The Philanthropy Europe Association (Philea) in Brussels, Belgium has issued a manifesto for the creation of a common European market for philanthropy, which proponents say is needed to address the persistence of barriers and regulations costing the sector €100 million (about $108 million) annually.
The 2024 European Philanthropy Manifesto has implications for sector activities within Europe, as well as for the ability to fundraise in the United States, Canada and other countries outside the continent. It also could affect U.S. nonprofits that fundraise or conduct mission-related work in Europe.
“The Philanthropy Manifesto is a call for the development of a single market without borders for the philanthropy sector and a call for engaging and partnering with our sector to develop much-needed solutions to our green, digital and social transformation,” said Philea CEO Delphine Moralis.
Recommendations of the four-point plan are as follows:
- Empower philanthropy by allowing free movement of funds and capital, establishing uniform rules to donate, and making it easier for nonprofits to recover consumption and value-added tax (VAT) payments.
- Facilitate cross-border philanthropy through uniform reciprocity agreements across Europe that remove the need to register in multiple countries and make it easier to accept foreign donations.
- Engage with philanthropy by implementing the letter and spirit of Article 11 of the Treaty on European Union. This section of the EU’s founding agreement commits EU policymakers to ongoing regular dialogue with civil society institutions including philanthropy on challenges related to public health, climate, economic and trade issues, and more.
- Partner with philanthropy through co-funding opportunities and public-private partnerships that advance fundamental rights, democracy and the public good.
The recommendations, though aimed at lawmakers from the 27 EU member states, are meant for lawmakers from the continent’s nearly two dozen non-EU countries as well. “Given that the Philea network goes beyond the European Union and includes wider Europe including Switzerland, the UK, Turkey, etc., the manifesto also addresses the wider European territory,” Hanna Surmat, Philea’s head of policy, told The NonProfit Times.
Authors of the document acknowledge the need to balance their wish list with overriding societal interests including the need for reasonable curbs on criminal activity. But lawmakers should “make sure that rules on anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing are proportionate to the risks they seek to mitigate and do not unduly restrict legitimate public benefit activities,” they wrote.
The 2024 manifesto is an updated version of a manifesto first put forth by Philea ahead of the last EU political cycle in 2019. EU lawmakers have since warmed to proposals that would make it easier for organizations to establish cross-border alliances and networks but have yet to endorse Philea’s ultimate goal of a single European statute with one set of rules covering the entire continent, according to Surmat.
