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Romanian Civil Society Experts Seek Travel Grant To Attend International Fellowship In Nonprofit Governance

Region: Balkans, Central and Eastern Europe, Romania
Author: Civil Society Development Foundation
Consortium Member: ECOLOGIA Baltic Office
Status: Completed - Final Report Budget: $1540 Collected: $1540 Needs: $0
Result: Program participants from four continents gathered for two weeks of intensive training, workshops and networking on issues of board development.
Donors: The National Center for Nonprofit Boards (Washington, DC), with matching funding from the Trust for Mutual Understanding [November 1998]
Comment: The two representatives from Romania needed funding for their travel and visa costs, iin order to participate. The National Center for Nonprofit Boards, Washington DC, covered all of their expenses inside the U.S.


PROJECT NEED:

The Civil Society Development Foundation (CSDF) is a grant making and operating foundation establish with the support of the Phare Civil Society Development program of the European Union. Founded in1994, CSDF aims to strengthen non-governmental organizations and to promote their public recognition. Its' objectives are:

Between November 10 - November 24, 1998, NGO practitioners will meet in Washington DC for an intensive fellowship experience developed to provide an intensive exposure to issues surrounding the work of nonprofit boards of directors, combined with a training program to create a cadre of board development professionals that can give information, orientation, and facilitate the strengthening of boards of directors in various regions of the world.

Ileana IANCU is the Economic Director of C.S.D.F. Romania. She began working in nonprofit sector in May 1995, as Economic and Fund Raising Director at Romanian Save the Children. In 1996 she started as Financial Clerk at C.S.D.F. Romania than in 1997 she became the Economic Director and training consultant. She has experience in working with Board of Directors between April and September 1997 when she was the Ad-interim Executive Director. Ms. IANCU has very good communication skills, she works very well in team and under pressure, she is an activist in nonprofit sector.

Carmen Macavei is Project officer at CSDF. Since November 1996 she was part of the Training and Development Unit, being involved in the Financial management program. She is responsible for providing training and technical assistance to NGOs, particularly in the areas of nonprofit legislation, taxes, accountancy, etc.

The Fellowship program will combine a set of scheduled training and information-sharing activities, personal learning agendas developed by individual fellows, a National Leadership Forum conference with over 500 U.S.-based nonprofit leaders, and a training-of-trainers program for practitioners to draw from NCNB curricula and adapt it to the global context.

The National Center for Nonprofit Boards launched its International Program in 1995 to address the increasing importance of the role of NGOs, and it serves as a global resource on nonprofit governance. The program focuses on partnerships with local organizations in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe to help strengthen the boards of directors in their own countries. NCNB global partnerships build a new body of knowledge about nonprofit governance internationally, develop local trainers using NCNB methodology, and adapt NCNB materials through translation and adaptation to expand access to the resources. Participants in the International Fellowship become trainers and advocates for good governance practice within their own regions as well as globally.

PROJECTED RESULTS OF THE FELLOWSHIP:

Budget

(TOTAL FOR TWO FELLOWS FROM CSDF):
Program fee: $ 6,000
Accommodations, meals for 15 days: $ 3,900
Air Travel (Roundtrip Bucharest-Washington DC) $ 1,300
National Leadership Forum registration fees: $ 750
Visa Costs: $ 100
Health Insurance $ 80
VF Administrative Cost (10%) $140 (For $1400 requested from VF)
Total $12,270