Foundation

Week
Highlights
from the EFC’s
21st AGA &
Conference,
Open Days &
Interactive Fair
Brussels
31 May–4 June
2010
 Foundation Week
Foundation Week, held from 31 May to 4 June,
marked a new departure for the European
Foundation Centre (EFC) from its traditional
annual gathering. Held at the new SQUARE
conference centre in Brussels, the event
brought together foundations of all different
sizes and backgrounds to meet each other and
open themselves up to the public, NGOs and
representatives of the European institutions.
Foundations have been around in Europe
for centuries and it is estimated that there are
some 110,000 across the continent, yet most
people would be hard pushed to describe what a
foundation does. Uniquely for such an event, the
public were encouraged to attend and invited to
learn more about the important role the sector plays
in so many aspects of society.
Foundation Week was divided into two distinct
parts. The Open Days, from Monday to Wednesday
lunchtime, were open to anyone. They offered
Contents 1 Interview  EFC Chair Emílio Rui Vilar introduces
Foundation Week
The Open Days 4  The Open Days: some session highlights
8  All the fun of the fair  A guide to the Interactive
Fair, a new initiative for foundations to showcase
their work to colleagues and the public
The AGA 12 Interview  Luc Tayart de Borms on the
relationship between foundations and the
European institutions
13  A conversation with the institutions  With
Foundation Week making the most of its Brussels
location, the opening plenary focused on the future
for foundations and Europe
16  The European game plan  A special plenary
focusing on how the European Foundation Statute
can help foundations address the new global
challenges
Postscript 27  The new CEOs  Following a dinner for the
EFC’s new CEOs, Sara Llewellin talks about the
value of a new network
28  What did they think? Conference
participants from around the world say what they
got out of Foundation Week
Foundation Week
a programme of talks, debates and workshops
covering a wide range of topics, from today’s
societal challenges to more sector‑specific
issues. This was followed by the 21st EFC Annual
General Assembly (AGA) and Conference
(hereafter referred to as the AGA), which was
entitled ‘A Conversation with the Institutions’ and
took advantage of the event’s Brussels location
to engage in discussions with the European
institutions.
An Interactive Fair ran alongside these two parts
of the week, with a number of foundations setting up
exhibitions to demonstrate their work and actively
engage visitors. A highlight of the fair was the
Cinema Corner, which ran over 100 films exploring
issues at the heart of foundations’ programmes
and projects.
This report brings you some highlights of the
event and views from participants on specific
aspects of the week.
2 Interview  EFC Chief Executive Gerry Salole
talks about his aspirations for Foundation Week
10  The Interactive Fair: some highlights
20 Interview  Caroline Hartnell talks to
Mo Ibrahim, this year’s winner of the Raymond
Georis Prize
21  The closing plenary  The Raymond Georis
Prize, the EFC photo competition, and a reflection
on 20 years of the EFC
24 Interview  Francis Charhon considers
whether the EFC is a European or an international
organization
25  The AGA: some session highlights
30  The Next Generation Programme  A new
initiative guided 12 prospective foundation leaders
through the events of Foundation Week
32  Final thoughts from a ‘Euro‑sceptic’
Filiz Bikmen Bugay and Gerry Salole
 Interview
Emílio Rui Vilar
“We want to show to all our
stakeholders, from the common
citizen to the European
institutions responsible, that we
are playing an important role
in the public life of Europe in all
kinds of spheres.”
What was the idea behind Foundation Week and what
do you hope will come out of it?
We thought it was very important to show the diversity of work of
foundations, not only to other foundations but also to our stake‑
holders, among whom politicians, members of the European
Parliament and the leaders of the European institutions feature
very prominently. If we are looking for a European Foundation
Statute, we must convince those stakeholders of the need for
it and of the work we do for the public good at local, regional,
national and cross‑border level. On the other side, the ordinary
citizens of Europe are key stakeholders too, and we hope that
through this week, and through the media, we can create a more
favourable public opinion towards foundations.
In terms of what comes out of it, first of all we hope that founda‑
tions will learn from each other. I think it’s very important to share
experiences and to see how we can leverage our resources if
we work in partnership. Second, we want to show all our stake‑
holders, from the common citizen to the European institutions
responsible, that we are playing an important role in the public life
of Europe in all kinds of spheres.
What kinds of effort have been made to engage
policymakers?
We have members of the European Parliament, officials from
the European Commission and the President of the Council of
Europe coming. Yesterday [1 June] I had a long conversation with
the officials working on the European Foundation Statute, so I
think our message is gradually getting through – though we can‑
not consider that this is a one‑shot work. For instance, today there
was a constructive and positive suggestion from MEPs that we
should do something in the European Parliament to illustrate the
work of European foundations.
Is there a role that foundations can play that they aren’t
playing at the moment?
I think we should increase our advocacy capacity. Advocacy is
an important task for foundations. We have the intellectual lead‑
ership and the people, so I think we should be more active in
advocating good causes and pushing forward the public interest
that is at stake in our work.
The recent financial crisis, with its economic and social con‑
sequences, showed very clearly that the actions of governments
are not enough and that civil society must find new answers.
Foundations have a role to play in that respect, both in them‑
selves and in mobilizing other institutions of civil society such as
NGOs to fill the holes that the crisis opens. In recent years, we
have seen many foundations working in partnership with others,
but there is room for much more of this, and for collaboration
between foundations and other actors. For instance, if we look
at developing countries and development aid, foundations must
work with governments from both donor and recipient countries,
with NGOs that have experience of working on the ground, and
with the beneficiaries of aid. If we don’t pay attention to the con‑
text and to local knowledge of it, our aid will not be effective.
What’s your impression about how the week is
