We partner with all those who want to commit to the common good, by making a donation, a bequest, a gift of property or by creating a foundation. We use our know-how and network of experts to help you take action in the most effective way, for all charitable causes, including: medical research, combating poverty, supporting isolated elderly people, the environment, education and many others.

Donate

For more information

Planning your estate

For more information

Create a foundation

For more information

Honor the memory of a loved one

For more information

« The fact that the Foundation was ‘for all causes’, that it had a neutral stance and was very professional convinced me to support it. »

CECILE BONNEFOND, DONOR

We partner with all those who want to commit to the common good, by making a donation, a bequest, a gift of property or by creating a foundation. We use our know-how and network of experts to help you take action in the most effective way, for all charitable causes, including: medical research, combating poverty, supporting isolated elderly people, the environment, education and many others.

Donate

For more information

Planning your estate

For more information

Create a foundation

For more information

Honor the memory of a loved one

For more information

CECILE BONNEFOND,
DONOR

Whatever the size of your company, entrepreneurs, small and mid-size enterprises, large companies and major corporations alike, we assist you in turning your commitment and social and environmental
responsibility into a tangible project.

Setting up a corporate support program

For more information

Engage with your region

For more information

Create a foundation

For more information

and if you would like some guidance on building a nonprofit project from Fondation de France

+33 1 85 53 13 64
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ÉRIC YUNG,
PRESIDENT OF LA MAISON JOHANES BOUBÉE IN BORDEAUX

Whatever the size of your company, entrepreneurs, small and mid-size enterprises, large companies and major corporations alike, we assist you in turning your commitment and social and environmental responsibility into a tangible project.

Setting up a corporate support program

For more information

Engage with your region

For more information

Create a foundation

For more information

and if you would like some guidance on building a nonprofit project from Fondation de France

+33 1 85 53 13 64
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Déléguée Grands donateurs et entreprises

« Our company is actively engaged in the Local Dynamics Program developed by Fondation de France We can also facilitate practical projects to make life easier, create social interactions and activities in our area. »

ÉRIC YUNG, PRESIDENT OF LA MAISON JOHANES BOUBÉE IN BORDEAUX

When you donate to Fondation de France, you enable nonprofits and stakeholders on the ground to serve the public interest.

We have a calling at Fondation de France and that is: to match the trust that donors place in us. Which is the reason we make a rigorous selection of the initiatives supported, and then assist them day to day.

For more than 50 years, we have reinforced our expertise to first set specific objectives in all the areas we operate in, and then select the best projects that will achieve these objectives.

To do that, we regularly offer tangible and innovative solutions to address society’s problems and we can help the most vulnerable people.

Thanks to our 36 volunteer expert committees made up of specialists in their area, we act wherever generosity is the most effective and we evaluate project impact over time.

Concerning the use and effectiveness of your donation, we also provide utmost transparency and we undertake to account for it on a regular basis.

Find the best commitment model for you

 You can choose whichever commitment model you would like to implement, such as a one-off or a recurring donation. Donating to Fondation de France means the ability to support causes close to your heart (medical research, combating poverty, supporting isolated elderly people, the environment, healthcare, culture, etc.) You can also let Fondation de France decide how your donation is to be allocated, depending on priority programs and needs.

The guarantee of an effective and useful gift

Our network’s size makes for minimal overhead costs, so we can optimize the use of the donations you have entrusted us with. Our work relies on the rigorous management of the gifts derived from your generosity. Donations allocated to a cause serve that cause and no other. All the projects we support are monitored by volunteers on the ground. When fundraising is organized in the wake of a natural, climate-related or health disaster, all the activities carried out on the ground are audited. In addition to the control exercised by the French Court of Auditors and statutory auditors, we have a system of governance and control provided by independent committees.

When you donate to Fondation de France, you can be certain that 88% of your donation directly goes to supporting charitable projects.

Tax deductions

When you donate to Fondation de France you combine generosity with tax benefits. Tax deductions contribute to the expression of your solidarity and support for the causes close to your heart while reducing your tax bill.

