PACT - Community Enterprises Development Program

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The BYP team (Beyond Youth Potential) merges volunteering and advertising in Voluntising, a project that we enthusiastically joined. The idea was born in may and since then, it has shaped into 3 TV spots made by volunteers, that met great succes among young people.

PACT Foundation is looking for community facilitators in Prahova, Dambovita, Ialomita, Calarasi, Giurgiu and Ilfov counties, to help with the Community-based Organizations Development Program, from September 2010 to February 2012. The program is at its 5th round and is financed by the Trust for Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe (www.ceetrust.org)

Project title:

COMMUNITY ENTERPRISES DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Description:

The project aimed at supporting alternative income-generation activities that would create an appropriate environment for the economic inclusion of disadvantaged groups. In order to achieve this goal, the project started supporting the creation and development of 7 community enterprises in 7 rural and urban communities in the Southern part of the country.

A community enterprise is an economic activity facilitated and developed by a community-based organization or group, in order to contribute to the economic development of a community and to facilitate the economic inclusion of disadvantaged groups. A community enterprise mobilizes and bring added value to community resources, creates jobs and reinvests the profits in the community.

Location:

Dolj, Gorj, Mehedinti, Valcea, Olt, Teleorman and Arges counties

Duration:

June 2007 - May 2008

Goal:

The Community Enterprises Development Program aimed at contributing to the economic development of disadvantaged communities.

Beneficiaries:

In June 2007, 7 community-based organizations were selected to participate in this project:
• Rudezis Association (Giurgita commune, Dolj county)
• Humanity Rom Association (Iancu Jianu commune, Olt county)
• Muscel Association for Education and Culture (Campulung Muscel, Arges county)
• “I Care For You” Association (Breasta commune, Olt county)
• PROEUROYOUNG Association (Malu Mare commune, Dolj county)
• Soul To Soul Foundation (Ramnicu Valcea, Valcea county)
• Panaghia Community Development Association (Panaghia village, Calopar commune, Dolj county)

The project addressed active organizations, which work in a participatory manner with community members, towards the integration of marginalized and disadvantaged groups.

Activities:

The 7 community-based organizations selected in the program would benefit from:
• 10 training days (divided into 3 training modules) on the following issues: mobilizing community members for starting a community enterprise, the concept and process of community enterprise development, entrepreneurship skills, enterprise plans and feasibility studies, products and services development, marketing and client management, financial management.
• 4 consultancy visits in the community, to the purpose of supporting the community-based organizations in assessing the needs and resources within the community, analyzing the entrepreneurial potential and drawing a market analysis, in the elaboration of a enterprise plan and in the process of initiating and managing a community enterprise that would provide jobs within the community and produce an income to be reinvested within the community.
• financing – Foundation PACT and the community-based organizations will jointly identify ways to finance the community enterprises, through fundraising campaigns, partnerships with micro-financing institutions or project proposals addressed to institutional donors.

Project results:

Following this project, 7 community based organizations have gained knowledge and abilities regarding the initiation of community affairs. From among these, 4 organizations have elaborated business plans for initiating a community affair and 2 of these organizations even managed to start a business - a traditional Oltenian carpet workshop in Giurgita commune (Dolj county) and a hairdresser’s saloon in Iancu Jianu locality (Olt county).

With the support of Provident Financial Romania, PACT Foundation granted 5000 euros financing for the development of the traditional carpet workshop. Within this pilot project, PACT Foundation has developed a training and consultancy methodology for developing community affairs, which the Foundation intends to use in future projects as well.

Donors:

USAID through World Learning, Charles Stuart Mott Foundation and Provident Financial Romania

Contact person:

Magdalena Tancau, Program Coordinator

Documente proiect:

DescrierereProiectAfaceriComunitare.doc

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