National Youth Foundation in Romania (FNT) is opening a call for partner organisations interested in becoming long-term sending organisations for short-term European Solidarity Corps (ESC) volunteering teams. We are looking to build lasting relationships with sending organisations from across Europe who share our commitment to quality youth work and want to support their volunteers throughout the whole experience, not just at the moment of departure.
Our volunteering teams typically run for 59 days, bringing together young people who work alongside our youth centres on non-formal education, community engagement and events logistics. To make sure these placements are meaningful for everyone involved, we are inviting organisations with genuine experience in youth work to join us as long-term sending partners.
Why Partner With FNT
FNT is not a project office that only sends and receives volunteers, we are a national network of 18 County Youth Foundations, running youth centres, youth houses and clubs across the country, and we are the largest private employer of youth work staff in Romania, with a team of specialised youth workers, counsellors and community facilitators. Partnering with us means placing your volunteers with organisations that live and breathe youth work every day.
FNT is also the only full member from Romania of ERYICA, the European Youth Information and Counselling Agency, and a member of Trans Europe Halles. One of our member foundations holds the Council of Europe Quality Label for Youth Centres, one of only 15 such certifications across all Council of Europe member states. In the 2022 European Year of Youth, the FNT network registered over 1,800 activities nationwide, more than any other national network in Europe, including France, an achievement recognised with an award from Romania's national ESC and Erasmus+ agency.
Since 2022, FNT has also run Romania's largest youth-sector programme in support of Ukrainian refugee youth, from emergency response at the border to long-term community inclusion, work that has shaped how our teams welcome and support international volunteers coming into unfamiliar communities. This is the same network, infrastructure and experience your volunteers will become part of.
Who We Are Looking For
We would like to work with organisations that:
• Are serious and reliable partners, committed to a long-term collaboration rather than a one-off exchange;
• Have at least some experience working directly with young people;
• Are willing to publish our volunteer calls on the European Youth Portal, share them on their social media pages, and disseminate them within their own communities;
• Can offer volunteers at least one meeting per month to support them in adapting to their new community while they are in Romania;
• Prepare volunteers before departure, making sure they understand their Learning Agreement, tasks and what to expect from life in their host community;
• Share our commitment to inclusion, welcoming and supporting young people with fewer opportunities among their volunteers;
• Stay open and responsive throughout the stage, keeping communication with our team consistent from the volunteer's departure to their return home.
What We Offer
We see this as the start of a relationship, not a one-off exchange of volunteers. This is what a long-term partnership with FNT looks like in practice:
• Immediate membership in FNT's network of partners, from your very first volunteering team, not something you have to earn over years;
• Access to a nationwide network of 18 member youth foundations, each running its own youth centres, houses and clubs, more locations, more types of activities, and more opportunities to place future teams across Romania, not just in one city;
• A direct line of communication with our team for both your organisation and your volunteers, so you always know what is happening on the ground and your volunteers are never left to navigate things alone;
• Priority consideration as a partner in FNT's future Key Action 2 projects, larger, multi-year strategic partnerships with dedicated funding, bigger teams, and a much deeper level of cooperation than a single short-term call;
• A real path to long-term status, FNT holds the European Solidarity Corps Quality Label, so sending organisations that prove themselves through excellent, consistent cooperation can move from short-term teams to long-term volunteering stages of a year;
In short: the better the collaboration works, the more we grow it, from a single 59-day team, to a trusted place in our partner network, to strategic K2 projects, to long-term sending status. This is a partnership designed to get bigger over time, not stay the same size.
How to Get Involved
If your organisation is interested in becoming a long-term sending partner for our short-term volunteering teams, we would be glad to hear from you. Please fill in the application form below and our team will get in touch to discuss the next steps.
Sending Partner Application — Short-Term ESC Teams – Fill in form