With a donation, enjoy substantial tax benefits!

• French tax residents may deduct 66% from the income tax on their donation, up to threshold of donation representing 20% of taxable income. Any surplus may be carried over the following five years;
• 75% of the value of the donation may be deducted from your real estate wealth tax (for those liable to this tax), up to a maximum of 50,000 euros. For more information, please check out our dedicated website on real estate wealth tax: ifi.fondationdefrance.org (in French);
• for their part, companies based in France may deduct 60% from the corporate tax on their donation, up to a maximum of 20,000€ or 0.05% of their annual turnover. Any surplus may be carried over the following five years.

Questions on donations, planned giving, copyright assignment and more?

Feel free to contact our teams.

Do you have questions about our work, the way we use your donations, or  a fiscal issue? We’re here to help and answer your questions.

Our experts can give you more detailed advice – a donation from the estate, a gift of real estate property, assignment of copyright and other giving models, to assist you on your giving journey.

Making a donation to Fondation de France from your country

For more than 20 years, Fondation de France has been able to benefit from the engagement of those based outside France, to serve a range of causes.

Support Fondation de France’s work by making an international donation

Donating to a European association

The Transnational Giving Europe (TGE) network enables donations to be made in favor of European associations (this term covers a wide range of nonprofits in Europe), while attracting tax benefits. The associations are carefully selected by the major foundations and charities who are TGE members.

Support a European association by making a donation

As a project leader, you can receive international donations

In order to support all nonprofit organizations with their international development, Fondation de France has developed a mechanism for encouraging cross-border donations, thanks to a network of partners. With Fondation de France, French associations can benefit the generosity of European and US donors.

To draw on these mechanisms and receive international donations, please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

TAKE ACTION WITH US

TAKE ACTION WITH US

The Philanthropy Center: advisors at your service

More information can be found on info-legs.fr as you think your project through.

Brochure

All your questions answered

Get your free legacy brochure (in french)

A bequest is the continuation of your commitment

The decision to make a bequest is a very personal one. It is a significant step that needs to match your personality, your values and the meaning that you want to give your life.

Preparing your legacy in your lifetime means that your commitments will endure and the choices you make today provide lasting benefit.

Our Fondation de France teams of experts are there to assist you in creating the legacy you have in mind. They can answer your questions and will call on all their legal, financial and tax expertise to build and secure your legacy project.

As a foundation recognized as being of public interest, we are authorized to receive bequests of all types of assets: real estate, cash, jewelry, works of art, copyright, company stock and so on. Our teams have a wealth of experience and expertise in dealing with all requests, even the most complex ones.

How will your legacy be used?

In deciding to pass on your estate in full or in part, you serve the causes supported by Fondation de France. There are various options, you can:

• support the cause or causes you are passionate about in one of the Fondation de France action programs. When you contact a Fondation de France team member, you can even indicate which projects you are most keen to support, for example, “medical research, especially on Parkinson’s”;
• make a bequest with no specific allocation to support priority programs in all nonprofit sectors;
• create a donor-advised fund at Fondation de France.

Rest assured that your wishes are complied with

Contact us as a first step. Let’s meet and talk through your idea. Our advisers can meet you in your home or in one of our offices across France to guide you in your project (drafting the will, input from your legal advisor and so on). Their job is to ensure that preparation is hassle-free for you and to guarantee that your wishes will be complied with strictly.

Advice and guidance is completely confidential, provided totally free of charge and entails no commitment on your part.

Isabelle Sépulchre and Vincent Boulanger

+ 33 1 85 53 30 00 - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

And if you have a question linked to settling an estate, please write to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

More information can be found on info-legs.fr as you think your project through.

JEAN-CLAUDE BERTAGNA,
TESTATOR

JEAN-CLAUDE BERTAGNA,
TESTATOR

Contacts

Here to help

Sabine de Soyres

Tel : +33 1 85 53 30 00 
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Brochure

Answers to all your questions

Why create a foundation?

