TOP TEN WEALTHIEST EUROPEAN FOUNDATIONS The entries are ranked based on the size of the Foundation’s total endowment, or invested donations, that are available for charitable purposes. 1. The Stichting INGKA Foundation is a Dutch Foundation founded in 1982 by Ingvar Kamprad, the Swedish billionaire, who is the founder of IKEA. INGKA is one of the largest charitable foundations in the world and the second-largest nonprofit organization in the world. Little was known about the Foundation’s charitable activities until The Economist magazine criticised the Foundation for being the worlds most wealthy charity whilst simultaneously being one of its least generous. The increased attention brought by the article catalysed change at the Foundation to make more donations as well as changing its stated purpose from “innovation in the field of architectural and interior design” to “helping children and families in the developing world help themselves to a better everyday life by funding programmes that support fundamental needs for children and women. The Foundation donated €82m in 2012 and €65m in 2011. Unfortunately the Foundation does not have a grant application procedure as it prefers to work with partners with programmes managed by established and well-regarded NGO’s and IGO’s in order to secure top experts, develop innovative approaches, influence and navigate government policy, and achieve the critical mass it takes to make an impact. The largest recipients of funding from the INGKA Foundation were UN agencies such as UNICEF, UNHCR and UNDP as well as Save the Children. To know more about this Foundation, visit this link: ikeafoundation.org/ 2. The Wellcome Trust was established in 1936 as an independent charity funding research to improve human and animal health. It has an endowment of around £14.5 billion. Now in its 77th year, the aim of the Trust is to “achieve extraordinary improvements in health by supporting the brightest minds”, and in addition to funding biomedical research it supports the public understanding of science. The Trust has been described by the Financial Times as the United Kingdom’s largest provider of non governmental funding for scientific research and one of the largest providers in the world. In the field of medical research, it is the world’s second largest private funder after Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Trust currently funds the following areas: • Biomedical science – Investigating health and disease in humans and animals. • Technology transfer – Helping the development of innovative, early-stage projects with potential medical applications. • International – Supporting research, capacity building and engagement activities in low- and middle-income countries. • Public engagement – Imaginative and experimental projects that bring biology and medicine to new audiences. • Medical humanities – Supporting research at the interface of medicine, health-related sciences and the wider humanities. • Society and ethics – Supporting research that explores the social and ethical aspects of health and biomedical science. To manage funding requests the Wellcome Trust provides an online grants system that enables applicants to apply for financial support online. Most applicants for grants in Biomedical Science, Medical Humanities and Public Engagement are required to submit their applications via the online Grants system. However, Word forms are still available for preliminary applications for the majority of the Trust’s funding schemes and Technology Transfer grants. Applicants who have limited or unreliable access to the internet should email eGrants [email protected] – to request a Word form. For more information, visit this link: wellcome.ac.uk/ 3. The Church Commissioners is a body managing the historic property assets of the Church of England with an endowment reported to be worth at least $8.1 billion. The Commissioners are tasked with managing an investment portfolio to support the Church of England’s work across the country as well as providing financial assistance for in areas of need and opportunity. The vast majority of spending is committed to supporting the church at national and local levels including funding towards the ministry of bishops and cathedrals and for missions at parish level. They also fund a large share of clergy pensions. All funding is delivered through to organisations within the Church of England and there is no opportunity to apply for financial support from the Commissioners at present. More information on the Church Commissioners can be found here: churchofengland.org/about-us/structure/churchcommissioners.aspx 4. The Robert Bosch Stiftung is reported to be the largest German Foundation, managing the philanthropic bequest of company founder Robert Bosch for more than 40 years. The Foundation is divided into four areas to support and operate its aid program. In order to pursue the Foundation’s objectives, it promotes external projects and initiates its own projects for developing and running programs. Some 130 employees manage an average of about 800 internal and external projects a year. Approximately €68 million was spent on program work in 2011. In total the Robert Bosch Stiftung has provided grants worth €1 billion since its founding. To respond to social challenges and develop new solutions are the key objectives of the Robert Bosch Stiftung. To achieve this, the Foundation organises a wide range of projects and programs of their own and support many project ideas developed by others. The Foundations current funding areas are Health and Science; Education, Society and Culture; International Relations America and Asia; International Relations Europe and its Neighbours. Both the Foundation’s own programs and the projects they fund aim to promote new developments and bring about change. The Foundation funds projects that either supplement their existing programs, continue them in an innovative way, or contribute significantly to realizing their objectives in the program area concerned. Due to the wide range of potential projects eligible for funding both in Germany and abroad, the methods and procedures by which the Foundation provides funding are not subject to restrictions. They use a range of instruments to achieve their goals, such as competitions, scholarship programs, prizes, funding of pilot projects, appointment of independent committees and juries, political consulting based on scientific studies, surveys, seminars, and colloquia. The Foundation welcomes funding proposal by stating that “As a funding foundation, we are always open to new project ideas and funding proposals. They must complement our focus areas and existing funding instruments. The project goals must be specified clearly.” The two step application process is briefly outlined below: First Step: Inquiry Forms for first-time applications for third-party projects are