“Strong mobilization and prudent management in an unsettled environment”
Olivier Neumann, Fondation de France Financial DirectorThe 2020 financial review having now been conducted, it is clear that the crisis marking the past year is far from over, with social and economic challenges coming on top of significant healthcare challenges.
In that context, Fondation de France played its part fully, as the leading philanthropy organization in France. Actors in the nonprofit sector stepped up and resources derived from individual donations rose by around 15%. These resources enabled 11,400 charitable projects to be set up, representing an additional 1,600 projects compared to 2019. With like-for-like support costs, resource allocation to our social projects reached 88%, improving by 1%.
These uncertain times did not discourage donor-advised funds from taking action: in 2020, Fondation de France welcomed more than 40 new donor-advised funds, a very encouraging sign given the context, confirming the validity of our model. We also noted that corporate commitment was particularly high this year, as evidenced by the number of partnerships signed, especially as part of the “United against the virus” Alliance.
Financial markets in 2020 were very volatile, with markets experiencing a sharp fall in the first trimester and bouncing back significantly in the second semester. Right from the start of the pandemic, we reduced our exposure to asset risk considerably, which enabled us to achieve a slight surplus. This proved to be a wise precaution in the current context.
We remain very vigilant about our socially responsible approach to investment. We also monitor the carbon intensity of our investments, which is currently 23% lower than the average of the main indices.
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