Creating a foundation represents a strong commitment to one or several charitable causes. In addition to the financial assets allocated to their nonprofit, founders often choose to be actively involved in its operations.

Creating a foundation can be a personal endeavor, which expresses the founder’s commitment, with an added dimension: philanthropy. It can be prompted by a couple’s long-held dream, a family project, or a group of friends might want to create a foundation. Entrepreneurs and companies – from very small enterprises to major international corporations – can also be founders. They can align their corporate strategy, governance and charitable activities and at the same time, mobilize staff beyond their economic contribution.

All of these potential founders want to have a positive and lasting impact on society.

Further reading: The ins and outs of foundations, endowment funds, and associations in France

Further reading: Foundations, endowment funds and associations, what's the difference ?

Becoming a founder at Fondation de France

Setting up a donor-advised fund at Fondation de France means joining the leading philanthropy network in France. To design your project with you, we draw on our expertise, consolidated over the past fifty years in all nonprofit sectors (vulnerable people, medical research, the environment, culture, etc.).

Which causes would you like to make your priority? What resources are required? What systems need to be set up? Our teams are here to help you, right from the creation of your foundation all the way to its management over time, not forgetting monitoring the impact of supported projects.

Having a donor-advised fund at Fondation de France means:

• Complete freedom

With no administrative, legal or accounting duties to perform, you can dedicate your time and resources to your project essentials. We do not interfere with funding decisions for your foundation. However, we are also here to ensure compliance with the legislative framework. You have access to our expertise in all societal, financial, legal, fiscal and estate-related matters as well as communication.

• A 100% secure framework

With a donor-advised fund, no new entity is required. The legal entity is the sheltering foundation. Legal risk is therefore borne by Fondation de France, which ensures that the rules governing nonprofits are complied with, among other services. You can therefore rest assured that your actions will be in line with the legislation and tax provisions in force.

• Personalized guidance

A dedicated specialist in a specific cause you are passionate about, who is also an expert on foundation management, works with you and guides you throughout the process. Thanks to our experts and the surveys produced by the Fondation de France Philanthropy Observatory, you can read up and follow the trends and news in the sector (social impact investment, social entrepreneurship, venture philanthropy, etc.)

• A strong network

When you join Fondation de France, you join a community of more than 900 foundations. This is a network we facilitate to share experiences and give philanthropists the opportunity to exchange views, work together, find out about the best projects and support them, together.

• Tax benefits for your donors

Because Fondation de France is officially recognized as being of public interest, people who make donations to foundations automatically benefit from tax deductions thanks to our legal status. In practice, deductions for French tax residents, and companies and certain real estate properties based in France are:

• 66% for income tax (up to 20% of taxable income);
• 75% for real estate wealth tax (IFI) (up to 50,000 euros);
• 60% for corporate tax (up to 20,000 euros or 0.5% of annual turnover for larger amounts).

Further reading: Create a donor-advised fund in four steps

What level of endowment should you bring to your donor-advised fund?

Endowment from 200,000 euros, to be provided within five years, enables a donor-advised fund to be created at Fondation de France. This is equivalent to 40,000 euros each year for five years.

In addition, pooling the services we offer reduces operating costs: they are based on the foundation’s actual activity, in other words, its expenditure. Operating costs are 3% of the funds allocated, with a minimum of 2,500 euros per year.

As a company, would you like to engage in and support charitable activities? Fondation de France is ideally placed to set up a corporate support program that suits your company. Across France, a team of professionals help you implement projects that mobilize your staff and clients, with a positive impact on society.

Proven expertise serving the public interest

When you choose Fondation de France as a partner to your corporate support project, your company benefits from half a century of experience of the nonprofit sector, constantly reinforced with the 10,000 projects we support each year.

We are a foundation for all causes, so you can work with us on one or several causes depending on your preferences (medical research, education, combating poverty and the environment, among other causes).

