DAFNE is an informal network gathering donors and foundations associations in Europe with the aim of providing a platform to share knowledge and learn from best practices. With 25 member associations with a collective membership of more than 7,500 foundations and grant-makers, DAFNE underpins individual activities of its members by encouraging dialogue and collaboration between the national associations. Each DAFNE member individually serves public benefit foundations and other donors at national level: their roles and services vary from country to country.
DAFNE provides a collective voice for Foundations thus supporting the representative role that Associations play at national level.
The European Day of Foundations and Donors was established in 2013 to raise awareness and celebrate the work of public benefit foundations. Now in its fourth year, DAFNE, The Donors and Foundations Network in Europe, want to encourage members, their networks and the wider public from across the continent to ‘tell the story of philanthropy’, and offer the public insights into the valuable and diverse work of foundations. The campaign will be taking place across Europe, using the hashtag #October1Europe.
On October 1st, several associations of charitable foundations across Europe will be hosting events and activities to celebrate this day. Asociación Española de Fundaciones, for example, are encouraging Spanish Foundations to tweet at noon on October 1st. Their colleagues at the Swiss Foundations who are hosting an event on September 30th on the topic of ‘Digital Revolution’ as well as their counterparts in Croatia, who will be hosting a series of events leading up to the 1st of October as part of their Philanthropy Week. The Bulgarian Donors Forum will also be highlighting the importance of philanthropy by encouraging their networks to ‘Join the Light’, and in the time it takes for a match to go out, explain the ways in which philanthropy has affected them.
DAFNE’s goal is to curate, enhance and support the message and the work of its members online, and to encourage conversations around the day and the work of DAFNE members.
The ambition of the EDFD campaign is to motivate the public to support organisations, whether it is through donations, volunteer work, or other types of support. The European Day of Foundations and Donors has been celebrated every year on October 1st.
To find out more about the European Day of Foundations and Donors be sure to follow along on Twitter at @DafneHQ using the hashtag #October1Europe.
Philanthropy in Focus 