Bucharest

Since 2007, the Bucharest Office has acted as GMF’s hub in the Black Sea region, supporting civil society, advancing leadership, and cultivating policy initiatives to strengthen the democratic foundations of its countries with grantmaking, study tours, research, and convening.

Through the Black Sea Trust (BST), a multi-million-dollar grantmaking initiative, GMF provides grants to organizations in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, and Turkey, as well as Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltics. BST’s grantmaking:

• builds citizen’s trust in their public institutions and strengthens critical set of structures
• affirms the value of citizen participation in the democratic process
• promotes  the involvement of  civil society in conflict resolution
• and fosters regional cross-border ties in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

As a platform for policy ideas, the Bucharest office champions regional views on issues of transatlantic and regional importance. Our work deepens knowledge of the region in the transatlantic policy community through high-level policy convening, study tours to the countries of the region, and research. Our impact on civil society is informed by our policy insights.

Ensuring the development and prosperity of the wider Black Sea Region hinges on fostering leadership. Together with GMF’s Leadership Program, the Bucharest office works to build leadership communities across Armenia, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine on contemporary governance issues, while looking at solutions through a transatlantic lens.