Our expert committees identify and select the most innovative and impactful projects. Liaising with local nonprofits closest to the ground, they spot emerging issues and the needs that need to be taken into account. For instance, based on our experience of helping vulnerable people and those suffering from Parkinson’s, we were among the first organizations in France to support shared living accommodation to encourage “togetherness”.

We know the local, national and international stakeholders and networks very well. Which means that we are extremely proactive when it comes to a natural disaster or a crisis situation. Recently, the “United Against the Virus” Alliance, working with Paris hospitals and Institut Pasteur, has made it possible for more than 40 million euros to be collected in one year.

850 projects across France received support, thanks especially to the active involvement of many companies throughout France, to help health workers, carers and vulnerable people and to support medical research.

Various corporate support models for your company

Personalized guidance will be provided to you, whatever the size of your company, your goal, your resources and whatever nonprofits you wish to support. Occasional donations, commitment over several years, cause marketing, rounding up at the till, sale percentage over a given period, raising funds from your staff and clients, creating a donor-advised fund – the possibilities are endless! We help you determine the most relevant way to engage and build your corporate support project.

Whatever form of action you wish to take, we suggest the technical, legislative and fiscal framework to set it up and monitor it over time.

Every year, a review records the impact of your commitment of the work undertaken. In addition, promoting this engagement with staff and other stakeholders is helpful for both your internal and external communication strategies.

If you wish to be guided by Fondation de France to set up your nonprofit project, please contact:

+33 1 85 53 13 64
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Tax deductions

Fondation de France is officially recognized as being of public interest. As such, this entitles you to tax deductions.

Good to know, for French tax residents and companies based in France: 60% of your donation can be deducted from income tax or corporate tax up to 10,000 euros or 0.5% of annual turnover for a larger amount (surplus can be carried over five years).

Your company is a vital player in your area, thanks to its economic activity, the jobs it creates, CSR policies and staff’s commitment. Experts in our six regional foundations support you in anchoring your commitment to serve your region.

Taking action with actors closest to the ground and familiar with the facts

With its six regional foundations, Fondation de France helps you contribute to your area’s development. Our 530 volunteers, all specialists in their field (education, very elderly people, social work etc.) identify, analyze and monitor the projects to be supported. Their work closely mirrors social, economic, cultural and environmental issues.

Donations to local programs and the creation of an area-based foundation are some of the ways we help you customize philanthropy projects that really speak to you and that you, your staff and all your local stakeholders can take the measure of.

Local networks for greater impact

When you engage with Fondation de France for the benefit of your region, you join a collective of local stakeholders, who are ready to pool their strengths to boost their impact significantly. This is precisely what Fondation Territoriale de Marseille did, when four entrepreneurs from the region decided to put their ideas, their resources and their network together, by creating this Fondation de France donor-advised fund.

The same momentum created Fondation Territoriale des Lumières, led by nine companies wishing to improve living conditions for the residents of the mining areas in the North of France. This initiative also inspired the creation of Fondation Reflets d’Opale in the same region. It was set up by some twenty companies to support projects in the social, healthcare, culture, education and integration fields.

There are different ways to honor the memory of a loved one, keep their values alive and celebrate their life. One of these is to organize a fundraising drive in their memory, to benefit a cause supported by Fondation de France, which was dear to them. Your family and friends can join you in this tribute.

Has a loved one, a member of your family, a friend, a neighbor or a colleague passed away? Perhaps you would like to pay tribute to them in a useful way, in line with their engagement. In the Le sens d’une vie website (“A Meaningful Life”), you can honor their memory and suggest poems, notes for the bereaved and speeches, as well as organize a fundraising drive to support nonprofits.

All donations raised are allocated to the cause you choose, which benefits the work of Fondation de France.

If you would like to honor the memory of a loved one who has passed away

To create your fundraising page

If you would like to honor the memory of a loved one who has passed away

To create your fundraising page

Create your fundraising page in three steps

1. Choose the cause you wish to support

You can decide to support a specific cause (medical research, help for elderly people, combating poverty, etc.) or you can opt to let Fondation de France allocate your support to those projects it judges to take priority.

