The Foundation for Partnership and Civil Society Development

Philanthropic fund “Friends of Istria”

Philanthropic fund “Friends of Istria” was launched in 2011 in order to connect businesses with civil sector. Business partners allocate funds which Philanthropic fund assigns through calls for tenders to the civil society organizations for their programs and projects to improve community of Istria.

Philanthropy etymologically means “the love of humanity”. The word is composed by two words: „philos“ which means „loving“ in the sense of benefitting, caring for, nourishing and the word „anthropos“ meaning human being in the sense of humanity. From the first day of our lives we step in philanthropy because we need assistance due the fact that at the moment we cannot take care of ourselves, but depend on the goodwill of an individual who is willing to invest time and resources to help us.

Philanthropy is a charitable, humanitarian action. Depends exclusively on the willingness of an individual or organization to invest in the common good of society in which they live and raise its quality. Individual or group donations for the improvement of a segment of society, community or region are the result of socially responsible behaviour. Philanthropy is common in the world and the largest Croatian names from the world of business have recognized the importance and reputation they get back for their humanitarian work. Banks, telecommunications, tobacco, oil and pharmaceutical industries in Croatia, and other actors in the entrepreneurial sector have all in common participation in socially responsible activities.

Andronico Luksic, Chilean businessman from Croatia and one of the most famous humanitarians said - “highly educated staff, even if they do not work for you, raise the competitiveness of the economy.” The whole society in which we live in affects us just as we affect on society. Because of that, we need to work to improve it. Philanthropy and social entrepreneurship are related topics. Both represent the same principle - promotion and development of community.

 “The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving.” Albert Einstein