Globalization, improved international communication, and economic integration are three factors that have forever altered European philanthropic traditions. Because of a shift in the political cultures of many European countries, the philanthropic activities of foundations have rejected government control and embraced the concept of civil society. As a result, European foundations are recognizing their obligation to support the public good.

Foundations in Europe: Society, Management and Law is a compilation of essays written by over fifty researchers, academic scholars, and respected members of the philanthropic community from both the United States and Europe. Published by the Bertelsman Foundation in cooperation with the Charities Aid Foundation and the Directory of Social Change in the United Kingdom, this unique reference work sets new standards in philanthropic research. It uses a comparative approach to evaluate the philanthropic activities that currently exist across different European countries. First initiated in 1998, the results of this research project show the diversity of philanthropic traditions of different European legal, social, and political cultures. Each essay ends with a comprehensive bibliography.

Foundations in Europe is divided into four sections. Sections I and IV are comparative in nature while Sections II and III uses a methodological approach. Sections II and III are revised and reprinted from Handbuch Stiftungen, the German edition of the Bertelsman Foundation reference book.

Section I of Foundations in Europe details the role of foundations in European society, both past and present. It begins with an essay by James Allen Smith, Adviser to the President of J.P. Getty Trust, and Karsten Borgmann, a researcher at Free University in Berlin, Germany. Their essay reflects on European foundation history over a period that spans more than two millenia. Helmut K. Anheier, Director of the Centre for Civil Society in the UK, analyzes growth patterns and current giving trends of European foundations. Numerous tables that detail philanthropic activity support his essay.

A majority of Section I is composed of essays about specific European countries —— Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Each essay, written by a different author, provides historical information, expands on legal issues, profiles the foundations in the country, and predicts future trends. In this section also, Frances Pinter, affiliated with the Open Society Institute and the Centre for Civil Society, analyzes how foundations in Central and Eastern Europe were transformed by the arrival of democracy, in an enlightening essay. John Richardson, chief executive officer of the European Foundation Centre in Brussels, profiles the Centre and its dedication to strengthening organized philanthropy in Europe and internationally.

Section II covers mission, governance and organization of foundations; Section III covers foundation management issues. Although in contradiction to the title, the publishers include several essays in these two sections written by U.S. authors to support the international flavor of philanthropy. Section IV covers the legal issues governing the philanthropic activity of European foundations. It reviews procedures for establishing and terminating a foundation, tax regulations, and cross-border giving.

Foundations in Europe ends with two invaluable appendices. Appendix I summarizes the answers to a survey conducted by Bradley Gallop, President of the International Institute of Association and Foundation Lawyers on the laws governing foundations in 24 European countries. Appendix II provides a non-comprehensive list of legislation and administrative regulations governing foundations in the twenty countries covered in the survey.

This unique reference source, written for researchers, historians, scholars, and members of the academic community, adds important value to the knowledge base of European philanthropy. However, in order to absorb its diverse concepts, the essays in Foundations in Europe should be read one at a time.

A similar study, the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project, is broader in scope. A comparative overview of the nonprofit sector in forty-two countries, the Project not only includes nonprofits within Europe but also Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, and the United States. Its emphasis within the nonprofit sector, however, is on public charities and not private foundations. Therefore, the research findings of the Project supplements, rather than competes with, the information presented in Foundations in Europe.