PACT Foundation – Partnership for Community Action and Transformation is a non-governmental not-for-profit organization that activates in the fields of community development and social economy. PACT was registered in March 2006 under the Law no. 246/2005 in approval of Ordinance no. 26/2000 regarding associations and foundations. The foundation’s office is in Bucharest and it runs activities (local development programs and projects) in rural and small to medium-sized urban localities in South Romania (South-Muntenia and South-West Oltenia regions).

Our team has a wide experience in supporting civil society in South Romania – facilitating the establishment of new community groups and organizations since October 2002. PACT Foundation uses a complex methodology of training, facilitation, consultancy and seed-funding (small non-reimbursable grants). We run our own fundraising campaigns to be able to finance small community projects of community-based organizations or informal initiative groups that are involved in our programs.

PACT Foundation was founded by the team of the “Learning, Participation, Trust” Program for Developing Community-Based Organizations in South Romania. The first 2 rounds of the program in Romania were ran by Allavida (UK) and RACD (the Romanian Association for Community Development) between 2003-2006, contributing to the development of 23 community-based organizations capable of working in a participatory manner to resolve community needs. By the spring of 2010, PACT Foundation completes the 4th round of the “Learning, Participation, Trust” program. We are presently collaborating with approximately 70 community-based organizations.

PACT Foundation is a member of:

-    RuralNet, the network of organizations that activate in the field of rural community development in Romania; this network facilitates experience exchange regarding community development methodologies, projects and programs

-    National Network for Rural Development (RNDR), initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development to facilitate the transfer of information and knowledge necessary for the implementation of the National Plan for Rural Development

-    APARTE, the network of organizations activating in the field of community fundraising; membership in this network endows PACT Foundation with a better exposure to and understanding of the methodology and environment of community fundraising, thus contributing to the foundation’s success in implementing community fundraising plans

-    Romanian Donors’ Forum (FDR), a federation pursuing the mission to contribute to the sustainable development of civil society in Romania, by building donors’ capacity and promoting philanthropy; FDR stands for a sustainable civil society, where a wide range of resources support citizen involvement in solving local and national problems.

-     Central and Eastern European Citizens Network (CEE CN), a network that aims to promote citizen participation in the political environment and civil society, by offering opportunities for citizen initiatives at local, national and European level

Vision

Small communities in South Romania (villages and localities with less than 30,000 inhabitants) provide optimal living conditions that meet urban and ecological standards, being closely connected with the natural environment. Educated people aspire to live and work in these communities, are proud of their origins and have a strong sense of belonging to these places. Functional spaces and means for citizen participation are in place; people feel more self-confident, pay more attention to what goes on around them, they are more preoccupied and get actively involved in community life, willing to volunteer. Instead of waiting for solutions, people take initiative and step into action in order to solve their own problems, for they know and demand their own rights and have the power to change things they do not like or do not approve of; in their turn, local authorities react promptly to citizens’ requests. Disadvantaged people have ready access to services and income and they enjoy the support of the other members of the community. Community members have equal access to resources; at the same time, community dynamics makes it easy for each citizen to be prepared to react to change, bringing added value to own resources and taking advantage of new opportunities.

Mission

PACT Foundation aims to contribute to the sustainable development of communities by promoting local and regional initiatives, partnership and social responsibility.

Strategic Directions

For the period of 2009-2013, PACT Foundation aims to further concentrate on the inclusion of disadvantaged and marginalized groups and maintains its engagement to work in South Romania (South-Muntenia and South-West Oltenia development regions), mainly activating in rural communities, but also in small and medium-sized localities. Our programs, projects and activities underlie on the following 3 strategic directions:

I. Developing Community-Based Organizations

This represents our main approach to development – the establishment of civil society structures (community-based organizations) in rural communities, as well as small and medium-sized urban communities. These structures are to contribute to the development of their community, collaborating with local and regional development actors in order to gain abilities in project elaboration, to learn how to raise and mobilize resources from and for the community, and to work in a participatory transparent manner with community members, local public authorities and institutions, other NGOS and various economic agents. 

Target groups:
     - disadvantaged and/or marginalized groups and communities
     - community-based organizations (CBOs)
     - not-for-profit organizations interested in community development or in the participatory development of projects and programs
     - local public authorities and institutions

Strategic objectives:

1. Encourage and support the establishment of new CBOs in the 2 target regions
2. Assist and support the continuous development of existing CBOs from the 2 target regions, so that their communities work more efficient and sustainable and have a greater impact on community life 
3. Support CBOs in building capacity of marginalized/disadvantaged groups, so as to improve the living conditions in their communities
4. Encourage partnerships and participatory practices among local actors from the communities in the 2 target regions
5. Stimulate social responsibility of individuals, communities and the business environment

II. Social Economy

Stimulating local economy is one key element of the local development process. We are interested in initiating actions to provide financial education and develop entrepreneurial skills, as we believe that these lead to a better use of local resources, a better service provision or creation of services much needed by the community, and generate income and employment for the community. PACT Foundation wishes to support the development of the social economy sector in Romania, by organizing meetings and workshops with organizations and institutions that are active in this field and by engaging in innovative projects of local economic development.

Target groups:
     - community-based organizations (CBOs) developed through programs or projects of PACT Foundation, working with and for disadvantaged groups in their communities
     - other interested NGOs from the 2 target regions, whose work involves capacity-building of marginalized groups
     - existent social enterprises
     - managers, experts, trainers and practitioners in the field of social economy
     - individuals (physical persons) belonging to vulnerable groups
     - public institutions, local authorities

Strategic objectives:

1. Assist and support the start-up and development of social enterprises in the 2 target regions
2. Improve living conditions of the communities by building capacity and solidarity, dynamics, pride and social identity, by diminishing marginalization and strengthening abilities of grasping opportunities, supporting the initiation of income-generating activities and creating employment in those communities
3. Promote and support local and regional socio-economic initiatives, disseminate and influence them towards the external environment, in order to consolidate PACT Foundation’s position on the social economy market and to develop the social economy field in Romania.

III. Influence the practice and theory of community development in Romania

Apart from its direct involvement in local communities, PACT Foundation is also interested in building on its practical experience derived from implementation of community development projects. To this purpose, we transpose experiences and lessons learned into documents, thus sharing our knowledge, in order to create bridges with the community development theory. PACT supports the community development sector in Romania and Central and Eastern Europe, by providing studies and research, training for professionals in this field and internship opportunities for students. We collaborate with other community development organizations, from Romania or from abroad, in order to influence practice and theory of community development and to impose the community development approach as a common denominator in local development. PACT Foundation also promotes, encourages and supports the development of Community Foundations – new structures meant to attract community funds for the implementation of various projects and ideas of community groups.

Target groups:
     - not-for profit organizations (from Romania or from abroad) interested in running community development or participatory development projects and programs
     - community-based organizations (CBOs)
     - local, county/regional and national public authorities and institutions
     - community foundations
     - students and professionals in the field of community development
     - social mass media

Strategic objectives:

1. Support the development of the community development field in Romania
2. Encourage and support knowledge sharing and experience exchange between national and international actors of community development, in Romania and abroad
3. Support networking activities between national and international actors of community development
4. Support the creation and development of alternative income generating sources for CBOs (i.e. through community foundations)
5. Promote and support social inclusion in Romania, at local and national level