In this period in which Europe is confronted with the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic, we look back and take stock of the discussions we had with a group of large and innovative foundations last year, when we reflected on how Covid-19 could be a catalytic factor to shift foundations’ practices, pushing them to become more strategic and forward looking.

The content of the article is opinion based on the authors’ attendance at and reporting of the conversations held in two sessions convened by EFC & EVPA of their joint Foundations Along the Spectrum of Capital Initiative.

This group is collection of leading Foundations across Europe exploring the new roles for Foundations to deploy their capital for impact. This article has been co-authored by Peter Cafferkey, Gianluca Gaggiotti and Alessia Gianoncelli from EVPA. Statistics mentioned reflect the output of polls conducted at these two sessions.

Group members include:

• DOEN Participaties (The Netherlands)
  
• Fondation Botnar (Switzerland)
• Fondazione Cariplo (Italy)
• Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo (Italy)
• Fondazione Sviluppo E Crescita CRT (Italy)
• Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian (Portugal)
• King Baudouin Foundation (Belgium)
• Oranje Fonds (The Netherlands)
• Robert Bosch Stiftung (Germany)

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