Governance

Governance

Fondacio's governance is an organization and principles

An organization with different levels

Global level

The Fondacio Congress is held every 5 years. The last Congress was held in May 2018 in the Philippines. It is the highest governance body in Fondacio. It brought together 150 delegates from four continents to:

  • Build unity and communication
  • Welcome the directions for the future (2018-2023)
  • Elect the new President and the World Council
  • Ratify any statutory texts or documents

 

The Fondacio Council is composed of a dozen members with representatives from all continents.They have a 5-year mandate. Chaired and led by the President, the Fondacio Council is the guarantor of Fondacio's unity and identity in all countries where the movement is present.

It supports Fondacio's growth and its mission in the world, ensuring the exercise of subsidiarity while respecting the common identity.

The President of Fondacio in conjunction with his Council is responsible for Fondacio as a whole. On the basis of the guidelines adopted by the Congress and the decisions taken by the Fondacio Council, the President is responsible for the executive.

An executive team surround the President in charge of functional services for Fondacio as a whole (general secretariat, financial department, fundraising, communication, human resources, including international volunteering) and support for the implementation of the orientations received during the Congress.

An ecclesiastical assistant is chosen by the president with his Council, according to the law of the Catholic Church, and submits it to the confirmation of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, the Family and Life. The Fondacio Council, through its President in particular, maintains regular links with the Ecclesiastical Assistant with whom it takes a prior opinion on all major decisions relating to the life and mission of the Community.

National level

At the level of each country, there is the same type of organization with the National Assembly of Leaders, which meets at least once a year, the Country Council, and the Country Head appointed by the President of Fondacio, after consultation with the National Assembly of Leaders.

The Country Head with his or her country council can rely on support services to ensure the successful implementation of decisions taken for the country. He is in contact with the ecclesial leaders of the regions in which Fondacio is established.

Local level

In the cities where Fondacio operates, local teams have a certain form of autonomy in their organisation and activities, with reference to their Country Council.

 

 

A vision of Fondacio’s governance

Governing in Fondacio means exercising a pastoral function. That is a function of spiritual leadership for those who take part in the collective activities and realities that make up Fondacio :

  • community groups,
  • missionary projects and achievements,
  • various organizational bodies,...

 

always with the awareness and respect of being one and the same community, a fundamental dimension that is explicit in the expression "one and diversified community".

Governance according to a polygonal model. Fondacio's governance is neither centralised nor pyramidal. The model is rather that of the polygon, inspired by the ecclesial model described by Pope Francis in The Joy of the Gospel (§236).

This figure reflects the confluence of all the partial elements, each of which retains its originality. Any action, including that of governing, seeks to gather the best from each other in the polygon in the image of a community of people seeking a common good by incorporating each of them into a shared vision and a collaborative functioning.

1. Governing

The President and Council of Fondacio (with relays on 4 continents), the Country Councils and the assemblies of leaders in about twenty countries.

2. Act

Mission Areas - Youth, Poor and Excluded, Leaders in Society, Couples and Families, Seniors and Elders, led by teams and most often in partnership with other organizations

3. Serve

Technical Services - Administration, Finance, Fundraising, Communication, Human Resources with the possibility of committing as a permanent, international volunteer, volunteer, etc.

4. Formation

Training Programmes, support or coaching, Institutes of formation of Fondacio on four continents in partnership with universities.

5. Welcome

Various ways of welcoming, meeting and participating in Fondacio's proposals. Small groups of reflection and conviviality / "fraternities", Meeting places in the cities where Fondacio is present, Prayer Assemblies, Centres - places of healing and integral ecology inspired by the encyclical Laudato Sí.

Fundamental principles that convey values

Governing, at all levels, is experienced in the awareness that it concerns the whole of Fondacio according to principles of government always in interaction. These principles convey extremely strong values. They are a compass for Fondacio's driving. In summary, here are the big ideas:

Principle 1: to govern is to exercise spiritual guidance... Governing is first and foremost an approach that combines the human and the spiritual, calls for discernment to make good decisions.

Principle 2: to govern is to make democracy live... Very strong democratic dimension: legitimacy of leaders through elections and for limited periods of time. Co-responsibility by committing to the success of the common good. Respect for cultures and compliance with national laws.

Principle 3: Governing means seeking subsidiarity... Everything that can be conducted and decided upon as close as possible to the field is promoted and facilitated.

Principle 4: To govern is to be in otherness... Responsibility is always exercised in dialogue, with the concern to listen to the suggestions and questions of people inside and outside Fondacio, to observe good practices or innovations that bring progress, to give priority to the well-being of the most fragile persons.

Principle 5: Governing according to Fondacio's charism... Always a strong attention to the harmony of the components of DNA in all decisions and actions that are taken at Fondacio, in the spirituality that animates in harmony The Self Being, The Being With and The Being For.

Fondacio's financial organisation

How does Fondacio finance itself? Fondacio’s world budget represents approximately €10 millions, including the promotion of volunteering. Fondacio's mission is possible thanks to a high number of actors, notably permanent and volunteers, and also people who support Fondacio in many ways, notably in the form of occasional or regular financial donations (Sponsorship, Patronage, Donations and bequests)