progressing?
I came on the eve of the opening and I was here early in the morn‑
ing of the opening day. Every day, I see more movement, more
people, more interaction, so I am happy with the way things are
developing.
Do you think the public character of this event is a sign
that foundations are opening themselves up more to
the public?
We all insist that transparency and accountability are corner‑
stones of our governance systems. We must not only be transpar‑
ent, we must also be proactive in showing what we do. 
Emílio Rui Vilar is EFC Chair
and President of Fundação
Calouste Gulbenkian,
Portugal
Foundation Week 1
 Interview
Gerry Salole
“There’s a confidence in European
philanthropy that wasn’t there ten
years ago.”
How did Foundation Week come about and what is it
meant to achieve?
The EFC is 20 years old this year. Looking back at meetings we’ve
had in Brussels, we realized we hadn’t capitalized on previous
meetings in terms of engaging with Brussels institutions. So the
real litmus test of this meeting is whether we can do that.
Also, my sense is that foundations would like to engage
with the public but aren’t as good at it as they should be, so
Foundation Week is a step in that direction too. The conference
portion of the week is dedicated to ‘a conversation with the insti‑
tutions’ because we want to make sure that governments feel
that foundations are more ready to listen and aren’t just going
into their own agenda.
What kind of response has there been from the
European institutions?
We’ve got a number of people coming from the different
DGs [Directorates‑General]. Stefano Manservisi from DG
Development, for example, has instructed his staff that they
should come and see what foundations are doing and where
partnerships are possible. He’s actually leading one session and
involved in another and his staff are involved in sessions. We’ve
made a point in the AGA of ensuring there are people from the
different institutions actually presenting.
On the other side, I’m really excited by the number of founda‑
tions who are sending large numbers of mid‑level and new staff
and see this as a training opportunity. That will change the confer‑
ence, too. And there’s a confidence in European philanthropy that
wasn’t there ten years ago.
Why do you think that is?
First, foundations have recognized that it’s no longer possible to
fly under the radar. You need constituencies that are on your side.
Also, there used to be a belief that everything that was being done
in the US was perfect and the rest was a bad copy. More and
more people are coming to see that European philanthropy has a
different ethos. Both sides can learn from each other; it isn’t about
one side copying the other or adopting their methods.
2 Foundation Week
Gerry Salole is Chief
Executive of the EFC
You’ve talked about foundations engaging more with
the public and with institutions. Do you think it’s a
particularly good time to do that?
No, it’s a difficult time! Just as European governments are begin‑
ning to recognize what foundations can do, one of the greatest
potential problems is the possibility that governments will think
that foundations can step in where they’re withdrawing. But I think
we’re coming into a phase where more coalition building, more
pooling of resources, more shared agendas will have to become
the order of the day. It’s not going to be easy. It will come very
gradually and mature foundations see this and are preparing for
it. Then again, the crisis and the questions it throws up for the
European project may galvanize foundations to play a strong role
because, by and large, they really are believers in Europe.
Another reason for the confidence I mentioned earlier is that
foundations have just dealt with a crisis. That gives you strength,
and I think it will galvanize activity in areas where foundations
haven’t typically been involved. A few years ago, for instance,
the difficulties over the Lisbon Treaty galvanized NEF [Network
of European Foundations] to move on the citizen participation
agenda, and now no one questions the role of foundations in
involving or informing citizens. I expect things like that will
happen again.
Finally, what concrete thing would you like to see come
out of this week?
The European Foundation Statute. For me, the subtext here is: if
you take us seriously as a sector, if you can see the diversity and
the potential the sector has to offer, and you want people to work
and think European, take the impediments out of the way. 
The Open Days
Some facts and figures
„„A total of 2,197 people visited the
Open Days, of which 549 registered
for the AGA as well.
„„532 organizations were represented,
including European institutions,
NGOs, companies and universities,
as well as foundations.
„„A total of 62 events took place.
Interview
Jens Hesemann
“It is inspiring to be able to
participate in a European
foundation congress where most
of the key foundation actors are
present in one place.”
Why have you come to this
conference and what have you
learned?
I came to the conference both to learn
more about the way foundations work,
and to see how we can make better links
for the refugee cause. I now understand
better the important work foundations
do on matters such as integration,
„„Of the 59 session organizers, 64 per
cent were EFC members and 36 per
cent non‑members.
„„More than 100 films showcasing the
work of foundations were shown.
„„Of the 20 exhibitors, only two were
not members of the EFC.
„„87 per cent of attendees were not
members of the EFC. By contrast, at
the AGA, 66 per cent of attendees
were EFC members.
asylum and countries affected by
conflict or disaster. The event was a
good opportunity to broaden our view
on the multifaceted way foundations
work and the way they engage in
issues. Altogether, I really took a fresh
perspective from the conference.
What do you mean by a fresh
perspective?
It is refreshing to witness the positive
debate about integration in Europe,
for instance. I saw a lot of scope for
future relationships. I also learned a lot
from seeing how foundations organize
themselves to make a difference. The
work on foundation infrastructure and
impact indicators is interesting. It is
„„Over half of attendees (56 per cent)
were first‑time visitors.
„„Of those attending, 31 per cent said
their reason was to attend sessions
relevant to their field of work, while
26 per cent cited networking
opportunities and 23 per cent wanted
to find out more about foundations
and their activities.
inspiring to participate in a European
foundation congress where most of
the key foundation actors are present
in one place. It’s an opportunity that
won’t come up very often, to meet that
many people and get so many different
perspectives.
Jens Hesemann is UNHCR Foundation
Relations Officer
Foundation Week 3
 The Open Days

