When all that glitters is not gold . . .

Reading the sorry saga of the Prešov Community Foundation in the September edition of Alliance, there must have been many who muttered, ‘There but for the grace of God – or Allah, or your chosen deity – go I.’ I know I certainly did. The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland acted as a delivery mechanism for EU funds for over a decade, under the PEACE I and PEACE II Programmes (1995-2007). These were very generous and well-intentioned funding packages made available to underpin the Northern Ireland peace process. Click here to read ...

Government contract proves undoing of Slovak community foundation

Prešov Community Foundation faces financial ruin and closure because the country’s Ministry of Education has reneged on a contract it made with them to deliver a programme, forcing them to foot the bill for virtually the entire project. The following tells the story with excerpts from open letters written by Katarina Minarova, director of Prešov Community Foundation, and by the Association of Slovak Community Foundations. Opposite, Jenny Hodgson comments. Click here to read ...

Mexican community foundations playing important role, but challenges remain

A new study of 21 community foundations in Mexico reports that community foundations are strengthening the civic fabric and playing a pivotal role in growing a new type of philanthropy in Mexican communities. According to 2007 financial information, in spite of their relatively fledgling character, the community foundations have raised more than US$30.8 million in assets since their founding, principally from local, private sources, a figure which places Mexico at the forefront of Latin America’s grassroots philanthropy. Click here to read ...

‘Future Matters’ reports from Community Philanthropy

Community Philanthropy has launched three reports to help community philanthropy organizations better understand and adapt to the changing world and shifting community needs around them. Community Foundations and Social Enterprise looks at the ways in which community foundations are supporting social enterprise development in their communities; Communities on the Move: Community Philanthropy, Immigrants and Giving explores how community foundations are working with immigrant communities; and Community Philanthropy and Social Media provides an update on the use of media, changes in user behaviour and expectations about information that community philanthropy organizations should consider. Click here to read ...

New Approaches to Sustainable Development and A Practice-Relevant Guide for Community Philanthropy

Following on from The Poor Philanthropist by the same authors, these two new publications document the lessons and insights of a study of community philanthropy in southern Africa. They introduce new instruments that allow community foundations and trusts to appreciate existing assets in a community, to determine the equity that a community brings to the grantmaking table, to explore whether a grant supports or distorts the local norms of self-help, and to assess their interventions.

New Approaches to Sustainable Development and A Practice-Relevant Guide for Community Philanthropy
Susan Wilkinson-Maposa and Alan Fowler University of Cape Town pdf Click here to read ...

Local Mission – Global Vision: Community foundations in the 21st century - Peter deCourcy Hero and Peter Walkenhorst

For those of us who work with community foundations, particularly in emerging countries, moments of reflection are rare. We are so busy performing the ‘balancing act’, as Dorothy Reynolds puts it, that we rarely have a chance to think about the broader issues for our field.

That is why this book is so precious. It puts together a historical record of the emergence and development of community foundations around the world, with descriptions of practical experiences of community foundations working in different contexts, and provides technical guidance on governance and planning. Click here to read ...

What is a global fund to do?

After months of consultations, there are still some questions being raised as to what sorts of entity the Global Fund for Community Foundations should be supporting. Should it be organizations that conform, or almost conform, to the eight- or nine-point definition set out in the WINGS’ Community Foundations Global Status Report[1] – or at least aspire to do so? Or should the net be cast wider? Click here to read ...

Community Foundations of Canada Conference

Event Our Communities, Our World: Community Foundations of Canada Conference
Date 7-9 November
Venue Montreal, Canada

Canada’s remarkable movement of community foundations (now numbering 165) brought the world to Montreal for a truly global gathering in November. Community Foundations of Canada’s biennial conference, ‘Our Communities, Our World’, drew more than 650 delegates, including participants from across Canada and from 29 other countries, to engage in an inspiring dialogue about the past, present and future of community philanthropy. Click here to read ...

Vital Signs gives mixed report card for Canada

Child poverty in Canada is stuck at the same level as in 1989 and immigrant family incomes are falling behind, according to Canada’s Vital Signs 2008, the annual report card on quality of life produced by Community Foundations of Canada (CFC). Click here to read ...

In search of a broader vision?

Can over-precise definitions stifle innovation and creativity, asked Shannon Lawder of the Mott Foundation, summing up at the end of the Sixth Networking Meeting of the Community Philanthropy Initiative in Lisbon at the end of May. As Lawder commented, the meeting had confirmed ‘tremendous diversity in the field’ – yet too many emerging community philanthropy organizations still seem to be jumping through hoops simply to prove they really do fit the community foundation model. Click here to read ...