Making the Case and Being a Voice for Community Foundations
This brief sums up the insights from the online discussion, that ECFI hosted, about the distinctive role of CFSOs and CFs in advocacy. The conversation has been framed around three interconnected dimensions of advocacy: visibility; operating environment and addressing issues/topics.
Porta Palazzo – Timisoara CF2CF Exchange Report
In this report, Fundația Comunitară Timișoara & Fondazione di Comunità Porta Palazzo sums up the insights emerged and lessons learned during the ECFI-supported CF2CF exchange.
Lessons from an Exchange: Via Foundation and Trag Foundation
This report captures lessons from a peer exchange between Via Foundation in Czechia and Trag Foundation in Serbia. It highlights practical approaches to developing new community foundations, supporting advocacy, designing multi-stage grantmaking processes and strengthening grantees through training, mentoring and capacity building. Personal reflections also show how international peer learning can inspire organisations to adapt effective practices, improve impact measurement and build stronger networks among supported initiatives.
The European Community Foundation Initiative: A peer evaluation
This peer evaluation assesses the European Community Foundation Initiative (ECFI) between 2020 and 2022, drawing on reflections from community foundation practitioners, support organisations and philanthropy experts across Europe. It reviews ECFI’s work in learning, research, networking, capacity building, advocacy and movement development, highlighting achievements, challenges and strategic recommendations for strengthening Europe’s community foundation ecosystem.
PEX Philanthropy Resilience Building
This storybook captures reflections from a series of scenario-thinking sessions exploring how philanthropy support organisations can strengthen resilience in uncertain contexts. Through visual insights and collective reflection, it highlights the importance of collaboration, adaptive leadership and ecosystem thinking. The publication encourages readers to engage with possible futures and consider how philanthropy can move beyond reactive responses towards more strategic, systemic and collaborative approaches.
Implementation of emergency response and recovery funds / programmes
This summary captures how community foundation support organisations across Europe responded to the COVID-19 crisis by rapidly establishing emergency and recovery funds. It highlights key lessons around coordination, flexibility, and long-term sustainability, using a 4Cs lens to structure actions related to capacity, capability, connections, and credibility.
