Sometimes, to see your community in a new light, you need to immerse yourself in different contexts. That’s exactly what representatives of four Ukrainian community foundations did during an international study visit to Romania within the framework of the “Resource Hub” project, where they explored the work of local community foundations such as SZKA – Székelyudvarhelyi Közösségi Alapítvány.
During the visit, participants had the opportunity to travel to several cities and learn about SZKA’s activities in Odorheiu Secuiesc, where the charity run Run for it unites the community for good causes. In Sibiu, they saw how Fundația Comunitară Sibiu transformed a marathon into a powerful hub of social investment. In Bucharest, they explored the development of local philanthropy with the Federation of Romanian Community Foundations (Federaţia Fundaţiile Comunitare din România) and found inspiration at the Seneca Anticafe idea space.
The participants’ own words say the most about the trip:
“What impressed me most was what they do and how they present it. We share both common and different experiences with Romanian community foundations, and there are useful practices we can adopt. Romania was a real discovery for me, especially the idea of charity runs — something worth adapting to our reality.”
— Sofiia Zinchuk, Zhytomyr Community Fund
“Trips like this are extremely important to us. We see other ways of developing communities, take the best ideas for ourselves, and also share our own practices. There’s much we can learn from each other — we have a lot of experience in the civic sector as well.”
— Larysa Polska, founder of Kherson Community Foundation ‘Zakhyst’
“For me, Romania was a true discovery. The people here are sincere and open to sharing their experiences. Their approaches to community engagement and cooperation with business are great examples for building our own community foundation network.”
— Ivan Bilskyi, Hostynets
“I personally learned about Romanian community foundations’ work with youth. Many of their practices were new to me, and we’re planning to incorporate them into our work.”
— Alla Novikova, Chair of the Board, Berezan Community Fund
This mutual exchange proved valuable not only for the Ukrainian delegation — Romanian foundations were also eager to learn about the experience of Ukrainian organizations, their work in wartime conditions, and their approaches to youth engagement and community mobilization.
Communities can grow and inspire each other across borders, united by shared values of philanthropy and trust.
Special thanks to GlobalGiving for their support.
