Raport Anual Baylor 2019 Baylor Annual Report 2019 EN | Page 6

A Grant Is Not a Gift or Charity - It Is an Investment All the services we offer depend on funding obtained through grant writing. Every grant awarded to Baylor, mainly from international organizations, transforms into services for people living with HIV and hepatitis B or C from the local community, or into educational activities for students, nurses, and psychologists. Also because of these grants, Baylor has been able to test people for HIV and hepatitis B and C free of charge for nearly two decades. Grant writing is a long process that starts with looking for funding opportunities for the type of services that Baylor aims to implement or are already in progress. Then it continues with writing a grant proposal in which the idea is presented as one of the first steps to building sustainable, long-term, replicable healthcare programs for the area where we operate and beyond. Our petitions are supported by the outcomes and findings we have gathered over the years providing care for our beneficiaries diagnosed with chronical illnesses. Once the application is submitted, there’s a long waiting period for a final answer. A grant is an exchange relationship: A funder wants to address the same The Power of One People in our community become emotionally engaged with the constant presence of Baylor Black Sea Foundation, and many of them decide to make donations to support our operations. Of course, they need to know what they are contributing to. The increased awareness of our operations helps to channel attention not only towards the benefits Baylor brings to the community, but also the ways individual donors may turn their contributions into healthcare benefits for others. Allowing the public to know at all times the cost of each type of service helps with accountability. We are committed to making information about the Foundation’s investments for specific services widely available. Therefore, we maintain a special section on our website where anyone can access brief descriptions of our current campaigns and their cost: https://www. baylor.ro/fundatia/campanii/curente. This gives donors the opportunity to select the type of service they wish to support. We also use other channels, such as social media platforms, to keep our community informed. Individual donors are valuable and highly regarded supporters of our operations, sharing common values and goals for a healthier community. Mihaela BOGDAN, Projects Manager problem as Baylor and trusts that Baylor is the most qualified to provide solutions. When funders award us grants, they invest towards meeting both Baylor’s and their own mission. Therefore, it is always mandatory to keep a close record of the results of our efforts towards our goals and objectives. The grant application process never becomes easier, no matter how much experience you have as an organization. Times change, possible funders come and go, and the general interest in supporting programs for people living with HIV has waned over time. The process of grant writing requires dedication, staff involvement, a willingness to learn and adapt, and total transparency in all activities implemented at Baylor. If you like our programs and believe they make a difference for the local community, or made a difference for you, don’t forget that you can contribute to our progress by making a donation to Baylor Black Sea Foundation, including directly to the project you want to support. Small donations can make as much a difference as a big grant, and these are applied in the same conditions of maximum transparency and efficiency. Ştefania MIHALE, Manager of Medical Programs Development 6 7