2. Customize your page

Our tip is that you make the initial donation, to start fundraising off. The amount you give also provides a reference point for other donors.

3. Raise your fundraising profile

You control how the page is shared. To raise its profile, you can publish it on social media, share it with family and friends, invite them to also share it, thank them when they make a donation and so on.

Good to know: each person who contributes and is liable to French tax benefits from the deductions afforded to a donation at Fondation de France:

• deduct 66% from your income tax;
• deduct 75% from your real estate wealth tax.

Any questions? Please contact:
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+33 1 44 51 87 00

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which were adopted in 2015 by all of the UN member states, structure the work of all countries in promoting prosperity and ending poverty, while preserving the planet. Active in all non-profit sectors, Fondation de France incorporates this approach in both its charitable activities and its organization.

Since 2019, it has been identifying the most relevant SDGs for each of the projects it supports. They represent a common point of reference with which to guide the work of Fondation de France and its donor-advised funds and to involve all project leaders in this positive momentum.

In 2020, three SDGs stood out in the work carried out by Fondation de France and its donor-advised funds, largely because of the pandemic.

SDG 1: NO POVERTY and SDG 13: CLIMATE ACTIONS are at third and fourth place respectively. The Covid-19 pandemic led to new forms of poverty. Throughout France, Fondation de France and its donor-advised funds supported projects for the most vulnerable. The pandemic also highlighted the urgent need to act for the planet and to prevent new climate change events, on a global scale. This is a battle Fondation de France has been engaged in for more than 50 years.

The 17 SDGs are interdependent. Whatever field project leaders operate in (education, healthcare, etc.), it is essential that environmental issues be taken into account. To that end, Fondation de France, the leading private organization supporting community nonprofits, offers additional help: the “e+” program. This takes the form of help with methodology, to assess the project’s environmental impact and identify the most sustainable solutions.

“This commitment follows on from the ecological encouragement launched more than 10 years to nudge nonprofits into improving the environmental impact of their work,” explains An-Gaëlle Bénédic, Head of Programs and Foundations, Ecological and Inclusive Transition.

Fondation de France makes a rigorous assessment of its investments, to ensure that the investment policy is fully aligned with its charitable activities. In 2019, in addition to socially responsible investments (SRIs), Fondation de France launched a social and environmental impact fund (also known as impact investing) France 2i . The aim is to invest directly in companies that are designing new tools to combat climate change, promote inclusion, improve vulnerable people’s living conditions, reduce inequalities, contribute to sustainable and shared growth and so on.

“With a capital of 100 million euros from its creation, the fund invested 32 million euros, supporting nine companies carrying out business projects in the fields of energy transition, agricultural transition, circular economy, social inclusion and ocean preservation”, says Fondation de France Financial Director Olivier Neumann.

Fondation de France, which has more than 200 staff and 500 volunteers, examined its own practices and internal operations. In order to measure its environmental impact, it launched a number of initiatives: measurement of carbon footprint, waste disposal and recycling, “plastic-free” projects and awareness raising, sustainable and responsible purchasing policy, collaboration with community caterers, mobility plan study, a bike parking facility, a webinar on SDGs and so on. A group of volunteer staff is raising awareness of a sustainable development culture and working on sharing it internally.

Fondation de France wants to meet the targets it has set itself fully, so that it can contribute to global efforts, as part of the 2030 Agenda.

“By adopting an approach that involves both staff and volunteers, we are developing a truly sustainable development culture internally,” says Thierry Ployart, Head of the Work Environment team.

The 10,000 or so projects supported by Fondation de France all relate to one or several of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Here are a few examples.

As the leading philanthropy network in France, Fondation de France brings together donors, founders, volunteers and project leaders across the country. It adds value by helping everyone to provide effective support to their favorite charitable causes. And its overall aim is to implement useful, tangible and sustainable solutions for the advancement of society.

We ensure that your gift is used in the most effective way possible in the field or fields of your choice.