Funds and foundations in France
2001 – 2014: foundations up 100%
The largest philanthropy network in France, the
Fondation de France brings together founders,
donors, volunteer experts, employees and thousands of
associations, all of whom are committed and driven by
a willingness to take action. It draws its expertise from
45 years of daily philanthropic activity, through its own
programmes and the associations it supports, and in
serving the projects led by the 775 foundations that it
hosts. To improve knowledge of the sector and facilitate
the emergence of new forms of action, both in France
and worldwide, the Fondation de France regularly
conducts studies on philanthropy to analyse the areas
and ways in which foundations are active, and to assess
their effectiveness and contribution to the economic
and social life of the countries they operate in.
‘‘Recent and flourishing’’ is the assessment of the funds and foundation
sector, according to the fourth national survey conducted by the Fondation de
France Observatory. The figures are impressive: foundations up 100% since
2001, without including the 2000 endowment funds created in four years.
The philanthropic sector is now a key general interest player: €7.4 billion
are expended each year to fund public utility and community projects and
initiatives.
What is a foundation?
Foundations are often confused with associations which are
much more numerous and popular. It is true that the two
organisations cohabit and complement each other in the
non-profit private sector. However, each has a very specific
organisation and objective: while an association groups
people around a common project, a foundation is set up
to collect and manage goods (financial, real estate, etc.)
irrevocably dedicated to the development of activities
of general interest.
Foundations in France:
key figures
Funds and foundations: eight
types of legal status in France
• 2 229 foundations
• €21.9 billion in total assets
• 2/3 from private resources
• €7.4 billion of annual expenditure, of which €1.5 billion on subsidies, prizes and grants
• 3/4 are grant-making foundations
• Foundation vitality index (expenditure/assets ratio):
34%
Public utility foundation (PUF)
Corporate foundation (CF)
Sheltered foundation (SF)
Scientific cooperation foundation (SCF)
University foundation (UF)
Partnership foundation (PF)
Endowment fund (EF)
Hospital foundation (HF)
A young sector, a recent phenomenon
DEVELOPMENT OF FUNDS AND FOUNDATIONS BY LEGAL STATUS FROM 2001 TO 2014
4500
4071
4000
CF
3677
3500
SF
3220
3000
2266
2000
1848
1500
1226
1000
1443
1581
1686
1881
1773
1993
2109
2229
Foundations
total
1842
EF
1161
Funds and
foundations
total
1109
634
344
90
500
0
2001
2005
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
PROPORTION OF FOUNDATIONS SET UP BY PERIOD
30 %
SCF, PF, UF
2733
2500
PUF
The number of foundations in existence doubled between
2001 and 2014, and grew 267% if endowment funds are
included. The appearance of endowment funds has neither
prevented nor slowed the growth of foundations: since 2009,
foundations and endowment funds have experienced noncompeting but cumulative growth.
2012 2013 2014
13 %
13 %
4 %
Before
1945
1945
to 1970
17 %
8 %
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
to 1980 to 1990 to 2000 to 2010 to 2014
The philanthropic sector is very young, with 75% of existing
foundations set up since 1980; the phenomenon accelerated
in the 2000s with the proliferation of sheltered foundations.
45% of foundations have been created since 2000.
Who creates foundations?
Apart from corporate foundations, founded exclusively by
private companies, the following distinctions are seen in
terms of legal status:
PUFs include all categories of founder (private, public
authority, non-profit sector).
Sheltered foundations are primarily a philanthropic
mechanism for private individuals (72% of cases), and
to a lesser extent companies (18%).
H
igher education and research specialist foundations
have a public authority among their founders in 28% of
cases, and 20% are also partnered by companies.
15 %
Profile of individual founders
• Average age: 61 years
• 33% are under 55
• 87% are in employment
• 83% work in the private sector
Rapidly expanding economic weight
MAIN INDICATORS OF THE ECONOMIC WEIGHT OF
FOUNDATIONS*
2001
2009
2013
1 109
1 686
2 109
+25 %
Expenditure in million 3 842
euros (social remit and
operating expenses)
5 218
7 454
+43 %
Assets in million euros
9 565
15 196
21 896
+44 %
Vitality index
(expenditure/assets
ratio)
40 %
34 %
34 %
Number of foundations
Number of employees**
Change
2009-2013
200 foundations have between €10 and €50 million in
assets in 2013, compared with 100 in 2001.
