Thousands of miles separate Avila Kilmurray of Northern Ireland from Max Legodi of South Africa. But they recently were drawn together for a historic, international gathering in Berlin, Germany.
The two were among about 175 participants at Community Foundations: Symposium on a Global Movement in early December 2004.
“It was obvious to see that we were operating in very different universes,” said Kilmurray, director of the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, based in Belfast.
“But what we all have in common is that we must address the needs of our communities. Some people who were at the symposium are doing this with very little financial stability, while others have huge amount of assets to do so.”
For Kilmurray, meeting with community foundation practitioners and researchers from almost three dozen countries confirmed what she had long suspected: Money isn’t all that’s needed.
“We need to be brokering relationships and looking at more creative ways to engage our communities.”
Legodi, operations manager for the Southern African Grantmakers Association (SAGA), helped birth the community foundation movement in South Africa in 1998.
Like Kilmurray, he said the first global gathering of community foundation leaders was extraordinary because of its design. Unlike other conferences, it included academics as well as practitioners, which provided opportunities to view the field afresh.
Researchers raised questions, Legodi said, asking practitioners if “community” could mean more than a geographically defined area. They also challenged traditionally accepted ideas about replication.
“There are hybrids around the world,” he said. “I liked that they were calling it a ‘concept’ instead of a ‘model.’ That means it can be open to different interpretations in different countries.”
In addition, the conference provided an opportunity for participants to learn about what is happening in other places, which was a welcomed reminder for Legodi.
“Sometimes you think you are all alone, but we heard that we are not alone with these problems,” he said. “They are faced by other community foundations around the world because we are all part of the same human family.”
The symposium was coordinated by the Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support (WINGS), an organization that serves more than 100 international grantmakers and is housed in the European Foundation Centre (EFC) in Brussels, Belgium. Among the event funders included was the Mott Foundation, which made two grants to EFC totaling $168,745 for costs associated with organizing the symposium.
Gaynor Humphreys, WINGS’ director, said seasoned researchers and many other participants called the event a “milestone” in the development of community foundations for several reasons.
While researchers brought depth and analysis to the conference, she said, practitioners exchanged ideas and experiences that demonstrated the creativity and flexibility of the community foundation concept.
“There was a sense throughout the event that there is now a ‘global movement,’” Humphreys said. “It provided a great opportunity for debate and exploration. Participants were stimulated and excited by the sessions.”
Before the three-day symposium concluded, Emmett Carson -- president and CEO of the Minneapolis Foundation -- delivered a keynote address that inspired and challenged the audience, said Kilmurray.
“The speech was very powerful because he talked about social injustice. He was asking us, ‘What is the role of community foundations in making a difference?’ For our corner of the world in Northern Ireland -- and other corners of the world where they have either suffered conflicts or are emerging from conflicts -- that means working for peace.”