available for download. Applications should be no more than two pages in length. Second Step: Grant Request The Foundation aims to inform applicants within four weeks whether a project will be accepted for further examination. The application must then be substantiated in greater detail. For more information visit this link: bosch-stiftung.de/content/language2/html/index.asp 5. The The Garfield Weston Foundation was established in 1958 by Willard Garfield Weston, a Canadian businessman who moved to the UK with his family in 1932. Annual donations to the Foundation have grown from £1m a year to nearly £30m a year over the past 25 years. The Foundation is reported to have an endowment of at least $6.5 billion. The Foundation states that it spends all of the income it receives has donated more than £680 million over its lifetime. The Foundation aims to be responsive to where need is greatest, supporting a wide range of charitable activity rather than having specific priorities for funding. The Foundation currently only support organisations and projects based in the United Kingdom. Rather than predetermining where funds should be given, the Foundation prefers to respond on a flexible basis to organisations that can show that they are addressing a need and that their work is high quality. The Foundation aims to keep the process of applying for grants uncomplicated with just a one-stage application under two streams of activity. Major Grants of £100,000 and above; and Regular Grant ranging from £1,000 to £99,999. On average, approximately 1,500 charities across the UK benefit each year from grants made by the Foundation ranging from the smallest community and volunteer projects through to large national organisations. Despite the diversity of organisations and projects the Foundation funds, the common themes are charities that demonstrate quality and excellence with projects that have clear outcomes and benefits, good leadership and sensible business plans. The Foundation accepts applications at any time, therefore there are no formal deadlines for submitting applications and organisations should allow approximately four months for a final outcome. Applicants will receive an acknowledgment letter within four weeks of sending in your application. We ask that applications are sent to us as hard copies only through the post. The Foundations seeks out organisation and projects that are: Financially viable; Have an urgent need for funding; manage administration and fundraising costs in proportion to charitable activities well; able to raise sufficient funding from other sources; and have appropriate priorities and plans to manage their activities. A written proposal can be sent to the Foundation at any time. Initial letters should be limited to two pages and include the need being addressed; how many people will benefit; how and when the project will be delivered; how much it will cost; and the impact of the project. More information can be found at this link: garfieldweston.org/ 6. The Knut and Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse is the sixth Foundation and our list with an endowment reported to be worth over $5.3 billion in 2012. The purpose of the Foundation is to promote scientific research, teaching and education beneficial to the Kingdom of Sweden.The Foundation primarily grants funding in natural sciences, technology, and medicine. Projects in other disciplines may receive support on the condition that they are related to research questions of relevance to natural sciences, technology, and medicine. The Foundation grants funding in the following areas; research projects of high scientific potential and individual support of excellent scientists. The Foundation also initiates strategic projects and scholarship programs. The Foundation approves yearly grants totaling SEK 1.3 billion. During the past five years, the Foundation has granted the total of SEK 5.4 billion for various projects, mainly at Swedish universities. Since the establishment of the Foundation more than SEK 16 billon has been granted. All applications to the Foundation must go through the Universities internal prioritization process. Applications submitted to the Foundation will be exposed to an extensive international peer-review procedure. Universities and the scientific royal academies can apply for grants in the following areas: 1. Grants for research projects of high scientific potential 2. Individual support of excellent scientists, Wallenberg Academy Fellows 3. Strategic grants, which are initiated by the Foundation 4. The Foundation’s scholarship program. For more information visit this link: wallenberg/ 7. The Realdania is a philantropic association supporting projects in the built environment within three focus areas: Cities, buildings and built heritage. Their mission is to improve quality of life for the common good through the built environment. The Foundation strives to create value through development and change, dialogue and knowledge, partnerships and networks and by taking initiatives and being proactive. At the end of 2011 Realdania’s net capital amounted to approx. EUR 2.1 billion. In 2011 Realdania made grants of approx. EUR 160 million. Over the past 11 years the Foundation has supported philanthropic initiatives with a total project value of approximately EUR 3,0 billion. Of this amount, Realdania has provided EUR 1.4 billion, while the other part has been provided by other project partners. Realdania not only allocate funds but also share their expertise and network. Since Realdania was founded in 2000, they have funded or co-funded more than 2,000 projects of which 700 are currently active. This provides a large knowledge base, which offers a good starting point for any project that is approved for funding. The Foundation carries out strategic philanthropic work, where the dissemination of knowledge is considered at least as important as the physical project. By granting what they call “smart money”, Realdania work to make sure that the experiences acquired in the projects will benefit others working with the built environment and thus society at large. Funding projects fall within one of three strategic focus areas, and Flagships usually span over more than one: • The city: Improved quality • The construction industry: Greater efficiency • The building heritage: Preservation through reuse Furthermore projects should: • Make a difference in the built environment • Display merit in terms of demonstration and dissemination of knowledge • Generate new knowledge or new experience • Embody or advance architectural quality • Be economically sustainable – also in the long term The flagships underline how Realdania operates strategically. They are large, visible projects with significance extending beyond the here and now. The projects will often be financially substantial and they are typically organized in