Piece of Cake company donates $300,000 for Montenegro’s first Foster care centre

PODGORICA, 6 May 2026 – Piece of Cake, a company based in the United States and headed by Montenegrin citizen Vojin Popović, has donated $300,000 to UNICEF to support the Ministry of Social Welfare, Family Care and Demography in establishing the first Foster Care Centre in Montenegro, with the aim of ensuring that every child grows up in a safe family environment.

Damir Gutić, Minister of Social Welfare, Family Care and Demography of Montenegro, said that this initiative represents an important step towards advancing the reform of the child protection system.

“The Foster Care Centre, envisaged by the Deinstitutionalization Strategy 2025–2028, will play a key role in strengthening foster care in Montenegro. By expanding professional support to foster families, we will contribute to preventing the unnecessary placement of children in institutions and to improving the quality and availability of social and child protection services across the country,” Minister Gutić said.

Around 80 children currently live in residential institutions in Montenegro, including children with disabilities and children living in adverse circumstances.

“Every child has the right to grow up in a family environment,” said Michele Servadei, UNICEF Representative to Montenegro. “The establishment of the Foster Care Centre will help ensure that children without adequate parental care grow up in a safe family environment, with the love and stability they need to develop.”

According to a regional analysis of child protection systems in Europe and Central Asia published by UNICEF in 2024, large-scale institutional care can cost three to five times more per child than foster care. Strengthening foster care is therefore considered a more sustainable and cost-effective solution than long-term reliance on institutional care, while also leading to better outcomes for children.

Vojin Popović, CEO of Piece of Cake, said that the company sees private sector engagement as an important way to achieve long-term improvements in child protection.

“By contributing to the establishment of the Foster Care Centre, we are investing in solutions that strengthen family-based care for children in Montenegro. We believe that the private sector can play a significant role in driving reforms that bring lasting results for children,” Popović said.

This 18-month partnership will enable the establishment of a national Foster Care Centre with regional units across the country, which will identify, train and support foster families. The Centre will contribute to strengthening professional standards in foster care and support the continued transition from institutional to family-based care for children.

The partnership with Piece of Cake confirms the growing cooperation between public institutions, UNICEF and the private sector in implementing national child protection reforms.