- What is community philanthropy?
- Global philanthropy
- Community philanthropy in Latvia
- Contact information
- Methodological materials
The Boris and Ināra Teterev Foundation implemented the Community Philanthropy Development Program from 2012 to 2025. Since 2012, the community foundations supported in the regions have attracted five million euros for projects important to residents. The activities of community foundations have provided - and continue to provide - opportunities for hundreds of initiatives led by residents across cities and municipalities.
With a strategic vision and financial investment, the Boris and Ināra Teterev Foundation has supported the work of six community foundations. Over the years, the community foundation movement has strengthened purposeful philanthropy and promoted positive changes in society. Significant work has been accomplished in Alūksne and Ape, Middle Latgale, Valmiera, Limbaži, Kandava, and Talsi, and these achievements will bring important results to their local communities.
What is community philanthropy?
Community philanthropy is the goal-oriented mobilisation of funds, time, skills, and other resources for the benefit of the public in a specific geographical area, i.e., cities and districts. It nurtures and improves the quality of life within a specific community by
- solving local problems;
- encouraging collaboration between the nonprofit, State and private sector;
- developing local charitable traditions;
- implementing projects of vital importance to the local community;
- offering residents the opportunity to play a part in the growth of their community.
These goals are fulfilled by community foundations - charitable organisations that ascertain the needs of their local community, attract donations and other resources required for the fulfilment of important projects conceived by residents, and oversee their implementation. Thus, community philanthropy develops in a planned and goal-oriented manner.
Global philanthropy
Globally, various types of foundations are well-known, some of which already possess the funds they require at the time of their founding, whereas others attract them in the course of their everyday work:
- private foundations are funded with the financial resources of a specific private individual and/or donations and bequests from private individuals;
- corporate foundations are funded by the donations of one or more companies or the investments they make in a specific sector of interest to them;
- thematic foundations which grant funds in support of a specific subject or to solve a problem;
- operational foundations implement projects themselves and do not allocate funds to other organisations implementing projects or initiatives (the majority of foundations in Latvia are operational foundations);
- community foundations, which operate within a certain territory, attract the resources of the local community and support local initiatives.
Community foundations in different countries tend to operate according to different standards. Most community foundations tend to share the following attributes:
- community foundations award funds to the projects of other organisations, moreover, to projects encompassing a wide range of social concerns;
- foundations’ funds are raised from diverse local sources, not just one donor;
- foundations are independent of any specific political, economic or other power; they are formed through broad partnerships and undertake a leading role in encouraging charity and dialogue;
- the majority of foundations are funded by inviolable capital and ensure its goal-oriented governance.
Community philanthropy is an international movement that facilitates positive change in societies across almost every continent. Globally, there are 1,864 active community foundations, 670 of which are in Europe. Nine of these operate in Latvia – in Talsi, Lielvārde, Valmiera, Alūksne and Ape, Kandava, Limbaži, Mid-Latgale, Ķekava and Liepāja. They span 26 municipalities and almost 300,000 residents.
Community foundation contact information.
Community philanthropy in Latvia
Among the Baltic States, Latvia is the only country in which community philanthropy has taken root, and which can reflect on almost 20 years of achievement in this realm.
Around 2000, the Baltic– American Partnership Fund set one of its goals as strengthening the culture of philanthropy in Latvia, in order to encourage the formation of new and stable financial sources to fund the activities of civic society.
The development of social participation and community philanthropy manifested itself as the introduction of a residents’ forum model and community foundations.
The origins of residents’ forums and community foundations in Latvia date back to 2001, when the Baltic-American Partnership Fund announced a project competition to implement the pilot project “Participation of Residents and Community Philanthropy”. At community level, two local organisations were chosen: the Northern Kurzeme NGO Support Centre in Talsi and the Lielvārde Foreign Communication and Education Support Office. The task of both organisations was to develop potential ideas for the participation of residents and community philanthropy within their respective operating territories.
The first pilot project phase aimed to encourage resident participation, to that end, residents’ forums were organised, modelled on U.S. experience. Parallel to this, this participation model was also developed in Lithuania and Estonia. Latvia thoroughly analysed the advantages and shortcomings of the model in an effort to find an approach suitable for the mentality of Latvia’s residents. It was trialled during the first residents’ forums held in Lielvārde and Talsi. The results of the first residents’ forums showed that residents were interested in participating and that a residents’ forum is a way to engage and motivate them to participate in the formation and development of their surrounding environment.
In turn, the second pilot project phase was dedicated to mastering the concept of community philanthropy. Under its auspices, consultants were recruited from the Russian representative office of the Charities Aid Foundation, and study visits were conducted to the Czech Republic and Slovakia, as well as work in Talsi and Lielvārde to establish local community foundations.
The process of establishing the community foundations and their results in both cities, i.e. Lielvārde and Talsi, turned out to be very different. This only served to strengthen the belief among supporters of the community philanthropy initiative that the establishment of a community foundation is unique to each place, and that there is no uniform prescription for how to do this. However, there is a range of preconditions that must be considered when establishing a foundation. An impression of this can be gained from this report on how the foundation establishment process took place in Talsi, Lielvārde, Alūksne, Valmiera and Liepāja.
In 2008, the Baltic-American Partnership Fund concluded its operations in Latvia and the Baltics and support for the establishment of new community foundations declined. However, the organisation of residents’ forums and the work of community foundations have proven to be successful tools for mobilising the local community.
The Boris and Ināra Teterev Foundation implemented the Community Philanthropy Development Program from 2012 to 2025. Its goal was to strengthen and develop the concept of community philanthropy in Latvia, supporting the growth of existing community foundations and initiatives and the establishment of new ones in rural areas. The capital raised through charity events of Latvian community funds makes it possible to address hundreds of needs and ideas in cities and counties.
Check out this INFOGRAPHIC about the establishment, goals and operation of community foundations.
