Curiosity and Enlightenment in practice: A Scottish fling
Foundation Scotland is asking itself ‘What can we do over the next 10 years that will have an impact over 100?’. A European delegation of Community Foundation Movement Leaders were invited to participate in a process to explore how to bring about systems change for lasting impact.
We are there: community foundations in emergency response and recovery
This practice-oriented publication explores how community foundations in Poland, Romania and Spain responded to severe floods in 2024. Through case studies and cross-cutting reflections, it examines how trust, proximity and long-term relationships shaped emergency response and recovery, highlighting the role of community foundations as locally rooted actors that coordinate support, sustain civic infrastructure and navigate difficult choices under pressure.
Community Foundations in Europe 2026: The State (and Future) of the Field
This report provides an overview of the community foundation field in Europe in 2026, highlighting its growth, diversity and the pressures it faces. Using a futures thinking lens, it explores how community foundations respond to present challenges, draw on past legacies, and shape more resilient and inclusive local futures.
The Strategic Importance of Legacy Funds for Community Foundations
The second meeting of our ECFI Fund Development Learning Journey focused its attention on legacy funds – wills and bequests – and what community foundations can do to make them a strategic asset in their development. This report summarises the insights, lessons learned, and experiences emerged during the conversation.
Moving from a fundraising to a fund development mindset: lessons learned from Community Foundation Northern Ireland experience ECFI Fund development learning journey
The Community Foundation Northern Ireland (CFNI) fund development has shifted from “fundraising as a separate function” to “fund development embedded in grantmaking intelligence.” This means that the same people who understand community needs, applications, and grant logistics are also the ones stewarding existing donors and pitching new opportunities, making the proposition more credible, more agile, and easier to deliver.
Building Agency, Belonging and Local Power Through Sport
Sport can be a powerful catalyst for individual and local development, and an effective lever for addressing complex community challenges. Across Europe, community foundations are investing in sport and sporting facilities as a strategy for strengthen individuals’ agency, particularly among young people, while fostering community building, and participation.
Looking Back at 2025: What did this year ask of ECFI and the field?
With an eventful, exciting but also challenging year coming to an end, it’s a good moment to reflect on what this year has asked of the community foundation field, and of ECFI, which exists to support it. In a context of growing pressure on civil society and community foundations, our work this year has been shaped by listening closely, hosting moments of connection and responding alongside our partners. This reflection brings together some of the key themes that emerged from that shared experience.
Re-thinking Approaches to Community Foundations Movement Building in the Balkans
Re-thinking approaches to community foundation movement building in the Balkans presents the synthesis of a multi-country action research initiative led by ECFI and partner support organisations in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Serbia. The report examines how community foundations are developing under conditions of political pressure, donor dependency, and shrinking civic space. Using the 4Cs framework—capacity, capability, credibility, and connections—it identifies key paradoxes of fragility and resilience, and offers strategic recommendations for consolidating existing foundations, strengthening support organisations, and building a sustainable, trust-based regional movement.
Balkan Re-think Action Research. National research reports
The Re-think National Research Reports – Annex complements the Balkan Re-think synthesis by providing detailed country-level analyses from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Serbia. Drawing on interviews, desk research, and practitioner insights, the annex explores how community foundations and support organisations navigate fragile civic environments, donor dependency, and limited capacity. It captures national specificities while reinforcing shared patterns around trust-building, local legitimacy, and the critical role of long-term support in transforming emerging initiatives into sustainable community-based institutions.
“Lleida Alimenta: A territorial agrifood movement strengthening community resilience”
In this article, Elena De Carandini, President of Raimat Lleida Community Foundation, shares the community foundation’s role in setting up, convening and lead a participatory initiative, Lleida Alimenta, a territorial agrifood movement strengthening community resilience.