50 foundations have more than €100 million in assets in
2013, compared with 10 in 2001.
In 2013, one in five foundations has less than €100,000 in
assets.
BREAKDOWN OF FOUNDATIONS BY ASSET TRANCHES IN
2001 AND 2013
2013
2001
36 %
47 000
72 241
84 100
+16 %
44 %
53 %
59 %
* 2001 and 2009 inflation-adjusted figures.
** INSEE data.
Endowment funds:
what economic weight?
There were 1568 endowment funds in late 2013. Total
assets are estimated at between €600 and €700 million,
and total annual expenditure at between €100 and €150
million. More than half all endowment funds are created
without any initial assets, something not possible under
foundation regulations. Decree no. 2015-49 of 22 January 2015, consequent on the Act of 31 July 2014 on the
social economy, introduced a minimum initial capital
contribution of €15,000 to create an endowment fund,
suggesting there will be a relative slowing in the number
of new funds.
5%
3%
Strong growth in all indicators of economic weight of
foundations, and a dual phenomenon of concentrated
assets and split assets (creation of numerous small
foundations):
Less than €1 million
€1 to €50 million
More than €50 million
The development of grant-making foundations
Since the 1980s, four out of five foundations created are
grant-making. They therefore account for three quarters
of all foundations.
The contribution of grant-making foundations to total
foundation expenditure, although relatively small, has also
risen, increasing from 12% to 18%.
The grant-making foundation model, created by private
individuals and companies, which is usually a flow model
without a perpetuity objective, is developing faster than
the other models.
FOUNDATION BREAKDOWN BY OPERATIONAL METHOD
2009
FOUNDATION EXPENDITURE BREAKDOWN BY OPERATIONAL
METHOD
2013
2009
2013
12 %
18 %
26 %
30 %
70 %
74 %
82 %
88 %
Grant-making / operator
foundations: what are they?
Operator foundations manage establishments or
services directly (hospitals, museums, retirement
homes, research centres, etc.), while grant-making
foundations allocate grants, prizes and subsidies to
associations and individuals in a variety of areas.
Grant-making foundations
Grant-making foundations
Operator foundations
Operator foundations
73% of the resources of operator foundations come from
public authorities (daily charge: 52%), compared with 80%
from private resources for grant-making foundations.
Grant-making foundation expenditure is dominated by
allocation of grants, prizes, subsidies and financial assistance
(64%), while 47% of operator foundation expenditure is
devoted to staff costs and 33% to administrative and operating
costs, an integral part of their social remit.
Health and social welfare: three quarters of foundation expenditure
Between 2009 and 2013, social welfare became the most
popular area of intervention chosen by foundations,
ahead of health and medical, arts and culture and higher
education. Clearly, the backdrop of economic crisis is not
coincidental to this development.
In terms of expenditure, health and medical research come
top of the list (40%), because of the significant budgets
connected with management of health establishments and
medical research projects. Social welfare accounts for 34.5%
of foundation expenditure.
MAIN AREAS OF INTERVENTION CHOSEN BY FOUNDATIONS
30 %
29 %
2001
25 %
20 %
18 %
15 %
2009
17 %
2013
11 %
10 %
5 %
4%
4%
3%
0 %
Social welfare
France
Health and medical
research
Arts and culture
Higher education and
training
Sciences
International development and relations
Environment
FOUNDATION EXPENDITURE BY AREA OF INTERVENTION
Health and medical research
9%
Social welfare
1,2 %
Higher ed. and initial training
3%
3,7 %
Arts and culture
5,3 %
39,8 %
Sciences, social sciences
Philanthropy, voluntary work
Environment
34,5 %
International development
and relations
Other
Foundations focus on young
people and local initiatives
• In 2013, 24% of foundations support children and/or
young people
• 38% act at a local level (from region to neighbourhood)
• 20% are involved in awareness raising, prevention
and/or advocacy work
• 10% are involved in capacity building and third sector
initiatives
June 2015
1,1 %
2,4 %
The complete study can be downloaded
from fondationdefrance.org
40 avenue Hoche
75008 Paris
Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 21 31 00
Fax: +33 (0)1 44 21 31 01