News and updates from BCSDN and the region
Only women’s organizations focused on consciousness-raising, coalition-building, and advocacy can bring the kind of systemic change that women the world over need. The philanthropic community’s preoccupation with impact and the short-term projects that deliver measurable outcomes can distract us from what really works. Abundant data shows that the most effective way for philanthropists to advance
Read more →The report is a call to philanthropy to stay engaged, re-engage, or start engaging in building, supporting, and nurturing civil society and its institutions, wherever those institutions are under threat. From close comparative study of five pooled funds, a set of lessons can be gleaned about supporting civil society that should be built into grantmaking
Read more →The policy analysis aims to contribute to the improvement of donor policies’ impact on democratization. It is based on the author’s detailed research, which followed efforts by both NGOs, as well as activists, to achieve changes of civil society. Recent policy documents indicate a growing awareness and concern among donor agencies that implementing NGOs often
Read more →The objective of the paper is to provide, via concrete country examples, an overview of different ways in which national legislation of various states around the globe restricts international funding for CSOs. It focuses only on CSOs, not on other types of associations such as political parties or trade unions. The paper will likewise assess
Read more →The study examines institutional donor engagements in 6 countries: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia and consists of two core documents, a regional overview and an Addendum that provides information on country-level specificities. It also explores recent and future donor engagements in the region, views of donors and key stakeholders on
Read more →Funders hold many responsibilities, such as allocation of resources in pursuit of their strategies and designing and adapting grantmaking practices that enable and support the work of grantee organizations. Funder grantmaking and learning practices are best when informed by grantee organization needs and experience. Yet there are myriad factors that limit or even prevent the
Read more →First emerging in the 1970s, women’s funds and foundations focus on gender equality and other issues that disproportionately affect women and girls. Women’s fund and foundation donors serve as examples of activist philanthropists, for whom being visible as a donor is critical to propelling change. They also exemplify how, by identifying a specific set of
Read more →Around the world, extreme poverty has fallen, access to basic health care and education have risen, and deaths due to violence are at historic lows. Yet, inequality within countries is still rising, the number of forcibly displaced persons is at an all-time high, and climate change is exacerbating epidemics of drought, flood, migration, and disease.
Read more →The SDGs and targets are indivisible and interlinked whereby progress on one goal can contribute to another or, in contrast, could undermine efforts in another. According to CONCORD, the recognition of civil society’s diverse roles – as stated in the 2012 EC Communication – has not always been backed coherently. For that reason, it is
Read more →Challenging EU governments to establish a more enabling environment for philanthropy, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has published its first opinion on the topic, referring that a more philanthropic environment could make for a more resilient EU society. The opinion, which was commissioned by the current Romanian presidency of the EU and published
Read more →The report is the OECD’s annual flagship report on development co-operation. For more than 50 years, the Development Co-operation Report has brought new evidence, analysis and ideas to the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the international community, shaping policy reform, behaviour change and promoting best practices. Each year the report analyses a fresh policy issue
Read more →The question of how grassroots groups and activists based in the global south can mobilise adequate support to overcome the growing challenges they face and achieve positive change is a serious one that requires our attention. These groups face significant challenges in accessing key resources (financial and otherwise) to sustain their work. This consultation is
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