Give the community a voice - A national partnership of independent local support organisations

The state and quality of democracy in Hungary has deteriorated strongly in recent times. The power of civil society organisations has diminished, financial resources available to them are drying up, and more and more CSOs are turning to the public for donations. The aim of community foundations is local fundraising and supporting local civic initiatives. They encourage people to join together in common cause and action, encourage peaceful assembly, civil and civic cooperation with others and free expression.

The initiative will involve structured cooperation between the 13 community foundations that are currently operating or are in the process of being established. The focus of the cooperation will be on mutual learning, fundraising innovation, national meetings and joint local and national campaigns. Through this, participating foundations become able to increase their local visibility, attract new donors locally, and support more causes themselves, also gaining new supporters for the cause of community foundations nationally.

The project will include workshops, national meetings and joint campaigns involving residents of the municipalities concerned and local civil initiatives. Over time, community foundations will become branded, more visible and better known, and those operating in this way will be able to raise more funds to support community causes.