TFN came to Madrid on 24 September for the inaugural Hortaleza Giving Circle, where 119 people came together and raised €18,600 for three local organisations.

The event took place at CES Escuela Superior de Imagen y Sonido, a higher-education school specialising in image, sound and technology in Hortaleza, a district in the north-east of the city.

It was organised by Filanda Fundación Comunitaria de Hortaleza, a recently established community foundation serving the Hortaleza district and TFN’s newest international partner, in collaboration with the Asociación Española de Fundaciones (Spanish Association of Foundations) and Fundación Daniel y Nina Carasso.

The money raised was shared equally, with €6,200 going to each of three grassroots organisations working in the Hortaleza district.

La Torre de Hortaleza supports vulnerable children and young people through basketball and wider educational and social support. The funding will enable it to introduce a new psychological support service for young people.

Radio Enlace, the neighbourhood’s long-established community radio station, will use the funding for live street broadcasts involving young people from the Hortaleza Emergency Shelter and older people living in municipal care homes.

Asociación El Olivar provides housing and support to vulnerable young people experiencing homelessness. The funding will help it accommodate two additional young people at its Hortaleza shelter.

The partnership with Filanda forms part of TFN International, through which we support community foundations and other civil society organisations to learn, adapt and use TFN’s collective giving model in their own communities. The model has now spread to 32 countries.

For Javier Diaz Munoz, Board Member at Filanda, the success of the first event was about much more than the amount raised.

“While we know that older, more established giving circles sometimes raise larger sums, for us, this night was about so much more than just the final number. It was about testing a new format, watching a community come together, and feeling the vibrant, collective energy in the room. For many of our guests, the concept of a Giving Circle was completely new, and seeing everyone jump in with such enthusiasm was truly inspiring.”

Watch a short video of the first Hortaleza Giving Circle here.

Through TFN International we deliver training, support and small grants to community foundations and other mission aligned civil society organisations to enable them to deliver the TFN model in their communities, You can read more here.