Network of European Foundations - From intercultural dialogue to interculturalism

By the end of 2008, the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue, hundreds of initiatives will have taken place throughout Europe. In order to ensure that the lessons that emerge are taken forward, the European Cultural Foundation (ECF) and the European Forum for the Arts and Heritage (today Culture Action Europe) have set up the Platform for Intercultural Europe.

This brings together more than 200 civil society organizations and their members engaged in intercultural action throughout Europe – at local, national and regional levels, and in sectors including arts and culture, education and lifelong learning, youth and social affairs, human rights and minorities. Click here to read ...

European Foundation Centre - EFC focuses on fight against poverty

In 2009, the European Foundation Centre will be devoting much of its attention to an age-old issue for philanthropy: how foundations can collectively and effectively contribute to the fight against poverty. EFC has decided to make poverty the focus of its next Annual General Assembly and Conference in Rome (14-16 May 2009), where the theme will be explored in the widest sense possible. Click here to read ...

Virtual think-tank network for CEE

Four non-profit organizations from Central and Eastern Europe have set up a virtual think-tank network on civil society in the region. The aim is to expand the space for thinking and reflection on topical civil society issues in the region. One of the first themes to be looked at is the generation change in civil society leadership in Central and Eastern Europe. The four members are NETT – Independent Think Tank for Civil Society (Czech Republic), Center for Philanthropy (Slovakia), Roots and Wings – Workshop for Development and Change (Hungary) and the Association for Community Relations (Romania). The network, whose name has yet to be chosen, was established in July.
 
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New foundation one of Germany’s ten biggest

Following the death of Joachim Herz, a 66-year-old Hamburg businessman and one of the heirs to Germany’s biggest coffee roaster and retailer Tchibo, in a tragic swimming accident in the US in May, a new charitable foundation has been established. With an endowment of more than €1 billion, the Joachim Herz Stiftung will be one of Germany’s ten biggest charitable foundations. Herz, who died childless, appointed in his will that a charitable foundation be set up as his sole beneficiary. Click here to read ...

Grantmakers East Forum

Event Grantmakers East Forum: Engage
Date 8-10 October
Venue Dubrovnik, Croatia

In October, the resort of Dubrovnik usually welcomes American and British tourists. This year it also played host to the155 participants of the GEF conference representing local foundations, international donors, corporate funders – 155 out of 166 who registered for the conference. My guess is that the missing 11 ended up at the beach as the weather was gorgeous. But, yes, back to the conference. Click here to read ...

4th EVPA Annual Conference

Event 4th EVPA Annual Conference
Date 23 September
Venue Frankfurt, Germany
Organizer European Venture Philanthropy Association

‘What does VP mean to us?’ asked Doug Miller, EVPA’s outgoing chair, speaking at this year’s EVPA conference in Frankfurt. His answer: long-term funding, long-term relationships, hands-on support and building core capacity. Indeed, these long-term commitments might well become increasingly important in the light of recent events. As David Carrington, chairing the conference, remarked, the financial crisis is bound to have an impact on venture philanthropy. Click here to read ...

Interview - Peter Heller

In 1997, Peter Heller and his family established the Canopus Foundation, whose support for clean energy encompasses grantmaking, social investment and networking. For Heller, it was ‘a logical way to go’. His own private equity company, set up in 1996, invests exclusively in solar, wind power and  energy efficiency companies. Prior to that, he was deputy mayor for environmental protection in Freiburg. Added to this was ‘the strong entrepreneurial background of my family [the family business is printing] and the strong commitment of myself and my family members to environmental protection.’ Click here to read ...

Why not shut up shop and go home?

When Joseph Rowntree set up his charitable trust in 1904, he believed that ‘if the enormous volume of philanthropy of the present day were wisely directed, it would ... in the course of a few years, change the face of England’. Click here to read ...

Mission in meltdown?

Progressive social change foundations exist to improve the lives of disadvantaged people. Many have shown great imagination, professionalism and tenacity in so doing. But now that disadvantaged people worldwide are facing threats of unprecedented scale and severity because of climate change and increasing competition for overstretched natural resources, are these same foundations losing the plot? Click here to read ...

Effect looks at impacts of financial crisis on foundations

The forthcoming issue of Effect magazine presents a series of articles looking at the issue of investment from different angles. The relevance of this theme could not be greater at a time when many foundations are facing major challenges with regard to their financial planning and asset management strategies, as endowment values have been adversely affected by the recent turmoil in global financial markets.

Published by the European Foundation Centre, Effect also includes a regular section that examines the role and significance of foundations in different parts of the continent. This time the focus will be on the Nordic countries.

For more information
www.efc.be/effect Click here to read ...