The New Italian Kid on the Block
This blog introduces Fondazione Comunità di Benevento, the ninth community foundation established in southern Italy. Through an interview with its chairman, it traces how cooperation around disability support, flood response and social capital led to the foundation’s creation. The article also explains its participatory governance model and its ambition to strengthen community welfare, civic engagement and inclusive local development, with current priorities including health poverty, education, climate action and the circular economy.
To learn and undestand the SDGs in order to be able to communicate the idea of SDGs and their benefits to FFL members and develop guidelines for including the SDG in the day-to-day activities of FFL and its members
This publication explores how community foundations can use the SDGs as a practical framework for guiding strategy, grantmaking, and community engagement. It highlights that while awareness of the SDGs remains uneven, they offer a powerful tool to connect local action with global challenges. By integrating SDGs into everyday operations—through partnerships, education, and funding priorities—community foundations can strengthen their long-term impact and support more sustainable and inclusive community development.
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.
Community engagement: a crucial issue for community foundations
How can community foundations build lasting relationships with the people they serve? This Learning Lab paper explores the principles of community engagement, highlights the importance of involving young people in decision-making, and presents practical examples from Italy, including Youth Banks and the National Civic Service, as tools for strengthening civic participation and local philanthropy.
From SDG Talk to Action
This publication explores how community foundations across Europe are integrating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into every aspect of their work through a whole-of-organisation approach. It documents ECFI’s collaboration with national support organisations to deliver SDG workshops, examines their impact on community foundations, identifies common challenges and good practices, and presents case studies from across Europe demonstrating how the SDGs can strengthen community leadership, strategy, communications, investment, and organisational development.
Action Learning: Adapting Community Fundraising Events for the Digital World
This action learning case study explores how Oradea Community Foundation successfully transformed its flagship fundraising events and community programmes into online experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. It shares practical lessons on digital engagement, virtual event delivery and maintaining strong relationships with donors, volunteers and the wider community.
Five Lessons from a Peer Learning Journey on Digital Transformation
This reflection brings together key lessons from ECFI’s Collective Action Learning process, which supported community foundations in addressing real-life digital transformation challenges through peer exchange. Based on the experiences of organisations from across Europe, it highlights the value of online collaboration, structured facilitation, small-group learning and trusted peer relationships. The publication also considers how collaborative learning can strengthen organisational development and support community foundations in navigating change together.
State of the community foundation field in Europe 2020
This report provides a snapshot of the community foundation field in Europe in 2020, documenting its size, diversity and support infrastructure, while examining how community foundations and their support organisations responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores key trends, challenges, the growing role of local philanthropy, and implications for strengthening the European community foundation movement.
COVID-19 Community Foundations in Action: France – uncertainty remains our biggest challenge
his case study highlights how the Community Foundation Metz Mécènes Solidaires responded rapidly to the COVID-19 crisis by providing emergency funding, coordinating local partners and adapting its grantmaking processes. It illustrates the importance of flexibility, collaboration and locally rooted philanthropy in addressing immediate needs while preparing for the long-term social consequences of the pandemic.
Seeing the crisis as an opportunity
This short piece reflects on how community foundations in Germany adapted to the Covid-19 crisis by embracing digital formats for exchange and learning. It highlights the role of peer dialogue in maintaining social cohesion, addressing challenges such as digitisation and financial sustainability, and reaffirming community foundations as resilient and flexible actors in times of uncertainty