The Open Days Andrew Milner

Some session highlights

During Foundation Week’s Open in Pittam’s words, ‘let them get on with it’. The visionaries were
subject to minimal interference and were not required to give any‑
Days, more than 60 sessions thing in the nature of a fully worked‑out plan.
covered a wide range of topics, The session, hosted by JRCT, was designed to showcase both
including migration, women’s the project and the work of the visionaries, each of whom gave
short presentations of their work. What it also did – quite inten‑
rights, education and biodiversity. tionally – was to sound a plea for foundations to take greater risks
The following four pages show just with the freedom they enjoy.
a few highlights from the menu of The range of these aims and ideas is breathtaking, both in the
breadth of their intended effects and the inventiveness of their
sessions on offer. conception. But what had been the effects of the project?
For the Trust itself, many of the projects involved would have
been rejected in the ordinary course of its work. But they had
Visionaries for a just and determined not to play safe and instead to go for projects that
peaceful world might fail. The bigger the risk, the greater the potential success if
the gamble paid off, they felt. For the visionaries themselves, the
In 2004, the UK’s Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) experience had been liberating. Among other freedoms, it had
celebrated its centenary. As Stephen Pittam, Trust Secretary, given them ‘the freedom to make mistakes’, as one of them put it.
remarked, it used the occasion to reflect on its fundamental val‑ ‘I don’t know of any other funder who would have funded such an
ues, which had given rise to a long tradition of trusting people and idea,’ said another.
of ‘strengthening the hands’ of those doing valuable work in the One of the session participants, Nicolas Borsinger of
social sphere. The result was the visionaries project. ProVictimis Foundation, probably voiced a common feeling when
What they did was to select seven ‘visionaries’ – individuals he said that the greatest compliment he could pay to JRCT’s ini‑
who had an ambitious, big‑canvas approach to some element of tiative was that this had been one of the most disturbing sessions
social change – provide them with an income for five years and, he had ever taken part in. Disturbing is right. In the visionaries

The JRCT visionaries Heather Parker and Mark Hinton change to have a stronger presence in
Set up Freshfields Vision Project in high‑level negotiations.
Karen Chouhan Founder of Equanomics Coventry, UK, to build bridges in a Clive Stafford Smith A campaigning
UK, a grassroots movement seeking to local UK community and between that human rights lawyer whose aim is to close
promote racial equality through economic community and the developing world. illegal enclaves like Guantanamo Bay
justice, and of the Roots research centre Carne Ross Set up diplomatic and what he describes as its ‘evil twin’,
to back up the movement. advisory groups to help developing Bagram Air Base.
Roy Head Uses the power of mass and small states, and non‑state actors Geoff Tansey A writer and consultant
media to save lives in developing involved in diplomatic processes. This who works across borders and sectoral
countries. Through the use of mass media, helps, for example, small island states boundaries to promote a world in
many potentially life‑saving interventions bearing the brunt of the effects of climate which everyone can feed themselves
can be rolled out simply and quickly. sustainably.

4 The Open Days


project, JRCT turned most of accepted grantmaking practice on
its head – funding individuals and not requiring a detailed plan or
a set of targets. Even the application form, as Geoff Tansey rue‑
fully remarked, had been novel in the extreme. As Stephen Pittam
reminded participants, the session was partly aimed at encour‑
aging foundations to take more risks. He added that, while the
project has come to an end, the work of the visionaries has not,
and there is space for other funders to step in and help continue
the work that has begun.
And the effects of the projects themselves? As usual with
far‑reaching ideas, many of these will be seen only in the years
to come. In the short term, said JRCT trustee Peter Coltman, you
can count the prisoners released from Guantanamo Bay or the
numbers saved by mass media interventions in healthcare. Finally,
however, he quoted anthropologist Margaret Mead: ‘Never doubt
that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world.’ Plainly, JRCT didn’t, and by the end of the session, no
one else in the room did either.
New partnership models,
new opportunities:
Working with the World Bank
to broaden impact
Working in partnership, the World Bank and foundations can
increase the impact of a programme by bringing to it their different
and often complementary skills. However, there are a number of
things to beware of: both the expectations of the programme and
the roles of each partner in it need to be made clear at the outset.
Each side also has to realize that building a partnership takes
time. As Jennifer Barsky of the World Bank’s Foundation Unit,
who moderated this session, remarked at the start, collaboration
between the two is more about pooling and leveraging skills than
it is about money.
Partnership with the Bank in a road safety initiative for the
developing world, said David Ward of the FAI Foundation, has
been critical to leveraging the issue with the UN (the UN has
now declared a decade of action on road safety). Moreover,
On Tuesday evening,
many delegates
gathered in the Delvaux
Foyer for a Peace
and Security Funders
Briefing reception.
The reception featured
a performance by
Colombian singer and
peace activist Juanes,
whose Fundación Mi
Sangre was set up to
address the issues of
children in conflict.
partnership is crucial in working on a problem that is essentially
multi‑sectoral. Its backing has also helped to make the multilateral
development banks realize the need to work together on road
investment programmes. World Bank analysis and statistics are
tremendous ammunition in any argument, he added.
For their part, foundations could provide both small amounts
of very flexible money and their own specialist knowledge and
access to networks. Bertelsmann Stiftung, for instance, demon‑
strated how they had done this in two of the programmes on
which they worked with the Bank: Cities of Change and Towards
European Integration.
It’s not all plain sailing, however. Jenny Hodgson, of the Global
Fund for Community Foundations, and David Ward had both
found the experience of working with the Bank bruising at times,
with the divide between the contrasting cultures a difficult one
to bridge. Both Hodgson and Ward had assumed – wrongly, as
it turned out – that once the Bank was involved, money would
automatically flow. It didn’t, and in both cases there had been a
misunderstanding about who was raising funds for an initiative.
The Bank remains a difficult institution to navigate. You have
to find a champion, as Barry Gaberman remarked, and this takes
time. Then the champion moves on to another department and
you have to start again.
Jennifer Barsky highlighted the need to find a concrete issue
on which to build a partnership. This takes time and patience.
Marc Shotten, the Bank’s principal in the road safety initiative,
noted three necessary preconditions for the creation of a suc‑
cessful partnership: it should redefine the development debate; it
should help devise and implement a solution to the issue in ques‑
tion; and it should produce sustained, measurable momentum.
So while there are real opportunities to advance development,
there are also challenges. The Bank is not blind to these and is
willing to listen. ‘We need a partnership unit at the Bank,’ Barsky
observed. ‘That is what I’m hearing.’ Foundations, she suggested,
need to help the Bank determine what form this should take. 
Andrew Milner is Alliance
Associate Editor
The Open Days 5
 Migration and European cohesion
Among the threats to European unity and cohesion is the question of
migration and the resentment and hostility it can provoke among the
host population. What can be done to counter this and what part can
foundations play in doing so? A number of sessions during Foundation
Week explored this question, among them the two listed below.

