#EuropeTogether #WeArePhilanthropy

This year on 1 October, the European Day of Foundations and Donors, public benefit foundations, charities, trusts, communities, donors, philanthropists and volunteers from across Europe will come together with one common goal: raising public awareness about philanthropy and encouraging more giving and civic action.

1 October is a moment to engage in a meaningful dialogue with the wider public. While we will be taking this opportunity to showcase philanthropy’s vital contribution, the day also encourages us to ask critical questions. Are we doing enough? Is philanthropy trust- and community-based? How can philanthropy remain sustainable and provide short-term but also long-term support?

The Covid-19 pandemic has laid bare many of our societies’ vulnerabilities such as socio-economic inequality, the digital divide, and the fragility of our healthcare system. Throughout this crisis philanthropy has been at the forefront, together with civil society organisations, local communities and authorities, fighting the pandemic and its negative impact on our societies.

Our Campaign

Philanthropy is often under the radar of the public eye. But there are so many stories that make a difference to society and that deserve more attention! We have created a campaign in the lead up to the European Day of Foundations and Donors to platform these stories of solidarity, and we encourage you to join us and share yours.

#EuropeTogether is the major theme of this year’s campaign and a way to highlight cross-border solidarity, encourage more generosity and inspire partnerships. Using the hashtag #WeArePhilanthropy we want to encourage people working in philanthropy to tell their stories, share why they are committed to philanthropy and what motivates them every day.

You are the most important part of making this campaign a reality. We invite you to actively engage in this social media campaign using the hashtags – we have even created a social media toolkit to give you some ideas. Be inspired and inspire others by sharing your own photos, videos, and stories, and resharing the ones that DAFNE is highlighting. We hope you will join us in celebrating the 2020 European Day of Foundations and Donors.

Focus: Philanthropy

We have planned a “one story” a day campaign leading to the event on the first of October, organised jointly with the European Foundation Centre, where we will announce the three winners of the contest. Thanks to your great involvement around Focus Philanthropy we have collected over 90 stories from across Europe, 30 of which were shortlisted.

Every day, in preparation to the European Day of Donors and Foundations, we will share one of these thirty incredible photo-stories to raise awareness about European philanthropy and its value for youth empowerment, global health, elderly rights, digitalisation, climate, international development, women empowerment, cross-border solidarity and much more. You can view (and repost) these photo-stories through our Twitter or our Instagram.

On 17 September 2020, together with our strategic partners Alliance Magazine and Thomson Reuters Foundation, we will hold the Focus: Philanthropy jury, selecting three most inspiring stories. On the jury we have Heba Aly (Director of The New Humanitarian), Zibran Choudhury (Editor at Alliance Magazine), Belinda Goldsmith (Editor-in-Chief at Thomson Reuters Foundation, UK), Maria Krasnikova (Director of the “Art, Science and Sport” Foundation, Russia), Oksana Sarzhevskaya (Executive Director of Izolyatsia, Ukraine), Catterina Seia (Co-Founder and Vice President of the Fitzcarraldo Foundation and Scientific Director at AgCult, Italy)