Odorheiu Secuiesc Community Foundation is one of the oldest foundations in Romania. Its history begins in 2008, when a handful of people from NGO and business backgrounds came together to lay the foundations of a strong future for their city and community. They set off on their mission to encourage philanthropy and to promote and support local initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life in Odorheiu Secuiesc.
In 2010, the Cristuru Secuiesc Community Fund was established as a regional fund of the Odorheiu Secuiesc Community Foundation, in order to cover the real needs of the community in Odorheiu Secuiesc.
The Foundation has tried to bring back to life the old concept of “claca”, consisting of volunteer work done by community members in order to help each other and make changes in their community. The first edition of Claca Urbană or “Városi Kaláka”, as the locals call it, took place in 2008, when more than 120 local volunteers, with the help of a local newspaper and the Town Hall, renovated the playgrounds in four neighborhoods. The project quickly took roots in the community and continued to grow each year.
Most of the projects carried out by the Odorheiu Secuiesc Community Foundation have followed this principle, encouraging people to come together and work to achieve a common goal. For example, through the Kalaka Plusz program, the Foundation encourages families in the region to donate – for one year – to a project of their choice, which resulted in 394 donors and 20,482 lei in 2016 alone.
The Community Card program, devised and launched in 2009 by the Foundation, has succeeded in involving more than 15,000 community card holders in the region. Each time they shop with this loyalty card they automatically donate a percentage of the amount spent, and also decide which projects receive backing from the fund thus created. In 2016 they raised nearly 110,000 lei for 19 community projects.
Through the Kalaka Unitarian Fund, started in 2011 with the support of the Harvest Hope Foundation from the US, the Foundation wants to help the Unitarian rural communities in Transylvania by involving locals, with a significant personal contribution. In five years, 50 grants have been allocated (for the restoration of houses, churches, community centers, for various courses, equipping playgrounds, etc.), with 134 volunteers being involved in the organization of the 2016 edition.
In 2017, the Foundation celebrated ten years of activity. Being one of the oldest organizations from our community foundations network, FC Odorheiu Secuiesc has been noted for its courage and innovation in its work, be it fundraising, grant-making or community mobilization. During this decade, the foundation financed 514 projects and initiatives worth 2,435,419 lei.
To remain the same valuable player in the community, the team launched the 2017 strategic goals for the next seven years. For FC Odorheiul Secuiesc, programs in education, environment, development of philanthropy at local level and civil society will play a vital role.