Standards and Principles

I. Management and administration systems

Principle: A Community Foundation (CF) is legally constituted as a foundation with the mission of supporting the development of a geographic area defined by statute.

A Community Foundation operates programs in its geographical area. When a Community Foundation has the opportunity to develop programs in the area served by another community foundation, it will enable partnership with that foundation. A CF can accept donations from outside its geographical area.

Principle: The Foundation is independent and free of the direct or [tooltip title=”Direct or indirect affiliation with an organization, institution, company or political party includes the affiliation as a member, the affiliation as a member of the steering committee, holding majority of shares, being an employee of the organization or institution, receiving financial benefits from an organization or institution or being first or second-degree relative of someone who receives.”]indirect[/tooltip] control  of an individual, organization, institution, company or political party.

Standards:

1. The management board of a CF consists of at least 5 people and at least 50 % of the board members must reside in the community.
2. A person that has a leadership position (at a national, county or local level) in a political party can’t be part of the steering committee or the executive management of the Foundation.
3. No institution, organization, company, political party or individual has direct or indirect influence or control over 33 % or more than 33 % of the members of the management board of the Foundation.

Principle: The foundation has an active board of directors that act with integrity, they understand the community’s needs and reflect on its diversity.

Standards:

1. The Foundation has a receiving process of the management board members that ensures the understanding of their role in the foundation’s structure and legal responsibilities.
2. Board members may not receive financial reward for their contribution to the work of the Foundation and do not receive preferential treatment in business relations with the CF.
3. A Foundation will not fund organizations or institutions affiliated with Board Members, founders, management team or grant-making committee members. It will not provide financial support through scholarships or any other form of individual financial support for those that were mentioned above or for their first and second-degree relatives. The Foundation may enter into partnerships with these organizations to mobilize resources.

Principle: The Foundation has a professional and transparent management.

Standards:

1. A CF has an annual operational plan reviewed and approved by the management board.
2. A CF has for the management board a clear and transparent policy on supervision of financial transactions, accepting donations, fund management and investment grants, ethics and transparency of the Community Foundation’s activity. The implementing process of these policies is monitored annually by a censor and/ or by an external expert at board’s request. The results of this audit are available for the expert/ committee responsible with the national accreditation standards.
3. Community foundations perform annually an independent control conducted by an auditor registered at the Chamber of Financial Auditors of Romania, employing international auditing standards. The deadline for finalizing the financial audit is 30th of June, next year of the audited one. An annual report for the previous year is available on the website and in a printed version, ​​no later than the 31^th of July. The Foundation’s website will publish the previous annual reports, at least for the last three years. The report shows a list with all of the organizations and beneficiaries of grants and scholarships with their full names and with the granted amounts. It also provides a clear view of the financial situation of the Foundation, including major areas of incomes and expenses, as well as assets and permanent funds.

Principle: The foundation is in permanent contact with the community foundations’ movement agenda by providing information, actively participating in annual events, online dialogue and other joint actions of community foundations.

Standard: CF provides for the Community Foundations of Romania a summary that contains information about its funds, donors, board and volunteers, grants awarded and annual financial situation based on the monitoring system nationally agreed.

1. Grant making and community leadership

Principle: The steering committee and CF’s staff seek proactively to understand the essential needs, resources and opportunities in their geographical area.

Standard: The Foundation initiates dialogue with beneficiaries and donors for setting the goals of funding programs and requests a clear description and justification of needs in the forms that ask for funding.

Principle: A CF provides support for the potential beneficiaries of a grant in order for them to understand the policies and processes of grant making and to plan and effectively communicate their own projects and ideas.

Standard: The Foundation communicates to the public the funding opportunities through a clear documentation of these processes, including decision-making criteria. A CF must have clear and accessible application forms for funding requests. A CF must also provide additional information on the request of those who are eligible for funding.

Principle: Takes all necessary steps to ensure that grants are used for the intended and contracted purposes.

Standard: CF requires from its beneficiaries to submit narrative and financial reports and also documentation that support the reports. The Foundation verifies these expenses in relation to grant’s purpose.

III. Resource mobilization and philanthropy development

Principle: The fundraising activities are based on continuous communication and negotiation with the donors, developing trust and transparency with those who contribute with resources.

Standards:

1. A CF provides for the donors information about the opportunities they have to support their community and send them regular updates (at least annually) on how their resources were used.
2. A CF, during the development of a funding program, communicates to donors the fixed amount/ percentage of the raised funds that is going to be invested in the community as grants and the amount/ percentage that will cover the administrative expenses of the Foundation (grant making phase, communication, fundraising and administration).
3. A CF keeps confidential all the private information about donors and eventual donors acquired throughout the philanthropic process.