LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS - The European Foundation Centre

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chapter 1 founding the efc 21 The Wall’s effect The effect of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which also occurred on 9 November 1989, is a somewhat contentious matter in the EFC’s history. Some argue that the coincidence created positive momentum, as the attention being focused on central and eastern Europe became a rallying point for new foundations joining. Georis asserts that: ‘Without the fall of the Berlin Wall we would not have found the way to bring together foundations from all over the continent.’ Richardson agrees: ‘The essential thing was that we had a cause, and so we were lucky that the attention turned to central and eastern Europe when it did.’ He readily admits that the EFC ‘rode the back of history’. Others claim that the fall of the Wall deflected attention from the EFC’s original mission, to represent the European foundation sector at EU level. Luc Tayart de Borms of the King Baudouin Foundation notes: ‘The EFC was created to represent and push the foundation sector towards the official European institutions, but because of the fall of the Berlin Wall our attention went away from Brussels to eastern Europe in large part.’ The EFC’s first newsletter Some believe the move away from the EFC’s initial remit towards an eastern focus was led mainly by American foundations, Without the fall of the Berlin Wall we would which saw the EFC as a vehicle for their own not have found the way to bring together goals in the region. What followed was a culture within the EFC by which programmes and foundations from all over the continent. Raymond Georis, Founding EFC Chair projects focusing on the region received adequate funding (largely from US foundations), while money for core business and activities was more difficult to attract. While the funding situation of the EFC has undoubtedly improved since 1989, shades of the issue of reliance on American funders still exist today, the seeds of which may have been planted at the very beginning of the EFC.
22 Laying the foundations 20 years of the EFC A chance encounter An important player in the EFC’s early history not yet properly introduced to this story is William S White of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. White was working with European foundations as early as 1980 following a joint meeting of the US Foundation Executive Group and the Hague Club in Amsterdam. At this meeting, White was introduced to Georis, and the two stayed in touch. In 1990 White, interested in how civil society was responding to the changing political climate in central and eastern Europe, attended a meeting with a number of Polish NGOs in Krakow, organised by Lester Salamon of Johns Hopkins University. Many of the meeting participants were travelling by bus to Warsaw immediately following the meeting, and White dutifully boarded the bus at 7 in the morning, as he had been instructed. Another chance encounter was about to occur which would also A man sitting in front of White’s improvised heavily influence the early direction of the EFC. bed was boasting loudly about a new The bus for Warsaw was repeatedly delayed, so organisation which promised to bring all White stretched out on the luggage at the back of Europe together, the EFC. White finally and tried to catch some sleep. To his frustration, a man sitting in front of White’s improvised shouted out: ‘Shut up and I’ll buy it!’ The speaker then introduced himself as John bed was boasting loudly about a new organisation which promised to bring all of Europe Richardson, the EFC’s first Chief Executive. together, the EFC. White finally shouted out: ‘Shut up and I’ll buy it!’ The speaker then introduced himself as John Richardson, the EFC’s first Chief Executive, and much like Raymond Georis and Horst Niemeyer had joined forces while travelling by train from Leningrad to Helsinki the year prior, he and White swiftly found common cause on their bus journey across Poland. William S White at the 1990 Bruges AGA
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79 1996 Paris AGA Professional deve
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85 Coming up next Perhaps the evolu
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(L - R) Dario Disegni and Dan Brän
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Chapter 6 Advancing the position of
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101 EFC representatives meet Europe
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Chapter 8 Filling the toolbox: Benc
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188 Index A Advocacy Task Force 100
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192 Acknowledgments To inform the w
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LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS - The European Foundation Centre

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