STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP FOR REPRESENTATIVES OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES (STRAPAC) Strategic Partnerships Key Action 2 Sector: Adult Education PROJECT NUMBER 2017-1-RO01-KA204-037397 Deliverable ΙΟ.2 This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 1 Regional Development Foundation Cuprins Prologue ............................................................................................................................ 4 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 6 STRAPAC project objectives .............................................................................................. 6 Centre for Dialogue between Sciences and Theology ....................................................... 6 Regional Development Foundation ................................................................................... 7 MF Norwegian School of Theology in Oslo........................................................................ 7 The Local Action Group del Ducato ................................................................................... 7 The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki ............................................................................ 8 PART A. THEORY .................................................................................................................... 9 1.Exchange of Good Church Practices in Bulgaria in the Late 2010s ................................ 9 Traditions and Current Situation ....................................................................................... 9 Social work: the case of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church ................................................ 12 Children’s summer camp in a restored and active Bulgarian monastery ....................... 14 Parish centres with Sunday schools, interest clubs and kindergartens .......................... 15 Working with drug users ................................................................................................. 17 Church social kitchens ..................................................................................................... 18 Care for the homeless and the orphaned ....................................................................... 19 Support for the sick and the convicted ........................................................................... 20 Social activities of other Christian communities ............................................................. 20 Practices of the Islamic and Jewish communities ........................................................... 21 Other examples of religious charity ................................................................................ 22 2.The Roman Catholic perspective .................................................................................. 24 Caritas Italiana ................................................................................................................. 25 Absolute poverty: the socio-demographic profile of the poor in Italy ............................ 26 The faces of the poor met by Caritas: some figures ........................................................ 27 This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 2 Regional Development Foundation Needs and interventions ................................................................................................. 28 Educational and cultural poverty in Italy......................................................................... 28 The comparison with Europe .......................................................................................... 29 8 x mille ........................................................................................................................... 30 3.Welfare and Charity Work of the Romanian Orthodox Church ................................... 33 Metropolitan of Oltenia .................................................................................................. 35 Major projects implemented by the “Filantropia” Federation: ...................................... 41 Strategic Guidelines for Improving the Social and Charitable Work of the Romanian Church ............................................................................................................................. 49 4.The faith- based social services to people in need . The Greek experience ................ 52 The theological foundations of the Church Diaconia ...................................................... 52 Women in the diaconical work ........................................................................................ 54 5.The Norwegian Experience – causes of social exclusion in Norway (findings from the field study) ....................................................................................................................... 60 Religious ethical principles and human rights ................................................................. 61 Developments in the understanding of diakonia in the Nordic Countries ...................... 62 Welfare and religion ........................................................................................................ 63 Services provided by faith-based organisations .............................................................. 64 A step-by-step methodology ........................................................................................... 65 Good practices ................................................................................................................. 65 Specialised social workers and volunteers ...................................................................... 67 Training programmes attended and topics to be integrated .......................................... 68 PART Β - PRAXIS ................................................................................................................... 69 Leadership through Effective Communication ................................................................ 69 Organising community work ........................................................................................... 77 Put a fair amount of time and energy in writing the proposal ........................................ 78 Prepare an effective introduction to the project ............................................................ 78 Make your writing clear and effective ............................................................................ 79 State clearly goals and objectives.................................................................................... 79 This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 3 Regional Development Foundation Link your project to previous ones .................................................................................. 80 How to apply for European Funds ................................................................................... 80 How to organize fundraising campaigns? Creating a Fundraising Plan........................... 83 You need to Know Your Finances .................................................................................... 83 Plan Creation ................................................................................................................... 84 How to build your fundraising dream team? .................................................................. 86 Hiring and Training the staff ............................................................................................ 86 What is important to your organization, in terms of alignment with the mission ......... 86 Engaging Your Board ....................................................................................................... 87 Skills and Competencies for engaging your board: ......................................................... 87 Know What You’re Looking For ....................................................................................... 87 Good Practices in Faith-Based Organizations .................................................................. 88 Social assistance initiatives as a good practice and a possible model for other "anti- social exclusion" organizations ........................................................................................ 88 Good practices in Italy ..................................................................................................... 88 Bulgaria ............................................................................................................................ 91 Romania ........................................................................................................................... 92 Norway ............................................................................................................................ 93 Greece ............................................................................................................................. 97 Findings and recommendations .....................................................................................