Fundatia Comunitara Galati (FCG)

Galati Community Foundation aims to become an engine of change in the south-est region of Romania. We are in constant contact with local NGOs and know the recipients and their projects. We have a network of donors - individuals and companies in Galati - and we are always working to expand. We organize events in which we bring them all - NGOs and donors - in one place, thus creating bridges between community needs and resources to meet them.

Galati Community Foundation is not an isolated project. There are community foundations and other large cities in Romania. Operating from the same mold, community foundations have essentially one purpose - to create a better community, encouraging people and businesses to support and fund local initiatives.

Galati Community Foundation's mission is to improve lives and provide philanthropic community leadership activities by promoting community solutions and actions that support the common good. Galati Community Foundation is a partner in identifying community needs by initiating and developing projects for the benefit of Galatians through their active contribution.

Our goals are:
- Developing the capacity of local NGOs;
- Developing a community of donors involved in supporting local projects;
- Strategic partnership (with the civil society) in public decision making;
- Mechanisms of financial support for various initiatives;
- Inspiration and training initiative for young people in the community.

Generosity, diversity, commitment and innovation, coupled with integrity, responsibility and trust are values in the spirit of which we built the Galati Community Foundation and we work together with community members for the sole benefit of the community.

One of our programs is called YouthBank. At the basics of YouthBank is the fact that young people are the ones who will shape the future. Ironically, their present opportunities for doing this are not always… present. So, youth potential, their creativity and energy are only partial valued by society. Even where there are volunteer opportunities, young people seldom participate in the process of making decisions. YouthBank provides for young people a framework to work together and make decisions regarding their community. Every year, in Romania about 15 youngsters aged between 15 and 20 years from each town where the program is implemented, known as “the youngest bankers from Romania”, create, promote and transparently administrate a special fund in order to finance projects implemented by high school students. The program is a mechanism for encouraging youth behavior regarding: philanthropy, civic initiative and responsibility.

Another important project directed towards youth is the Scholarship Fund for school dropout prevention has a mentoring component that we implement both through group activities and one to one sessions.

A third program we are proud to be part of is in partnership with Princess Margarita of Romania Foundation and is called Generation, the Community Center. In the 4 centers we coordinate, we work with kids with fewer possibilities and elderly people. The elderly are the volunteers who help the kids in different activities.