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.
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.
Reconnect 2023 in Canada brought together community foundation practitioners to reflect on how relationships, trust and peer exchange shape the field. The gathering highlighted that beyond formal structures, it is the quality of connections and shared learning that enables community foundations to respond to local challenges and strengthen their role in society. The event reinforced the importance of investing in networks as a core element of resilient philanthropy infrastructure.
Reflecting on Reconnect 2023 in Canada, the author shares observations on how community foundations build and sustain meaningful connections across the field. The experience highlights that beyond formal agendas, it is trust, openness and informal exchange that shape collaboration and learning. These reflections point to the importance of investing in relationships as a core element of effective and resilient philanthropy infrastructure.
COVID-19 June 2020 Community Foundations in Action: Slovakia – Trust in our communities is priceless
This case from Slovakia highlights how long-term trust and relationships enabled community foundations to respond quickly and effectively during the COVID-19 crisis. By mobilising volunteers, coordinating support and leveraging existing partnerships, they provided immediate help while demonstrating the value of sustained community engagement and diversified local resources.
ECFI Guide: Community Foundations in Italy
The Guide to Community Foundations in Italy presents a rich mosaic of local philanthropy shaped by diversity and innovation. Since 1999, Italy’s 37 community foundations have grown into trusted platforms connecting citizens, institutions, and donors to address social, economic, and cultural challenges. Promoted by Assifero with partners such as Cariplo and Con il Sud, they act as community hubs—mobilising resources, nurturing civic participation, and fostering inclusion from Lombardy to Sicily. The guide celebrates a movement that unites tradition, social innovation, and long-term commitment to human development.
