Definition

A Romanian United Foundation Affiliate Organization is a nonprofit entity that has met all criteria for approval (described below) and has been approved by RUF's Board of Directors and is consequently eligible to receive pass-through donations that are tax-deductible in the United States and funding from RUF. As a result, donors in the United States can make tax-deductible donations to RUF that will be transferred 100% pass-through to the organization.

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How to Apply

To apply to become an affiliate organization of the Romanian United Foundation (RUF), an organization typically needs to follow these steps:

  1. Review Eligibility Criteria: understand the requirements for affiliate organizations, including alignment with RUF's mission, non-profit status, and operational history.

  2. Prepare Documentation: Gather necessary documents such as legal non-profit status, mission statement, past project details, and financial reports.

  3. Submit an Application: Complete the affiliate application form, available on RUF's website. Include all required documentation and a detailed proposal of how your organization's mission aligns with RUF's goals.

  4. Wait for Evaluation: After submission, RUF will likely review your application to assess compatibility and potential for collaboration.

  5. Interview or Meeting: Be prepared for an interview or meeting with RUF representatives to discuss your application and potential partnership in more detail.

  6. Agreement and Onboarding: If approved, there will be an agreement to sign, followed by an onboarding process to integrate your organization into the RUF network.

Criteria for approval

Eligibility criteria

The same eligibility criteria for Community Partners apply to Affiliate Organizations:

  • They must be registered as a nonprofit Association or Foundation (501c3 equivalent)
  • Their mission must be aligned with RUF’s Mission
  • Their activity and proposed project(s) must be within RUF’s Areas of Focus
  • They must be at least two years old
  • They cannot have any political affiliations
  • They must comply with all granting requirements for USA funds (as listed on the IRS website)

Evaluation criteria

  • Transparency: yearly reports + financial statements
  • Effectiveness: Organizations that demonstrate a successful activity in the past
  • Efficiency: Operational costs below 25% and many times much lower
  • Financial viability: Not bankrupt, payments up to date
  • Governance: Strong leadership team, Independent Board of Directors
  • Reputation: Untarnished reputation in the industry and online

Affiliate Organizations vs. Community Partners

Romanian United Foundation has a long-term contract with its Community Partners, providing support, guidance, fundraising expertise, and access to RUF's regular fundraising campaigns. We continuously work with our Community Partners throughout the year.

RUF's relations with its Affiliate Organizations is more ad hoc, on a project-by-project basis. Although we may promote our Affiliates to our Diaspora community via our website or during our various fundraising programs, we do not do regular fundraising for Affiliate Organizations and our interactions are more limited.

Affiliate Organizations are prime candidates for being selected as new Community Partners in the future, especially if they prove sustained activity and a systemic impact, as described below.

Required Documents

See our Affiliate Organization Registration Page.

Contracting and reporting

The affiliate organization (grantee) will sign a Contract of Affiliation, according to which to organization has the following obligations:

  • to file a timely report after the conclusion of the campaign, or no more than 6 months after the transfer of the money

  • to mention RUF on all communications pertaining to the campaign financed by RUF

Affiliate Organization Status

The affiliate status allows the organization to . It is an elevated status that provides access to the community partner selection process in the future.

Financial Requirements

A minimum amount of $5,000 of outside sources in the United States must be available for election.

NOTE: this particular requirement can be waived for the purposes of allocating the Ukrainian Peace Fund grants. Strong letters of recommendation are required to account for waving the outside sources requirement.