Sustainability of Community Foundations Co-Creating a Shared Understanding of the Concept

Online Roundtable, 3^rd Feb 2021 10:30-12:30 (CET)

To register for the roundtable click here. (Google Form)

Who can participate?

ECFI invites practitioners from community foundations (CFs) and CF-like initiatives in Europe (in staff, volunteer, board member, or other roles) to join this online roundtable which is the second of a series of events on the topic of sustainability of CFs.

The meeting will be held in English.

You shall receive a link to the zoom meeting after the registration. Joining the meeting is possible only for registered participants.

What we offer

The purpose of this roundtable is to critically revisit the organizational sustainability concept while also considering the changes induced by the Covid-19 pandemic. The specific goal of this meeting is to collectively map the problem area and identify both:

a) the questions that are necessary to inform further learning and knowledge building around this topic and

b) reflect on some of the responses and approaches that CFs apply in their efforts to strengthen their sustainability.

Andreea Alexandrov from the Federation of Romanian CFs who has participated in the 2020 edition of the ECFI Learning Lab will share her preliminary findings based on the Romanian case on how the CF organizational sustainability relates to the resilience capacity of the organization. Andreea coordinates the national communication for a pilot program of the Federation and participates in frequent conversations with CFs in Romania that give her a unique position to observe the challenges of daily work of CFs. Specifically, Andreea will offer a perspective on why the collaborative and relational capacity does matter for CF sustainability and what can be said about the conditions influencing the ability of a CF to adapt and collaborate. Her presentation will be available before the meeting and participants will be invited to respond to propositions and findings presented.

Boris Strecansky from ECFI will provide an overview of different dimensions of CF sustainability on both sides of the equation: the CF as an organization and the community environment/context in which CF exists. How understanding and interpreting the interdependent relationship between the CF and its community may inform the thinking about CF sustainability. The background document will be available to participants before the meeting.

The roundtable will initiate an exploration of the topic and the sharing of different perspectives. It is hoped that the meeting will help to clarify key questions related to the strengths and weaknesses of approaches to this challenge for further collective examination.

For more information please contact Mihaela Giurgiu from ECFI.