This grant renewal provides general purposes support for CIVICUS, an international alliance established in 1993 dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society worldwide. CIVICUS' membership currently includes representatives from over 100 countries. Key partners at the global level include United Nations agencies, academic institutions, and many large international development organizations. CIVICUS also has consultative status with global and regional bodies such as World Bank and the Council of Europe. CIVICUS' key programs are (a) the Civil Society Index, a systematic action research program on the state of civil society in more than 50 countries; (b) the annual World Assembly, which brought together more than 750 participants in 2008; and (c) Civil Society Watch, a program that mobilizes quick, public responses to situations where the right to freedom of civic association is threatened. CIVICUS also has programs on participatory governance, development cooperation and aid effectiveness, and legitimacy, transparency, and accountability.

This grant provides important general purposes support to the Association of Community Trusts and Foundations, a membership organization of community foundations in the United Kingdom. The Association of Community Trusts and Foundations has become a model organization in its efforts to support the growth and development of community foundations in the United Kingdom. This grant will help the Association of Community Trusts and Foundations enhance its services to members and implement a three-year plan designed to take the network to: broader levels of coverage in the United Kingdom, increased growth of financial assets, enhanced visibility to key audiences, and greater quality of work. Lessons learned in the United Kingdom have assisted in community foundation development across continental Europe and in other priority geographic regions of the Foundation.

The Transatlantic Community Foundations Network is a learning community launched in 1999 that facilitates, nurtures, and encourages community foundation development across North America and Europe. Over the past 12 years, the network has brought together more than 50 community foundation field practitioners from 14 countries for meetings focused on shared learning, mutual skills building, and information resource development. Community Foundations of Canada, a national membership association, has been the network's host since 2009. The network will conclude its programs in 2011, although its platform, relationships, and knowledge base are expected to transfer to the Global Fund for Community Foundations. A grant increase and six-month extension are needed to support program management and transfer of the network's resources, as well as scholarships for network members and other international field leaders to participate in the May 2011 Community Foundations of Canada biennial conference and a final, one day post-conference network learning event.