Fondation de France backs efforts in all fields to build a better world
Helping to make most effective use of the will to promote the common good
Each of us has the capacity to contribute to the good of all. This conviction has been the driving force behind Fondation de France for more than 50 years. On a daily basis, we encourage and support the wish to make a difference, channelling that desire to help into useful and effective actions to build a better, fairer society.
As the leading philanthropic network in France, Fondation de France brings together donors, philanthropists from collaborating foundations, volunteers, and those working on the ground, wherever they might be. To each of them, we provide the support they need in order to make their activities as effective as possible. And that applies to all fields of the public good: assistance to the vulnerable, medical research, the environment, culture, education...
Using two complementary methods of operation
On the one hand, we develop our own action programmes, in order to enable donors to direct the efforts toward the specific area or areas of their choosing.
On the other hand, we also contribute to the programmes of others, by sharing with them our multifaceted expertise, essential for certain philanthropists or company foundations, and by affording them customised support: councils of experts, methodological backup, funding, networking, sharing best practices...
Cultivating specialised know-how so that the desire to contribute can be channelled into the most useful and enduring actions
Expertise on all of society’s issues
In every field of the public interest —be it social solidarity, health, the environment, medical research, employment, or culture—, we draw on the voluntary assistance of the top experts. When viewed from a collegial and multidisciplinary perspective each topic can be assessed in all its dimensions and without preconceptions in order to find the most effective means of action.
Operating at the right level, from close in
Fondation de France operates as close to the ground as possible, both in France and abroad. We rely on those actors on the ground who are the most effective and who have close local ties. We give priority to projects that encourage the involvement of stakeholders, whose participation is one of the measures of the effectiveness of the actions affecting them.
Operating at the right pace: for emergencies, for testing innovative solutions, for staying the course
While Fondation de France knows how to respond quickly in emergency situations, it always takes on a commitment for the duration. Making a lasting difference, providing solutions that are enduring and structural, does in fact take time. For trying out new ideas, for experimenting with new ways of getting things done, for running the risks that come with innovation.
Continual experience-sharing
Over the course of more than 50 years, Fondation de France has built up an incomparable wealth of experience. Through meetings, workshops, and training sessions, we foster an ecosystem that facilitates the exchange and pooling of capabilities to reinforce the engagement of each participant and to enhance the effectiveness of all of them.
