I am pleased to introduce the FARA Foundation 2023 annual report. This year has again been a full one in which the positive impact of our work has been directly measurable. We sold more than two million donated items via our charity shops and so continued to raise the valuable funds for the life-changing programmes that are delivered by our partners Fundația FARA in Romania.
This year was also significant for the charity as we worked with the Trustees and the executive leadership team to develop our first UK strategy. This strategy, grounded in our charitable purpose and values, aims to deliver on three key strategic objectives over the next three years.
- Programmes: We will support Fundația FARA to deliver services of the highest quality to help the most vulnerable children, young people, adults and families in Romania, developing our partnership to ensure it is effective, professional and sustainable and enables them to implement their three-year strategic plan.
- Public engagement: We will consolidate and grow the contributions from our retail operation to ensure its continued success and resilience, while also looking to diversify our income base by increasing our public profile and community engagement.
- People: We will cultivate a thriving and productive workforce supported by dedicated and professional governance, united under shared values, vision and mission.
I remain inspired by the work delivered through the programmes we support in Romania; from seeing children from disadvantaged backgrounds learning to read, to seeing disabled adults living full and happy lives. I am extremely grateful to our hardworking teams who contributed to the running of 40 shops across London this year.
To ensure that this vital source of income continues to raise the funds we need, we have invested time and effort into strengthening our retail operations and raising the profile of our shops. One of the key highlights was the launch of our ‘We Are FARA Family’ films, which showcased the wonderful community of people who work in, donate to and shop in our stores.
It has been a pleasure this year to continue working alongside our hardworking leadership team and Board of Trustees. Thank you to all those who work so hard to generate the funds that Fundația FARA uses to deliver the excellent programmes that make real change happen for many of Romania’s most vulnerable.
This review combines key elements from the Annual Reports of the FARA Foundation and FARA Enterprises Limited, which I hope you enjoy reading.
Libby Gordon, CEO FARA Foundation
Download the 2023 Annual Review (PDF, 9MB)
