, being recognized by

relevant audiences as key philanthropic institutions.

National support systems and structures will be in place for the continuous
development of existing and emerging community foundations.

By 2017:

 45% - 50% of Romanian population will have access to a community

foundation.
 Larger and older CFs will grant around $125,000 per year, CFs in smaller
communities at least $50,000 after 5 years of experience.
 Community foundations will have granted in communities $ 2.5 million.
 There will be around 16 CFs of different sizes and ages, with at least 2
new community foundations being built by then and at least 12 of the
existing foundations and initiative group operating continuously and
expanding their work within CF model boundaries.

Boundary Partners

 Community foundations (already existing);

 Community foundation initiative groups;
 Federation of Community Foundations in Romania; partner and donor
organizations interested to support or cooperate with the movement;
 Opinion leaders, professional advisers, potential supporters, policy makers.

Outcome challenges
Locally, community foundations will:
 Encourage and support local philanthropy by bringing donors to the table
as community builders, and helping them formulate and realize their
philanthropic goals, matching their interests and concerns with community
needs and organizations, and finding innovative and responsible ways to
give their investments lasting impact.
 Promote volunteering and active citizenship by engaging local citizens in
needs assessment, program development, program decision-making, and
fundraising for local initiatives. CFs strive to engage as Board and staff
members a diverse group of people who broadly reflect their community.
 Tackle important social issues by creating broad local partnerships among
all key stakeholders to tackle these issues in their area. CFs support
improvement, vitality, and innovation in all corners of a community by
granting funds to the widest possible range of organizations and initiatives.
 Take a leadership role in the community by creating a powerful
community spirit that brings together all types of people. This leadership
is based on extensive local knowledge, strong links into communities and a
reputation for successfully facilitating change.
 Build capacity of local non-profit organizations supporting them to
become more efficient, effective and better equipped to face the challenges
in their local area, by providing financial support for development and
learning and leveraging additional resources and expertise.
 Develop and document local knowledge by maintaining close contact with
their community and facilitating the development of local, grassroots
knowledge about the local needs and potential development solutions.
 Develop long-term resources for long-term solutions by working with
donors to build endowment funds that ensure vital futures for
communities.

At the level of the national movement, community foundations will:

 Communicate with peers, developing common products and programs and
supporting the introduction of newcomers and sharing of specific expertise
inside CF movement.
 Show commitment to quality improvement, investing in their own learning
and assessing critically their own role and performance as a part of a
national interaction and debate within and outside community foundations
movement.
 Communicate their vision and success and establish their professional
expertise in key audiences at the national and international level.

Community foundations initiative groups:

 Opinion leaders and professionals in geographic areas with economic
potential will learn about community foundations and will be inspired to
invest their energy in building a strong foundation in their community.

Opinion leaders, professional advisers, potential supporters, policy makers

 Opinion leaders, professional advisors, potential supporters and policy
makers at the national and international level will learn about community
 foundations and will be inspired to partner, support or create an enabling
environment for their work.
 Policies for philanthropy, endowment/legacies and grant-making and
giving/payment mechanisms will be supporting effective and efficient
practices of community foundations in these areas.

Strategies
 Create and manage a development fund to support start-up and contribute
to the operations of the foundations in their first years of life
 Stimulate investment in building reserve funds and endowments
 Support the learning and exchange of experience with peers
 Document CF practices, evolution and successes
 Engaging CF in national strategic planning and monitoring critical
standards and performance indicators
 Support the development of CF self representation, as an independent
network/federation
 Promote community foundations to national and international audiences
and encourage self-promotion
 Encourage community foundation participation in development of relevant
national policies;
 Enlarge the network of partners and donors for CF movement.