Key challenges for Roma Political attitudes and public opinion

inclusion in Europe Both political leadership and the media are critical to chang‑
ing popular attitudes – this was perhaps the main message to
emerge from a session on migration, public opinion and politics
Migration, public opinion organized by the Barrow Cadbury Trust. Unfortunately, as MEP
and politics Jean Lambert and Nick Lowles of Searchlight in the UK pointed
out, it is often far to seek. The main political parties did not tackle
the race and migration question at all in the recent UK elections,
for instance, which left the field clear for far‑right parties.
What could politicians do? They could use straightforward lan‑
guage; they could acknowledge concerns rather than dismissing
them; they could present immigration in human terms, rather than
as a set of statistics; and they could refrain from making promises

Giacomo Puccini The first day of Foundation Week ended
with an operatic concert courtesy of
operatic concert Fondazione Banca del Monte di Lucca,
From Lucca to Brussels, with two male and two female singers
a journey without end performing a selection of Puccini’s
most famous arias. Puccini was born
in Lucca and died in Brussels, in 1924.
A wonderful concert ended with the
interruption of a shrieking alarm (if there
had been a fire, no one was taking any
notice). All four singers were on stage for
a second encore. The pianist hesitated
for a moment, then the tenor Fulvio
Oberto (pictured above left) took on the
challenge and his astonishingly powerful
voice soared above the siren. A great
demonstration of how to respond in times
of crisis!

6 The Open Days

on immigration that they can’t keep. Even where such promises
seem to pander to anti‑immigration sentiment, if they are broken
the basis of trust between people and governments on the issue
is eroded.
Two approaches pointed to ways in which foundations could
contribute. Lowles’ Hope Not Hate campaign against the British
National Party in the UK elections offered a potential commu‑
nity‑organizing approach to combating discrimination against
immigrants, which foundations could fund. Second, the German
Marshall Fund’s transatlantic trends survey, presented by Zsolt
Nyiri, demonstrated that funding research could shed light on an
area that is notoriously populated by prejudice and partial truths.
The Roma question
The crude economic effects of discrimination against Roma (one
consequence of which is that they are unable to participate fully
in the labour market) are estimated losses in productivity and
tax revenue of 1 billion across Bulgaria, the Czech Republic,
Romania and Serbia alone, according to the World Bank.
However, a first crucial step, argued Ivan Ivanov of the European
Roma Information Office, is action to combat discrimination. This
requires political action, but individual member states often lack
the political will to adopt and implement anti‑discrimination meas‑
ures, while local authorities and local Roma communities often
lack the capacity to manage EU structural funds, which are seen
as a key instrument to give effect to such measures.
The role of foundations
What could foundations do to promote Roma inclusion? Mediator
schemes of the kind funded by King Baudouin Foundation
in Ghent (which has a large immigrant population, including
many Roma) are one way. However, as Christian Petry of the
Freudenberg Stiftung said, mediators are active in many parts
of Europe. What is needed is a good European programme to
bring them together so that they can learn from each other. Other
roles suggested for foundations included promoting training and
capacity building on the use of structural funds among local civil
society organizations, provision of the matching funds structural
funds often demanded and the piloting of projects that structural
funds could come in and develop.
Other areas where foundations might usefully take action were
identified. These included investing in early childhood education,
and building on the strengths of the people and communities
themselves (reliance on institutions, particularly in the current
financial climate, is misguided). In any or all of these, Roma them‑
selves need to be involved, something which unhappily was often
neglected in the past.
Perhaps what emerged most strongly from these sessions is
that, though political leadership is important, at the root of the
problem is deeply entrenched prejudice (often on both sides),
which no amount of legislation will change. It will take slow,
patient work with individuals and communities and through civil
society in all its manifestations. Here, foundations – with their
longer reach, better access through their grantees to grassroots
groups, and ability to experiment where politicians would fear to
tread – have a distinct advantage. 

