European Overview 2007
The following is based on research conducted in 2007.
Community Philanthropy Organisations (CPOs) are growing rapidly and constitute one of the most dynamic areas of organised philanthropy in Europe today. Community foundations are the fastest growing type of CPO in Europe. They exist, or are under consideration, in at least 19 countries or regions. These overviews are based on the results of CPI Community Philanthropy Watch research.
The oldest and most advanced community foundations can be found in the United Kingdom where more than 50 community foundations have developed in the last years. Others exist, or are under development, in countries such as Bulgaria (11), Germany (100), Italy (17), Poland (21), Portugal (1), Slovakia (12), Slovenia (4) Estonia (3), Lithuania (8), Latvia (4) and Russia (20). Developments in this field can also be observed in countries such as Bosnia & Herzegovina and Turkey.
This growth, much of which has taken place in the past 15 years, has been fueled by a number of trends affecting local communities. These include: decentralisation and reduced spending by national governments (e.g. welfare cuts); changing roles for local government; the failure of conventional approaches in solving local problems; desire by local residents to have a direct voice in helping to set community priorities and identifying potential solutions; and increasing interest in strengthening grassroots groups and community-based nonprofits to tackle local problems.
In several countries, national support organisations and informal networks have formed to provide information, technical assistance, training and promotion services to CPOs at the local level. Some are free-standing and others are located within another organisation. Such groups have formed, for instance in the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Russia and the UK.
Significant recent developments of the community philanthropy field are outlined by country below:
Albania
Belgium
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Carpathian Euroregion
Croatia
Czech Republic
Estonia
France
Germany
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
The Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Spain
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom
List of contacts (national-level community philanthropy support centres, informal networks, funders and other organisations) throughout Europe to help people interested in community philanthropy issues to find different sources of expertise and support in Europe at national level.
>go to Contacts list by country