Democracy

Committed Community

Germany has an active civil society, with some 23 million people involved in work for the public good. To do so, they require structures, resources and contact points on a local level. This is where our network program comes in.

About the project

Civic involvement enhances quality of life, solidarity in society, and democracy. Germany has an active civil society, with some 23 million people involved in working for the public good. Their volunteer commitment requires contact points and structures on a local level. These might be volunteer agencies, multigenerational centers, community foundations, senior citizens’ offices, or communal field offices. In practice, however, such organizations tend to be underfunded, with a low profile and not connected among each other. Our networking program "Committed Community" aims to change just that. The third round is due to start on July 1, 2020, and will focus on one goal in particular: to develop the largest nationwide learning network of people in Germany who foster civic commitment and local participation by establishing favorable conditions, cross-sectoral cooperation, and joint learning. By 2023, we want to gradually include up to 100 cities, municipalities, and neighborhoods in the program. All of them will be offered a broad range of opportunities for an exchange of ideas, qualification, strategy consulting, and collaboration between the committed communities. The step from turning a support program into a network program will be strengthened by integrating the "Committed Community" program office with the Bundesnetzwerk Bürgerschaftliches Engagement (BBE), a national network for civil society.

"Committed Community” program partners

At the national level, the "Committed Community" networking program will be supported by the following partners from July 2020: Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth; Bertelsmann Foundation, Breuninger Foundation, Bundesnetzwerk Bürgerschaftliches Engagement, Joachim Herz Stiftung, Körber Stiftung, and Robert Bosch Stiftung. Previously, the program was also supported by the BMW Foundation, Generali Deutschland AG, Herbert Quandt Stiftung, and Bethe-Stiftung. From July 2020, the state of Rhineland-Palatinate and Deutscher Städtetag, the organization of German towns and cities, will also be partners. Together, they aim to not only strengthen local infrastructure to foster civic commitment but also test new kinds of strategic collaboration: This applies to both innovative partnerships between foundations and the public sector as well as alliances between supporting partners and local organizations that support civic commitment.