Romania: the third sector

Sector overview

According to the USAID NGO Sustainability Index 2006, in Romania there are 45,000 associations and foundations and more than 1,000 federations and unions. Among these organisations NGO sector experts estimate that the number of active NGOs is around 20,000.

The Civicus Report illustrates that two-thirds of NGOs are based in urban areas and only one-third in rural areas. Most of the resources available to the non profit organizations are concentrated in Bucharest and in Transylvania because these regions are traditionally better developed. Around 20% of Romanias NGOs are based in Bucharest while 37%. in Transylvania.

In terms of presence, the eastern and southern areas of the country are numerically weaker with 15% NGOs in Moldovia,14% in Multenia and Oltenia and 13% in Banat and Crisana.

Income

On average, Romanian Civil Society Organisations lack the inadequate financial resources to achieve their goals. The survey conducted by the Civil Society Development foundation CSDF in 2005 , with answers from 144 CSOs (mostly NGOs), shows that for 21% of the consulted organizations financial resources represent a serious problem. The majority (41%) describe their financial resources as inadequate, 35% are satisfied with the available funding for their organizations and only 2% are very content with their financial resources, which they regard as safe.

The Civicus report also reveals that environmental organizations seem to be the most affected by poor financial situation, with almost half declaring their financial resources to be a very serious problem and an additional 40% considering their financial resources to be inappropriate. Similar percentages are found in the sectors of education, culture and youth non profit organizations