This press corner provides general background information about the EFC and the foundation sector. Our leadership team and staff are readily available to answer questions regarding specific issues. Please contact us at communications@efc.be, or by phone at (+32) (0)2 512 8938.
Who we are?
The European Foundation Centre (EFC) is the leading membership association representing public-benefit foundations at European level. It was founded in 1989 and is based in Brussels.
The EFC currently has 233 members including community and independent foundations as well as corporate funders spread across 40 countries. A large majority (89%) are based in Europe.
The EFC develops and pursues activities in line with its objectives:
· Benchmarking and capacity-building - The EFC aims to set standards and build professional capacity in the sector through a wide range of benchmarking and training activities. All members undertake to respect the EFC Principles of Good Practice.
· Creating an enabling legal and fiscal environment - The EFC is leading the campaign for the creation of a European Foundation Statute, which would make it easier for foundations that wish to develop cross-border activities in the EU.
· Documenting the foundation landscape - To facilitate the sharing of knowledge and information, and raise awareness about the valuable work foundations are doing, the EFC produces numerous publications including Effect magazine (twice per year).
· Networking and partnership building - The EFC promotes collaboration, both among foundations and between foundations and other actors, to advance the public good in Europe and beyond.
The EFC’s annual conference is the most important opportunity for professionals in the European foundation sector to meet each other and share ideas.
EFC members have established a range of Interest Groups and Forums which facilitate cooperation and exchanges of good practice in various fields of activity including: diversity, migration and integration; human rights and disability; protecting the environment; HIV/AIDS; global health challenges; social investment; central and eastern Europe.
The EFC hosts the secretariat of Donors and Foundations' Networks in Europe (DAFNE), which supports cooperation among national networks which have been established in 22 European countries.
The EFC coordinates the European Forum on Philanthropy and Research Funding, which was launched in 2007 with the support of the European Commission and other partners.
If you want to know more about the people who work at the EFC, go to the EFC staff page.
What is our mission?
Mission:
To strengthen the independent funding element of European philanthropy through robust cooperation with an array of partners.
Vision:
Our vision is a resilient infrastructure from which European philanthropy – with its unique embrace of innovation, dynamism and cooperation – can advance the public good in Europe and beyond.
Who do we represent?
The foundation sector is growing dynamically and is gradually achieving a significant economic footprint. There are 110,000 public-benefit foundations (almost 4 foundations per 10,000 people) located in the European Union.
Some 43% of these foundations were set up as recent as the early 1990s. It is estimated that in 2006 one public-benefit foundation was created per day in Spain and two per day in Germany. Foundations spend between €83 billion and €150 billion annually, over twice as much as the US foundation sector.
Foundations are also big employers, providing direct full-time employment to between 750,000 to 1 million people in the EU. If you want to know more about our members, go to the Membership page.
What do we do?
Interest Groups and Fora
EFC fora and interest groups encourage and enable the sharing of knowledge and best practice among members, foster networking, strengthen relations with government and multilateral donors, encourage new donor activity and act as a catalyst for collaborative initiatives on European and global issues. They are member-led and built around regions or themes, and use different methods to achieve their objectives.
EU Affairs
EFC advocates on behalf of its members on a number of issues related to EU affairs ranging from general cross-cutting issues affecting the whole foundation sector to specific areas of interest for EFC members and networks.
Capacity Building
Capacity-Building is one of the four strategic objectives spelled out by the EFC. It is a core tool underpinning and influencing all other activities of the Centre’s work. There is widespread recognition that organisations do not invest sufficiently in building the capacity of their own human resources and that there is a demand for coordinated and targeted trans-national capacity-building activities in the foundation sector.
Foundation Law
The creation of an enabling legal and fiscal environment for foundations and corporate funders in Europe is one the EFC’s core objectives. The Centre promotes and defends the interests of its members, monitoring and responding to foundation law developments at both national and EU level, and actively seeks to improve their operating conditions through advocacy, research, and the facilitation of dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders.