Civitates

Civitates provides funding for civil society actors to come together, revitalise public discourse, and ensure that all voices are heard, because we need a strong civil society to shape vibrant and open European democracies that work.

The pooled fund supports cross-sectoral coalitions that strengthen the resilience of the civil society sector, initiatives that push for a healthy digital public sphere, as well as independent, public interest journalism in Europe.

Since becoming operational in 2018, Civitates has made 38 grants in 14 countries across Europe. In addition to providing funding, Civitates has a Funding Plus component, through which the fund provides capacity development and networking opportunities to its grantees. Civitates has an annual budget of approximately 3M EUR and is supported by a large group of diverse foundations of different shapes and sizes, which bring in a wealth of expertise and different perspectives.

The initiative, which is hosted by the Network of European Foundations (NEF) and housed in the Philanthropy House in Brussels, builds on lessons learned from other pooled funds. The King Baudouin Foundation as founding member is currently presiding Civitates.