Press release: EFC releases report charting survey responses of how foundations are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic

Brussels, 26 June 2020 – Today the European Foundation Centre (EFC) released a report presenting 106 responses to a survey on what immediate measures they were taking (or were planning to take), internally and in their programmatic and funding activities, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The EFC surveyed its members, affiliates and partners from March to early June 2020 to gain a better picture of how the philanthropic sector was reacting to the crisis in order to identify possible points of collaboration and synergy, and to share useful information among them.

The survey questions fell into three broad categories; the internal changes made and challenges faced by the organisation, the value that philanthropy can bring to the crisis, and actions taken by members to mitigate the impact of the crisis. The results present numerous insights into both the challenges presented by the pandemic to philanthropic organisations and the opportunities they have acted upon to support communities worldwide.

“68% of those who responded said that programmes/initiatives they run would be harder to implement in light of the current situation”

Respondents faced challenges in evaluating which, if any, activities to suspend, and in finding ways to modify or restructure programmes to accommodate the new situation. They were particularly concerned about how the situation would impact their grantees: several EFC members have consulted their grantees through surveys.

Almost 80% of respondents indicated they had launched new initiatives such as emergency funds, funds to mitigate economic consequences post emergency, and research projects, with the following areas representing the top 3 beneficiaries: research (institutes, researchers) hospitals and health services, and humanitarian organisations/ international agencies.

The report is available to download from the EFC website: LINK