Network of European Foundations

NEF is a joint-initiative of a small number of foundations. We are not a membership-based organisation, but all NEF pooled funds/projects are open to other foundations. Every year we work with more than 60 foundations from over 20 countries and various strategic partners.

Our main focus is on enabling better and more strategic collaboration between foundations.

We define our mission as follows: ‘European solidarity through philanthropy for social inclusion, international development and democracy’.

NEF’s main body is the General Assembly that approves the pooled funds and projects that NEF will coordinate. It is also responsible for overseeing this portfolio, taking constitutional decisions for the association, approving the accounts and electing the Board of Directors.

The smooth day-to-day running of the organisation is entrusted to the NEF Secretariat team under the supervision of the Board of Directors. At a project level, strategic decisions are taken by each Steering Committee which represents the foundations working on a pooled fund or project. The Secretariat is based in Brussels and NEF also has an office in Belgrade.

The European Foundation Centre (EFC) and NEF work closely together. While EFC acts as a meeting place for European funders, NEF works as a catalyst to initiate and develop pooled funds.

Mission

NEF is an association of leading European foundations dedicated to strengthening philanthropic cooperation.

We work in partnership with foundations, non profit organisations, government institutions, academia and more.

We aim at better and more strategic collaboration, and our mission is to realise European solidarity through philanthropy for social inclusion, international development and democracy.

We fund and support the civil society in its work on those 3 fields of action, at the European and global level.

Programme Areas

SOCIAL INCLUSION
We work to support civil society at European level through various initiatives to ensure that the social inclusion of vulnerable groups remains on the European agenda.

DEMOCRACY
Based on the belief that democratic governance is one of the fundamental values on which Europe is constructed, this field of action seeks to support democracy in Europe and in the world.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
NEF’s broadest field of action is international development, encompassing a variety of pooled funds.