‘Are you going to look at community philanthropy organizations and not just community foundations?’ is a question I have been asked on several occasions while working on this issue of Alliance. ‘That’s certainly my intention’ has been my answer. But as the different contributions came in, I began to wonder how much sense the question still makes. Debate about the defining characteristics of community foundations (CFs) is certainly still going on but in practice people often sidestep the debate, saying that what they are developing is indeed a CF but in their country it doesn’t make sense, for example, for …

Community philanthropy is coming of age in a globalized world. After an extended formative period in the US and Canada, it has boomed in over 20 countries in the last three decades. Moving into institutional adulthood, community philanthropy organizations worldwide are facing tough but necessary questions. What kind of impact are we having in terms of improving social conditions? What is the added value – for social good and the donors – of this new form of philanthropy? The main concern behind these questions is whether community philanthropy institutions are equipped – in vision, intention and operations – to bring …