Fondul pentru Democrație

From citizens comes power.

We need to climb this mountain together. We need to become ourselves, find ourselves and then do it again; to be many and powerful, to support and help each other. We will find and support civic champions who take initiative and can change the face of this country.

For the Fund for Democracy to exist, we need you. We who believe in a clean society, integrity and truth. We who have the guts to defend the principles in which we believe. We the many, the diligent, who work competently every day without complaining, and who do not expect handouts or someone else to defend our rights.

Why?

We believe that a transparent, honest and representative democracy takes time and money to build.

We have all seen it is not a given, and the only ones who can defend it are its involved citizens. Many want to get involved, but don’t know how or don’t have time, so they can make this transfer of responsibility through a monthly subscription to a fund which can shoulder the defense of democracy.

Vision

At a time of major risk of social polarization and fracturing within the European Union, we want to help in the building of a solid democracy. We encourage civic innovation which supports education and civic and political participation, the balance of state powers, independent journalism (including investigative journalism), and the fight against media manipulation and “fake news.”

To do this, we are creating and managing the Fund for Democracy, where individual monthly contributions are then redirected transparently and participate towards projects and organizations which find and implement innovative ideas in the aforementioned areas.

Become a member

How?

We will build a fund which will be the vehicle whereby we assist and support in the defending of democracy, by backing new or already existing projects and organizations.

By setting up this fund, we will create a very practical mechanism of social involvement available to everyone. Community members will be able to bring forth project ideas for financing, after passing through a selection process by the executive board and an online vote by the donor community.

The involvement will be as follows: regular donations (subscription); occasional donations or active involvement in the financed projects as volunteers. There will be regular communications regarding financed projects and results.

Where will the Fund for Democracy invest?

Depending on the future size of the Fund for Democracy, we propose investing in projects aimed at the following directions:

Consolidating civil society education and civic involvement
- Projects aimed at increasing voter turnout
- Civic education projects for the young
- Building bridges between various available resources, social groups and non-governmental organizations
An independent media and fighting media manipulation and “fake news”
- Independent journalism projects
- Analysis and investigative projects
- New media projects
The balance and separation of state powers
- Legislative monitoring and analysis
- Participation in legislative initiatives
Towards a professional political class – now and in the future
- Encouraging young people to participate in the political life
- Enhancing professional capacity of the present and future political class

We will support those projects which do not find financing through other sources, or CSR programs which could be considered too close to the sphere of politics.

We will request transparency in spending the funds, and will set performance goals to be attained together with community supporters.

You, the donors, are the founders. We need you not only for your financial contributions, but also to spread the word. The size of the projects and their number depend exclusively on your involvement as a donor of funds, time and expertise.

Today we ask you to donate what you think you would be able to sustain on a monthly basis to get the ball rolling. Whether it be big or small, please help.

Do you have any questions or sugestions? You can write us here

Privacy policy

Become a member

About us

#600pentrudemocratie is an informal group of people who believe that democracy is not a given, and keeping it costs time, money and involvement. Valeriu Nicolae (promoter of the idea, currently Special Representative of the General Secretary of the Council of Europe, human rights activist) advanced the idea of creating a fund with the aim to support independent journalism (with a focus on investigative journalism), and the reform of the political class. Over 1000 people offered their support and joined the #600pentrudemocratie group, in less than a month.
We are an open, informal group of citizens who want to put together their expertise and their resources for a better Romania. Today, the group has over 10,000 active members..

One of our main projects is FiecareVot, through which over 1000 citizens formally observed the electoral process in 2016 in more that 2000 polling stations. More details here.

Within our group, several initiatives emerged towards the idea of creating a fund for civic initiatives.
CENTRAS, The Assistance Center for Nongovernmental Organizations is an independent nonprofit organization with more than 20 years of experience providing training, technical assistance, and informational support to communities, NGOs, businesses, and governments interested in civil society and democracy development.

You can find us at www.centras.ro