Former President of Latvia speaks

at DAFNE/Governing Council reception

The second day ended with a extremely important and it’s frequently
reception hosted jointly by Donors lacking on the political scene. I would
and Foundations Networks in Europe be very happy as a former head of state
(DAFNE) and the EFC Governing to see foundations have more visibility,
Council. The keynote speaker was more cooperation between them, and to
Vaira Vike‑Freiberga (pictured above see how they can better interact, both
right), President of Latvia from 1999 to with European institutions and with the
2007 and now Vice‑President of the governments of every member state.’
Reflection Group on the long‑term future
of the European Union.
‘Foundations frequently do the sort
of work that governments don’t manage
to do,’ she said. ‘They have expertise
that allows them to look at questions
in depth or in breadth as they choose;
they have the leisure to choose their
priorities; they don’t have to worry
about the next election; and they can
look long‑term. The long‑term view is

The Open Days 7

 All the fun
of the fair
Kai Hopkins
In keeping with the change in format for this year’s AGA, a week‑long
Interactive Fair ran alongside, designed to bring foundations together
and allow them to showcase their work to fellow foundations, the
public, and representatives of the European institutions. A smaller
‘interactive fair’ was trialled last year in Rome, but it was held on the
last day of the conference when most people had either left or were
busy with last‑minute catch‑ups, so many delegates missed out on it.
espite the slightly soulless basement surround‑
ings, the fair was a bright and inviting area, with
Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian’s Darwin exhi‑
bition taking pride of place in the centre. The
problem was getting people to it. Sessions were
all on the other side of the SQUARE maze, and
until lunch was served there on Wednesday there was little to
get conference attendees down there. Similarly, there was little
encouragement on the outside of the SQUARE to entice mem‑
bers of the public. That said, once there, people were impressed,
and eager to walk around the stalls.
The cinema corner
On arrival, visitors were greeted with the Cinema Corner, which
showed a variety of documentaries, shorts and animated films
showcasing the diverse work that foundations are involved in.
As Inês de Oliveira Magalhães of the EFC explained, the Cinema
Corner was not about promoting the
foundations themselves, but rather delv‑
ing into the issues that are at the heart
of their programming. Overwhelmed by
interest from foundations, the Cinema
Corner was extended to run all week, with
some very interesting and hard‑hitting
films, especially one I saw on female cir‑
cumcision called The Secret Pain. With
a full programme of sessions elsewhere
in the building, it was difficult to find time
to watch as much as one wanted. The
initiative was very popular, however, with
8 The Open Days
suggestions that in future films be screened in the evening, or put
online to allow more people to see them.
Touching every sense
The stall run by Fondazione di Venezia described their latest
museum, M9, as an ‘exhibition space that will stimulate all the
visitor’s senses’. As if following their lead, the Fair developed what
the Cinema Corner started, providing different and stimulating
displays that indeed touched every sense.
Fundación ONCE had set up a basketball court where the
wheelchair basketball team they sponsor, CD Fundosa ONCE,
currently ranked fourth in Europe, showcased their skills. It also
allowed people to try wheelchair basketball, giving them an
insight into the challenges of being disabled. With visitors from a
school trip and people from the European Commission giving it a
go, the organizers saw it as a great success in highlighting their
work and making important connections.
Similarly, the European Cultural Foundation ran a very inter‑
active stall, featuring The Cloud, a ‘guided tour of the historical
museum of the future’. For them it was a very special week and,
in contrast to previous closed EFC conferences, gave them the
opportunity to link policy and practice, meeting the public and
people from the EU institutions and other foundations.
A reason in prison
One central and often busy stall was that of Compagnia di San
Paolo. A foundation of banking origin, Compagnia was showcas‑
ing and presenting its initiatives in prison, which gave the stall
the name: ‘a reason in prison’. It showed their efforts to support
work, skills and education in prison, with the aim of rehabilitat‑
ing offenders. Prisoners receive a small salary for their work and
can continue working for the cooperative even after they leave
prison. It also described some of the social prison cooperative
projects it supported and had a wide variety of examples of the
products that are made in prison. The stall offered free tasters of
coffee that had been roasted in prison, and of beer brewed inside.
It also handed out jewellery and purses all made by prisoners.
Even the EFC conference bags had been made in a prison in
north‑west Italy. Compagnia wanted their stall to be an example to
other foundations, and also to the public, to help change the poor
image of inmates and to show how offenders can become active
members of society again. The stall seemed to be a very busy one,
with plenty of interest, especially in the coffee at the start of the
day, and in the beer towards the end!
Another busy and interactive stall was run by Fondazioni4Africa,
who organized an area for presentations and discussions.
Formed by four major Italian foundations, Fondazioni4Africa
invests in north Uganda to encourage the return of internally dis‑
placed people, and in Senegal to improve economic and social
conditions in rural areas. Sessions held here included one on the
contribution of diaspora to development and another on how edu‑
cation about sustainable development can increase the impact
of funding in Africa.

Forging new relationships

Next door was the Turkish Foundations’ Corner, hosted by the
Third Sector Foundation of Turkey (TUSEV), which operates
at the national level in a similar way to the EFC at a European
level. Showcasing the work of about ten foundations out of its
120‑strong membership, they attracted a lot of interest from
other organizations looking for partnerships. This was a success
for them, as they were not so interested in meeting the general
public, but rather in forging new relations with European institu‑
tions and bureaucrats, and cementing their ties with other EFC
members.
Another foundation that was looking to further relations with
the European institutions was the largest EFC member, the
Wellcome Trust, which saw this conference as the first step to
doing more work in Europe. Highlighting key areas that the trust
focuses on, they wanted to raise their profile with MEPs and
policymakers, although they were also attracted by the thought
of including an element of public engagement during the week.
Overall, this event lived up to its name of Interactive Fair, and
was a nice touch to the week. A distinct lack of ‘public’ was a
shame, but it was a bit of an unknown experiment, and one that
can be counted as a success. It was clear that those displaying
were unsure about what to expect too, and some were better than
others about making it truly interactive. 

