Organised funders, including Europe's largest and most prestigious foundations, devote considerable resources to research. Paradoxically, from a comparative, cross-national point of view, few types of organisations have received less attention by policy analysts and researchers than organised funders. A decision by European funders to set up a research fund catering for European philanthropy and the craft of funding is needed to light the way. Until every public and university library in Europe displays a collection of in-depth works on organised giving, foundations and corporate donors will never have the broad respectability that they should command. Scientific and technological developments are making human society more sophisticated and more specialised than at any time in the past.
Foundations face a dual challenge.
First, they must secure their place in a world which is more interactive and more open. Debate on the EFC Code of Practice for organised philanthropy needs to be regularly renewed to ensure that it always remains uppermost in the minds of funders. The performance of independent funder programme officers and support staff is linked to opportunities to exchange best practice in such areas as programme development, monitoring, evaluation and avoidance of conflicts of interest, to name but a few. Foundations and corporate donors need to refine their unique role and its relevance in the modern world and agree on a new vision for our emerging community. In particular, the distinction between foundations and associations must be emphasised.