Reflections from Almería: Community Foundations as the Infrastructure of Local Change
The Spanish community foundation movement, international representatives of community foundations, funders, partners & universities gathered together for AEF’s annual conference. What emerged was much more than the annual gathering of Spain’s community foundation movement. It became a moment to take stock of how far the movement has come and, perhaps more importantly, where it is heading.
CF2CF Exchange between Pécs and Mureș Community Foundations
This report documents a peer exchange between Pécs Community Foundation and Mureș Community Foundation focused on community fundraising and organisational development. Through visits to a Giving Circle in Pécs and the Bikeathon in Târgu Mureș, participants explored event design, donor engagement, volunteer involvement, professional staffing, communications and cooperation with businesses and local authorities. The report also reflects on how large-scale fundraising events can strengthen local participation, visibility and long-term sustainability.
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.
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.
Transformative Learning: A Tale of Two Organisations. CF2CF Exchange Report
This report shares practical insights and inspiring stories from a peer learning exchange between the Romanian Federation of Community Foundation (FFCR) and the Spanish Association of Foundations (AEF). It highlights the transformative power of collaborative learning and offers valuable lessons for community engagement, event-based fundraising, and capacity building. The report also showcases innovative approaches and grantmaking schemes, providing valuable insights.
Lessons form an exchange: Austria – Romania
This report shares insights and inspiring stories from an exchange between Austrian initiative groups and Romanian community foundations. The exchange aimed to accelerate the development of the community foundation field in Austria by learning from successful practitioners in Romania. The report highlights the practical impact of the exchange, including shaping the Austrian community foundation program and launching the first Capacity Building program. It also showcases the innovative approaches and grantmaking schemes adopted by the Romanian community foundations to fund their projects.
Fostering the active engagement and civic participation of young people – community foundation exchange report
This exchange between Sibiu Community Foundation (Romania) and Assifero (Italy) highlights how peer learning strengthens the strategic role of community foundations. It focuses on fund development, donor engagement, and the positioning of community foundations within national philanthropy ecosystems. The visit illustrates how sharing practices across contexts helps refine approaches to sustainability, build stronger relationships with donors, and enhance the capacity of community foundations to act as trusted local intermediaries.
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 importance of saying ‘yes’
This piece explores how community foundations in Serbia became agents of social change despite challenging political and social conditions. Based on qualitative research with grantees and local actors, it shows how openness, trust, and consistent support—especially towards informal groups—enabled community engagement and revitalised civic participation. By saying “yes” to local initiatives, community foundations created space for action, strengthened civil society, and demonstrated how small-scale interventions can lead to broader systemic change.