Kai Hopkins is General Manager of

Alliance magazine

Jan Despiegelaere
What do you think of Foundation
Week so far (at the end of day one)?
I really like the new concept of
Foundation Week because it has an
‘open day’ philosophy to open it up
to other people rather than the usual
suspects who attend these kinds of
conferences. So they really tried − ­ and
they succeeded − to lower the entrance
to make it accessible to more people,
and I think that’s very interesting. I’ve
already heard of a lot of people who are
coming to Foundation Week who have
never been attached to the EFC and
never taken part in any of these events
before. These people really seemed
attracted by this new concept. It’s a very
Jan Despiegelaere is Coordinator of
good idea and I’m looking forward to Community Foundation West Flanders
attending as many sessions as possible. at King Baudouin Foundation

The Open Days 9

 The Interactive Fair
Some highlights Andrew Milner

Darwin’s Evolution
The centrepiece of Foundation Week’s Interactive Fair was an exhibition
on the life and work of naturalist Charles Darwin, mounted by Fundação
Calouste Gulbenkian. ‘We decided to organize an exhibition on Darwin
in our headquarters in Lisbon to commemorate the 200th anniversary of
his birth and 150 years since the publication of On the Origin of Species,’
explains Emílio Rui Vilar, Fundacão Calouste Gulbenkian President.

n fact, the original, much larger, version of the exhibition perpetuate themselves. That makes it particularly appropriate for
opened in Lisbon on 12 February 2009, the 200th anni‑ this big gathering of foundations and the altruistic purposes of
versary of Darwin’s birth, and ran until 24 May, attracting our work.’
162,000 visitors. It also served as an educational outreach Moreover, believes Vilar, the exhibition has other lessons to
programme in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, teach us. ‘I think the work of Darwin calls our attention to pre‑
through which more than 1,500 school groups visited the sent challenges of environmental sustainability. Species fight for
exhibition and participated in activities related to the themes of survival but their survival depends very much on the existence
Darwin and evolution. of adequate conditions.’ Our use of limited resources and our
For the scaled‑down version of the exhibition presented at pollution of others such as air and water are diminishing those
Foundation Week, an enclosed space was constructed in the conditions, he believes. ‘His [Darwin’s] work also shows very
exhibition hall. The outside walls of this showed the intellectual clearly that we live on one planet, that we must preserve diversity.
and scientific context to Darwin’s work, while inside Darwin’s On the other hand, there is a unity in it and in the principles on
life and works were explored and illustrated with a selection of which life is based.’
the interactive media developed for the original exhibition and a The exhibition is currently based in Spain and will be presented
number of original objects. These included a drama‑documentary in Porto in November this year. Its display in Porto will become the
on Darwin’s discovery and exposition of the theory of evolution, focus for the creation of a new Museum of Biodiversity in the city’s
film clips of scientists explaining the centrality of Darwin’s work university, and most of its contents will form the basis of a new
to modern scientific thought, samples of plants and beetles col‑ science museum in Oeiras, Portugal, next year. 
lected by Darwin during his voyage,
and copies of his seminal work On
the Origin of Species in a number of
languages. The original exhibition
Apart from the evident general In its original concept for the Gulbenkian life and achievements, while the third
interest of the exhibition, there was exhibition space, ‘Darwin’s Evolution’ section focused on post‑Darwinian
another important reason for staging was organized in three sections. To begin developments, such as the modern
it during Foundation Week. ‘In his with, visitors were shown the cultural study of genetics. Finally, there was an
book Descent of Man,’ explains Vilar, and scientific context of Darwin’s time. interactive laboratory and a module on
‘Darwin clearly demonstrates that This was illustrated by a recreation of our current understanding of global and
in both human and non‑human com‑ Ole Worm’s cabinet of natural curiosities human evolution. The exhibition is on
munities, where there are benevolent, and a replica of the Beagle. The display at the Parque de las Ciencias in
altruistic practices, those communi‑ second element centred on Darwin’s Granada until October 2010.
ties are more likely to survive and

10 The Open Days

Photos Pavol Demes

The Cloud
A historical
guided tour
into the future
It’s 2060. You’re about to be taken on a guided tour of
the year 2010 exhibition in an interactive museum. Your
guides are Ardai and van Loo, who model themselves
on the two people who, in 2010, first discovered the
Cloud, a virtual compendium of information and sense
perception which allows people in 2060 to live in a
world where the keynote feelings are compassion and
empathy. As a theatrical convenience, the Cloud has a
personality and can speak.

art of an area of cultural works on display at the

Interactive Fair, The Cloud was sponsored by
the European Cultural Foundation. Its two per‑
formances drew over 50 people to each. The
device is a familiar one in science fiction – look‑
ing back from the perspective of an imaginary
and superior future to expose and satirize the flaws of the pre‑
sent. Participants were given a headset and taken by performers
Luc van Loo and Petra Ardai on a short walk through the streets
of Brussels (the interactive museum) in the course of which the
performers asked members of the public (in the theatrical illusion
of the show, museum staff were ‘animators’ trained to simulate
the attitudes and responses of people in 2010) how it felt to live By turns, it was imaginative, uncomfortably voyeuristic, occa‑
in 2010, while the Cloud narrated the performance. ‘Animators’ sionally moving and funny. The performance finished with the
talked briefly of the problems of the world and themselves, while ceremony of the melon, which epitomized the mixture of the
the Cloud explained how people had overcome the mutual dis‑ absurd and the serious character of the whole performance. A
trust we could see demonstrated in the ‘interactive museum’. They watermelon was passed among the group, and each person was
had learned instead to base their relations on compassion and asked to make a wish, then pass it on to their neighbour. Some
empathy and, by doing so, had not only escaped the solitude and made a great production of the rite, some handled it with grav‑
uncertainty of the individual condition but also discovered the ity, either mock or actual, and some simply passed it on with a
basis for the solution of humankind’s larger problems. self‑conscious smile. 

