Giacomo Pinaffo
Secretary General Fondazione di Comunità di Messina
In this piece, Giacomo reflects on discussions emerged at the Philea ‘Futures Philanthropy Gathering of Leaders’ in Tunisia, highlighting the need for building bridges within the philanthropy ecosystem to align issue and interest with local dynamics and realise more systemic and durable impact.
Assifero, ECFI, Iac Berlin, Philea
PEX, a network of philanthropy infrastructure organisations, transitions to a new collective governance model stewarded by Assifero (Italy), ECFI (Europe), iac Berlin (Germany), INSPIRE (Romania) and Philea (Europe). The newly minted PEX Collective aims to practice new paradigms in philanthropy and unlock the collective potential and agency within the philanthropy infrastructure community.
In this interview, Francesca Mereta, ECFI, explores the origins and aspirations of La Nou Community Foundation with Eva González Vargas, Secretary General. Located in a rural area with the lowest population density in Europe, La Nou Community Foundation focuses on addressing the eco-social crisis, and in particular its impact on young people, through creating opportunities for a fulfilling life in the locality.
Anja Böllhoff
Strategic Advisor
ECFI
Anja Böllhoff has served as ECFI’s Co-Coordinating Director for nine years. At the end of 2024, she passed the baton to Kathrin Dombrowski. In this piece, Anja shares her reflections as she looks back on ECFI’s journey over the years.
In the midst of chaos following the devastating flash flood in Valencia the Horta Sud Community Foundation offered a beacon of hope. Fortunately, because of its particularly close working relationship with the Association of Spanish Foundations it was able to count on essential technical and financial support, as well as reach to experience from across Europe, that helped it deal with emergency and the aftermath of the catastrophe. Here Valentina Ferrara, coordinator of the Spanish Association’s community foundation programme, reflects on the action taken by both organisations, drawing lessons for others.
Kathrin Dombrowski
Coordinating Director
ECFI
This 90-minute webinar titled "How Philanthropy For Climate Can Propel Climate Action in Community Foundations" was jointly hosted by Philea and ECFI. Aimed at community foundations across Europe - particularly those yet to sign an existing Climate Commitment but interested in strategically framing their climate action - the event attracted around 30 participants. Attendees primarily represented community
foundations and their support organizations, along with other types of organizations.
KoneKtor 2024, the annual gathering of funders working on or interested in issues in Central and Eastern Europe, took place in Prague on the 23rd-25th of September. Given the vital role that community foundations and national movements play in fostering cohesion in different Central and Eastern European countries, ECFI could not miss the opportunity to bring the broader field perspective to the discussion, along with on-the-ground colleagues.
Rosa Gallego
This reflection reframes “leverage” as a core concept in building and strengthening community foundations. Drawing on insights from the US, it highlights the importance of combining trusted local leadership, access to resources, and institutional credibility as the “fulcrum” enabling impact. It explores how initiative groups, donor incentives, and long-term financial sustainability interact, emphasising that effective philanthropy depends not only on resources, but on the ability to mobilise and connect them strategically within a trusted local structure.
James Magowan & Francesca Mereta
This blog describes how Siegen Community Foundation began embedding the Sustainable Development Goals across its work following participation in the SDG Wake-Up Call workshops. It explains how the foundation uses an SDG lens to review supported projects, strengthen communications, develop partnerships and guide organisational changes. The article also highlights plans for more sustainable operations, an ESG-aligned investment policy and the importance of board support when adopting a whole-of-organisation approach
This blog reflects on discussions at the European Forum Alpbach about how philanthropy can act more boldly in pursuit of systems change. It considers flexible funding, shared decision-making, power redistribution and greater trust in communities. The article highlights the value of community foundations as locally rooted, community-owned institutions that support long-term processes, strengthen participation and connect local experimentation with wider systemic change.
