December 2004

Do European foundations cooperate? Partnerships within the foundation field

Cooperation amongst foundations is seen to be a recent phenomenon developing within the sector. Since the creation of the European Foundation Centre (EFC) in 1989, a growing number of foundation members have initiated joint projects and programmes and other cooperative efforts.

The emergence of the National Association of Donors (NADs) and foundations in a large number of EU countries illustrates this trend. There are currently 15 NADS across the 25 EU Member States, i.e. Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain and the United Kingdom, and other are under developments (e.g. Denmark). ) Of particular interest, is not only cooperation amongst foundations on a national basis, but also those foundations from different countries which are undertaking cross-border cooperation. EFC events such as the Annual General Assembly and Conference have paved the way for successful networking amongst the foundation population at European level and thus open a door for further cooperation.

Cooperation can take various forms between two or more organisations. The information provided below  is a snapshot of "organised" cooperation between several foundations at European level in the form of networks. These networks have enabled the development of a series of projects both within and outside of the European Union.

>go to foundations' cooperation - networks and projects

>go to foundations' cooperation - selected bibliography