The Open Days 11

 The AGA
Interview
Luc Tayart de Borms
“We have to create a political
climate in Brussels where it is
accepted that there will be a
European Foundation Statute.”
How do you think the conference in Brussels is going
to promote relationships between foundations and the
European institutions?
There is a huge physical advantage to being in Brussels because
the European Commission is not far away. So it’s a good oppor‑
tunity for foundations to meet people from the Commission, the
Parliament and other institutions.
Europe is influencing our lives more than ever, especially in
the eurozone. It is said that 60 per cent of legislation by national
parliaments is simply implementing European measures, and this
figure will surely go up. So if you work on research, migration or
employment issues, you need to take into account European‑level
ideas if you want to have an impact. It’s not a question of not doing
local things any more; it’s a question of awareness of what’s hap‑
pening at the European level so that you don’t do things on the
local level that are no longer relevant. We can use this conference
to create a consciousness of that among foundations.
We also have to teach people in the Commission and the
Parliament about what kind of animals we are. They are used to
people coming to them to ask for money. But when we come we
bring money, and instead we ask for partnership and look to scale
up, using a certain knowledge or expertise.
If you look at Europe’s many research‑driven foundations,
they have the longest tradition of work with the Commission
because science by definition is not national. If you take a sec‑
tor like migration, the fact is that the European Union will take
more and more decisions on migration policies, but national and
local NGOs don’t know what’s happening on the European level.
So foundations must inform the Commission what’s happening
locally and also inform the local people what’s happening on a
European level.
12 The AGA
So foundations could perform this intermediary role to
make sure the institutions connect with citizens in their
own countries?
Yes, foundations can help to close the gap between the citizen
and Europe, through civil society organizations, to let people learn
about Europe and to help Europe listen to what’s happening on
the ground.
What about the European Foundation Statute?
The main reason for having the conference here is that we have
been working for some years now on the European Foundation
Statute, and we wanted to create as much fuss as possible at
Foundation Week by inviting a lot of MEPs so that they see what
good work foundations do. We have to try to get the statute
through with this Commission and this Parliament. It’s a long pro‑
cess, but we have to create a political climate in Brussels where
it is accepted that there will be a European Foundation Statute.
Were you encouraged or discouraged by yesterday’s
findings? Awareness of foundations was pretty high
among the sample of MEPs.1
The advantage is that we have elements we can play with now
– at least we can identify the people in the Parliament who are
willing to help. Also we can take forward this idea of having an
informal group of European parliamentarians who meet with foun‑
dations twice a year. Foundations in the different EU countries
can identify high‑level MEPs who are sympathetic. In Belgium we
have our vice chair, Jean‑Luc Dehaene, who is quite influential in
the European Parliament, and he’s chair of a foundation called the
Madariaga – College of Europe Foundation. As he has an interest,
I know I can call on him.
So I’m pretty confident. The poll was an instrument of market‑
ing, but at the same time it was more positive than I would have
expected. 
Luc Tayart de Borms is
Managing Director of the
King Baudouin Foundation
1 This interview took place on 3
June. The question refers to the
findings of the Gallup/EFC poll
presented at the AGA opening
plenary the previous day.
 mílio Rui Vilar, Gerry Salole, Luc Tayart de Borms,
Francis Charhon – all stress the importance of the
statute in their interviews in this report. President of
the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, address‑
ing a special plenary, acknowledged it to be ‘a sen‑
sible idea’ and exhorted European foundations to be
patient for a year or two longer. ‘Ideas need time; even sensible
ideas,’ he told them.
‘A statute enabling foundations in Europe to work in neigh‑
bouring countries is long overdue. Not having this mechanism in
place is stopping foundations from realizing their potential – and
in these difficult financial times foundations have an increasingly
important role to play,’ said Gerry Salole, Chief Executive of the
EFC, in the opening plenary.
Under current regulation, a foundation in one of the EU’s 27
member states will find it hard to set up a programme in another
European country even if it has the funds to do so. ‘This is not in
line with the European vision that we all support so fervently,’ said
Salole. A recent study by the EU estimated that there are some
110,000 foundations in Europe, collectively spending between
The chief ‘presence’ at the EFC’s 21st Annual General Assembly
and Conference (AGA) was not to be found on the delegates list:
the European Foundation Statute, still a dream rather than a reality
but a dream that does at last seem to be coming closer to reality.
A conversation with
the institutions
83 billion and 150 billion annually on projects and programmes,
and providing employment for up to 1 million Europeans.
The opening plenary
This year’s AGA opened with a debate on the results of an EFC/
Gallup poll of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs)
which gauged how much they know about foundations and the
work they do. The survey was carried out in February and March
this year, and 92 MEPs responded – 12–13 per cent of the total,
with a representative spread of age, gender, nationality and politi‑
cal party. Of those who responded, a large majority were familiar
with foundations and many had had direct contact with them. Of
the almost 20 per cent with no knowledge of foundations, many
said none had approached them. As many as 83 per cent said
they would be interested in meeting foundations active in their
fields of expertise.
Perceptions of foundations and the role they play were over‑
whelmingly positive. Almost 90 per cent said foundations play an
important role in society, while 75 per cent agreed that founda‑
tions play a role no other organization could play. The public good
Caroline Hartnell
The AGA 13

