Philanthropy infrastructure in action
PIOs support and empower philanthropy through a range of concrete actions - from initiatives on climate, gender and health to setting up community foundations to developing policy guidance for governments, and more.
This section explores some of the tangible ways that PIOs embrace connection, credibility, catalytic action, capability and capacity to achieve impact.
Connection
Facilitating partnerships between funders and non-profits
As part of its commitment to strengthening civil society, the Kosovo Civil Society Forum (KCSF) launched the Informal Philanthropy Forum to spark cross-sector collaboration. The Forum brings together citizens, CSOs, public institutions, and the private sector to build trust, share ideas, and co-create solutions to social challenges. By facilitating dialogue and supporting joint initiatives, the Forum aims to unlock domestic philanthropic potential and drive lasting, community-centred impact.
Credibility
Co-developing a National Philanthropy Policy
In December 2023, Philanthropy Ireland celebrated the launch of Ireland’s inaugural National Philanthropy Policy 2024–2028. This pioneering policy – actively advocated and co-shaped by Philanthropy Ireland through extensive research and stakeholder consultations – establishes a five-year framework aimed at deepening awareness of philanthropy, enhancing data and research, stimulating and incentivising giving, strengthening partnerships with government, and building sector capacity.
Building public support for philanthropy
The National Day of Giving in Serbia is a significant event of the Serbian Philanthropy Forum, dedicated to promoting philanthropy and encouraging acts of generosity across the country. Celebrated annually on 9 October since 2018, this day and event aims at raising awareness about the importance of giving and supporting those in need, fostering a culture of solidarity and social responsibility.
Enabling foundations to expand their credibility
In June 2024, ACF launched its “Origins of Wealth toolkit” – a guidance for foundations exploring their wealth origins for connections with the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans. In the UK, exploring institutional wealth connections to historical enslavement has moved in the last few years from being seen as niche or radical to becoming mainstream practice. As a response to member demand for peer learning with organisations on a similar journey and building capacity within the sector, it encourages foundations to explore how the issue of wealth origins resonates within their past and present.
Catalyst
Highlighting issues that require collective responses
In early 2025, the Polish Donors Forum launched the nationwide “Social Organisations for Climate” initiative. Developed through participatory workshops attended by 79 representatives from 40 NGOs, the initiative culminated in a formal Declaration of Social Organisations for Climate. The project reflects a growing commitment by Poland’s philanthropic sector to embed sustainability in all aspects of their work and mobilise social change partners around climate action. By launching its national commitment, the Polish Donors Forum joined the global #PhilanthropyForClimate movement.
In 2025, Assifero launched “Guidelines towards policies on gender-based violence”, the first initiative of Italian philanthropy on what foundations could and should do to help prevent gender-based violence starting from their organisations and beyond.
The Association for Community Relations (ARC) Romania launched an interactive map of NGO interventions in the health system, highlighting the work of civil society organisations active in healthcare across Romania. The map serves as a dynamic tool to showcase who is doing what, where, and with whom. Developed in response to systemic challenges – like Romania’s low healthcare spending and poor health outcomes – the map aims to amplify the role of NGOs, foster collaboration and invite new organisations to join and enrich this shared ecosystem of care and innovation.
Supporting futures thinking or collective imagination of possible futures
Inspired by Philea’s “Futures Philanthropy” initiative, Third Sector Foundation in Türkiye (TÜSEV) launched “Designing the Future” in 2024 to promote foresight, collaboration and long-term thinking among its members. Early meetings have focused on topics such as AI, climate philanthropy and new models for scholarships. The initiative aims to build a values-based, participatory space for imagining and shaping a more just and sustainable future.
Incubating new initiatives and/or actors in the field of philanthropy
The year 2025 will mark the emergence of the first community foundation in Austria, driven by local communities pooling time, money and ideas to address regional needs sustainably. Launched through a pilot programme of the Austrian Association of Foundations, starting in early 2024, the initiative offered capacity-building events – webinars, seminars and coaching – guiding the communities towards a formal launch of the foundation.
Capability
Setting the standards for a good and forward-looking practice
The blueprint for good practice in the Swiss sector was spearheaded by the SwissFoundations’ Code of Conduct. It is an orientation framework for good foundation management which serves as an application-oriented tool for foundations. It provided inspiration for the Codes of Conduct in Austria and Czechia.
The Compass for Philanthropic Foundations was developed in 2024 by the Belgian Federation of Philanthropic Foundations and its partners, as a guiding tool for philanthropy. Its purpose is to promote cooperation, strengthen the self-regulatory nature of the sector, and support professionalisation and good governance.
Through sector consultations with multiple experts, as well as an international benchmarking exercise and research on the sector, four key themes were identified: 1) Forward Outlook, Agility & Focus; 2) Good Governance, Transparency and Trust; 3) Public perception, Accountability & Impact Measurement; and 4) Collaboration, Synergies & Amplified Impact.
Capacity
Unlocking more funding for common good
A recent change in the regulations in the Netherlands, driven by the Association of Dutch Foundations (FIN), has made it easier and more attractive for philanthropic endowment funds to invest in impact funds. These rules allow foundations to invest both their principal and earnings in initiatives aligned with their mission without needing a special tax ruling – creating a level playing field and unlocking significant capital for social impact. The shift exemplifies how impact investing can balance financial returns with social goals, encouraging more philanthropic capital to flow into scalable, mission-driven innovations.
Building infrastructure for public–private–philanthropic partnerships
In 2022, Acri and the Italian Government launched The Digital Republic Fund, a strong example of public–private–philanthropic partnership. Inspired by success of the Fund to Combat Educational Poverty, it supports projects that promote digital skills and inclusion, and that reduce digital divides. Aligned with Italy’s National Recovery Plan and Digital Skills Strategy, the Fund uses open calls and rigorous impact evaluation to guide policy and scale effective solutions. So far, foundations have contributed around €200 million, partially compensated by tax credits.
Developing systems for funders
In 2025, the Centre for Philanthropy in Slovakia (CFPS)launched – eProjekty, an online platform for Slovak foundations, designed to simplify the submission, management and evaluation of public-benefit grant applications and projects. It supports both organisations and individuals seeking funding for common good. The platform aims to streamline the entire process – from application to approval and reporting – while ensuring transparent and fair decision-making. CFPS has a strong track record in building digital infrastructure for philanthropy: eProjecty complements the online giving platform DARUJME.sk and a crowdfunding platform StartLab.
Attracting talent to the sector
One of the objectives of the Spanish Association of Foundation’s current Board of Directors is professionalisation of the sector and enabling conditions to attract talent in the foundation sector. Their recent study, “Talent management in the foundation sector”, explores the state of talent management in Spanish foundations. It highlights challenges such as difficulty attracting and retaining talent, lack of HR investment, and gender disparities in leadership. The report, developed with Fundación ManpowerGroup, Talent Solutions, and Fundación ONCE, also identifies opportunities for professional development and digital transformation in the sector.