cooperation or partnerships with others. For more information visit this link: realdania.dk/ 8. The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is a Portuguese private foundation whose statutory aims are in the fields of arts, charity, education, and science. It reported an endowment of over $3.5 billion in 2012. The Foundation states that while most of our support is proactive, funding is available to support a very small number of truly exceptional ideas and/or projects that contribute to meeting their identified objectives. under our three main strategic aims: Cultural Understanding, Fulfilling Potential and Environment. New projects must be Innovative, International and Independent yet Involving. The three main strategic aims of the Foundation are Cultural Understanding – To help improve people’s perceptions of each other by providing opportunities through culture and between cultures. This strand is focused on strategic initiatives that benefit international literature and translation as a whole and consciously avoids supporting any particular culture, language, author or work. Other art forms, such as theatre, film and music will not be considered under this strand, even where translation is involved. In 2012, priority will be given to organisations involved in the promotion of translation-related projects for children and young people. Fulfilling Potential – To assist the most disadvantaged in society to fulfil their potential by building connections and developing opportunities. The Foundation are interested in receiving proposals specifically for social innovations which have potential forsignificant impact in reducing loneliness in later life by building connections and relationships. In particular, ideas which engage hard-to-reach groups will be viewed favourably. Environment – To help in the development of a society which benefits from a more sustainable relationship with the natural world and understands the value of its resources.The Foundation values nature by identifying strategies that have impact in promoting the value of the environment and help to drive change to more sustainable lifestyles, through a creative engagement with the natural world. We are currently interested in supporting new ideas or approaches that will help to measure the impact of engagement with the natural world and/or promote a better understanding of the value of the marine environment. The Foundation is looking for projects that: • Scope a new idea to address a specified need or implement new approaches that are already successfully applied in other sectors or outside the UK; • Are relevant to our programme of work and meet one or more of the objectives in our strategic aims • Have a clearly articulated vision of how the work will impact beyond the project lifetime • Address and evidence a clearly identified need What can I apply for? • As a guide, grants are likely to average between £10,000 and £30,000. • Funding is given for the specific activity proposed and not for general core costs. • Although the Foundation may occasionally give further funding for projects that are developed as a result of the R&D support, we stress that we do not guarantee continued support. • The Foundation are open to co-funding projects but not where our contribution is a small part of a much larger budget. • Please note that the budget allocated for unsolicited proposals is modest and we approve only a small number of projects each year. Who can apply? The Foundation only accept proposals from not-for-profit organisations based in the UK or Republic of Ireland. It only funds projects that take place in the UK or Republic of Ireland and directly benefit people in those countries. However, the Foundation are particularly interested in proposals that may also involve international partners or that emulate good practice in other countries. Organisations are able to submit a brief proposal through an online Inquiry Form on the Foundation’s website: gulbenkian.org.uk/ 9. The Sigrid Rausing Trust is a UK grant making foundation, founded in 1995 by Sigrid Rausing to support human rights globally. Since then, the Trust has given away approximately £191.9 million to human rights organisations all over the world. The Foundation’s guiding principles are: • We recognise the value of core funding. • We look for good and effective leadership. • We are flexible and responsive to needs and opportunities. • We value clarity and brevity in applications and reports. • We look to establish long-term relationships with grantees. • The Trust runs nine programmes in the following areas: • Advocacy, Research and Litigation • Detention, Torture and Death Penalty • Human Rights Defenders • Free Expression • Transitional Justice • Women’s Rights • LGBTI Rights • Xenophobia and Intolerance • Transparency and Accountability The 2013 Trust budget is £22.5 million. The Trust identifies potential grantees through research and field work and do not accept unsolicited applications. For more information visit this link: sigrid-rausing-trust.org/ 10. Zennström Philanthropies was founded in 2007 by Niklas and Catherine Zennström. Its mission is to support and engage with organisations that fight for human rights, work to stop climate change and encourage social entrepreneurship in order to protect the natural environment and allow those who live in it to realize their full potential. The organisation believes that the issues we focus on require a collaborative approach. One in which NGOs, funders, governments and individuals work together to achieve action and change. In forming partnerships and making investments, Zennström Philanthropies seeks organisations with strong leadership and that have the ability to scale their work and sustain their impact over the long-term period. Zennström Philanthropies believes that their energy and resources are best employed by working long-term, in strategic partnership with organisations that match our areas of focus and our way of working. Their goal is to build relationships based on a firm understanding of and passion for each organisation’s mission, initiatives, accomplishments and future plans. To that end they search out groups which provide thought leadership, capacity building and coalition building around human rights, climate change and social enterprise. By taking a proactive approach to identifying complementary organisations the organisation can create a grant portfolio that is more than the sum of its parts and can leverage synergies, networks and resources more efficiently. The Foundation states that “While we are always interested in learning more about the groups working in our areas of focus we are unable to accept unsolicited grant applications.” For more information visit this link: zennstrom.org/
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 06:27:38 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015