Energy, Ideas and Renewed Conviction – A Spontaneous Reflection After the 4th Meeting of Community Foundations in Spain
The 2025 Spanish Community Foundations Meeting in Madrid brought together foundations, universities, support organisations and international guests to exchange ideas, strengthen networks and celebrate impact. Over two days of dialogue, reflection and workshops, participants reaffirmed the growing movement in Spain, highlighted the power of collective intelligence, and welcomed the launch of the country’s tenth community foundation —the first in Madrid, the Hortaleza Filanda Community Foundation.
Community Foundations in Ukraine: Resilience in Times of War
Despite the ongoing war, Ukrainian community foundations continue to play a crucial role in supporting local populations, adapting to new
challenges, and fostering resilience. Viktoriia Zablotska from the National Network of Local Philanthropy Development shares insights into their efforts, highlighting the experiences of three foundations operating under extreme conditions.
Generating the will to give
The Novarese Community Foundation has embraced fund development by thinking long term and by getting out into the territory. Here, Gianluca Vacchini, describes their approach of asset building through generating knowledge and trust. This has resulted in over 100 active funds, and importantly created the opportunity for attracting the ‘unexpected’ donor.
Community Foundations and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
This report reflects on the proceedings of an online meeting that explored the opportunities and challenges, for wider society and community foundations specifically, associated with evolving developments in, and the application of, Artificial Intelligence (AI). The meeting, hosted by ECFI on 20th March 2024, convened representatives from community foundations and support organisations across Europe. Chris Worman, Co-founder and Strategic Advisor at Connecting Humanity and Alex Tveit EmergingTech Fellow, Community Foundations of Canada, initiated discussions, sparking a lively exchange.
Local Philanthropy and Community Foundations in European Capital Cities. Challenges and opportunities.
This report explores the challenges and opportunities faced by community foundations in European capital cities, focusing on local development and philanthropy. Drawing on case examples and wider experience brought by participants, it underscores key learnings related to scalability, meaningful partnerships, and social innovation. The exploration of a variety of locally oriented approaches aims to contribute to the promotion of sustainable urban development.
Guide to Italian Community Foundations 2nd Edition 2023 ABSTRACT
This abstract introduces the second edition of the Guide to Italian Community Foundations (2023), presenting an overview of the field’s development, scale and diversity. It highlights how community foundations operate across different regional contexts, fulfil varied roles and contribute to addressing social challenges. The guide combines data, practitioner insights and external perspectives to illustrate the added value of community foundations and the importance of networking and support infrastructure in strengthening the movement.
First community foundation in Andalusia
This blog introduces Fundación Almería Tierra Abierta, the first community foundation established in Andalusia. Created by more than 45 founders from business, civil society and other local institutions, the foundation aims to address the province’s social sustainability challenges, particularly the living conditions of migrant workers. The article highlights the importance of broad local participation, diverse governance and long-term support from the Spanish Association of Foundations in developing the initiative.
The SDGs Are Good For Us
This workshop report explores how community foundations and their support organisations can use the Sustainable Development Goals as a strategic framework. It presents Northamptonshire Community Foundation’s experience of embedding the SDGs across its vision, strategy, donor engagement, partnerships, community conversations and impact reporting. The report also examines effective partnership models and identifies practical roles for support organisations in building capability, sharing evidence and helping community foundations connect local action with global goals.
The Role of Community Foundations in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
This research paper examines how community foundations are incorporating the Sustainable Development Goals into their strategies, programmes and grantmaking. Drawing on examples from North America, Europe, Asia and Africa, it highlights their role in generating local knowledge, educating and engaging communities, building cross-sector partnerships and connecting global goals with local action. The paper also considers the potential development of community foundations in Albania and their contribution to locally driven sustainable development.
How the SDGs Can Help Unlock the Mystery of Community Foundation Impact
This blog explores how the Sustainable Development Goals can provide community foundations and local charities with a shared framework for communicating their impact. It argues for a shift from short-term project funding towards sustainable support for core costs, organisational development and capacity building. Drawing on examples from UK community foundations, the article shows how the SDGs can strengthen donor understanding, encourage long-term partnerships and connect local action with broader social, economic and environmental goals.