How much do
MEPs know about
foundations?
„„Around 70 per cent said they felt relatively
knowledgeable about foundations.
„„83 per cent said they could name a
foundation – though only two‑thirds could
actually do so.
„„36 per cent had worked with a foundation;
this figure was higher among younger
people.
„„13 per cent had established a foundation;
those from new member states were five
times as likely to have done so.
„„27 per cent had received a grant from a
foundation; the figure was twice as high in
new member states.
At the end of the first day of the
AGA, delegates walked to the
nearby BELvue Museum for a
drinks reception. The museum,
situated in a magnificent
18th‑century house, contains
one of the largest collections of
Belgian art and artefacts. The
atrium and gallery provided plenty
of space for people to meet and
discuss what they had heard so
far during the conference. Good
weather also allowed people to
spill into the courtyard and enjoy
some fresh air.
14 The AGA
was the concept that respondents associated most closely with
foundations. Piloting new initiatives and helping underprivileged
groups were the two most recognized roles, the latter being more
prevalent in new member states.
Foundations’ role in the EU 2020 Agenda
Do foundations have a role to play in the EU 2020 Agenda, defined
on the official website as ‘a vision of Europe’s social market econ‑
omy for the 21st century’ and ‘a strategy for smart, sustainable
and inclusive growth’? Of MEPs responding to the survey, 70 per
cent said yes but most didn’t know what it should be.
Perhaps the most significant finding was that almost 90 per
cent of respondents said that MEPs should have a role in promot‑
ing foundations in Europe; 73 per cent said they would back a
proposal for a European Foundation Statute.
Gerry Salole was encouraged by the results. ‘Now is the time
for foundations to open the door and go in,’ he said. ‘It’s not the
time for foundations to be shy. Europe is in deep crisis and foun‑
dations have a unique role to play.’
Creating partnerships for the future
In the debate that followed, panellists were asked what they saw
as the most important gap for foundations to fill. There was much
talk of partnership in what followed, but partnership with differ‑
ent sectors. While MEP Nadja Hirsch (pictured left on p13) put
the emphasis on foundations and European institutions working
together, former MEP Manuel Medina Ortega (pictured centre
on p13) mentioned foundations working directly with citizens
and developing European citizenship. But Salole cautioned
people not to put foundations in boxes. ‘Foundations are forever
changing,’ he said. ‘They work in many different areas.’
One issue that inevitably arises when you talk about European
foundations and governments working together is whether foun‑
dations are taking over the role of government. Where should
the line be drawn? Foundation funding is small‑scale compared
to that provided by governments. Partnership works best where
foundations pilot initiatives and government takes them up. The
example was given of Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, which
recently piloted a migrants programme that was later taken up
by government.
Despite all this talk of partnerships, are European foundations
still too near‑sighted in their relationships? ‘Is globalization pass‑
ing you by?’ Akwasi Aidoo of TrustAfrica asked European founda‑
tions, which, he said, are less global than US foundations. Salole
disputed this. ‘You must not be fooled by the inter‑galactic noise,’
he said. He pointed to research funding as an example, and the
amount going into research in African universities. ‘We think 8
per cent of European foundations work outside Europe,’ he said.
Are MEPs doing enough to use the unexploited potential of
foundations? Could they approach them to help work in their
constituencies? It was generally agreed that decision‑makers
should take advantage of their untapped potential and founda‑
tions should make the case and contribute to Europe. For Salole,
the next step is to contact those MEPs who have indicated
themselves to be willing to work with foundations. One valuable
outcome of the EFC/Gallup poll is the identification of a group
of MEPs who want to work with foundations and are willing to
support the European Foundation Statute. 

Steve Gunderson
View from across the pond
“I couldn’t help wondering if this crisis and philanthropy’s response isn’t
the next chapter in our tepid walk towards a more global definition of
philanthropy’s role in society.”
On Wednesday morning, in a session
called ‘Walking through the EU maze’,
Janis Emmanouilidis of the European
Policy Centre began a most important
conversation on the impact of the
current credit and political crisis in the
European Union on philanthropy’s role
in society – especially European society.
His remarks, most of them rather
pessimistic about the ability of
European nations to rise above
domestic politics for the good of the
EU, set the stage for an incredible set of
conversations at this conference. At the
opening session of the EFC conference,
Emílio Rui Vilar of Fundação Calouste
Gulbenkian began by saying, ‘These
are, indeed, times of uncertainty.’ He
was soon followed by the Programme
Committee Chair, Luc Tayart de Borms
of King Baudouin Foundation, who
made clear, ‘This conference is not
business as usual.’
As if these two comments were not
sufficient, Gerry Salole, the EFC’s Chief
Executive, was even more direct. He
said bluntly, ‘This is not the moment
for foundations to be shy, to withdraw.
Europe is in a deep crisis and it needs
civil society to engage.’ All three voices
displayed the appropriate leadership we
now seek from philanthropy in today’s
world. Good for them!
But I couldn’t help wondering if this
crisis and philanthropy’s response
isn’t the next chapter in our tepid walk
towards a more global definition of
philanthropy’s role in society. Over
the past two years, we in the US have
witnessed a more activist federal
government taking a careful look at
what is the appropriate level of the
public sector safety net and protection
for our citizens. As we all know, the US
has long supported both a stronger
market‑based system and limited
government, with philanthropy playing
a larger role in the social lives of our
citizens. I suspect that today we are
beginning to see a recognition within
Europe that governments are limited,
by resources if not desire, in how much
they can/should do for their people.
And as European governments begin a
difficult era of fiscal discipline, I suspect
that European philanthropy will be
pressured – by its social conscience
if not for political reasons – to do more
in support of the common good of its
fellow citizens.
In some ways, Europe and the
US are again taking a step towards
more common definitions of the
respective roles of the public, private
and philanthropic sectors. I’ve long
suggested that the early years of the
21st century will define philanthropy’s
role as one growing in size, service and
scrutiny. Now, after two consecutive
economic crises, those words remain
true. Philanthropy will grow in size –
both in Europe and the US. Philanthropy
will do more. And as the informal, if not
formal, partnership between the public
and philanthropic sectors continues to
grow we must accept the fact that the
scrutiny of our sector – both in what we
do and how we do it – will also grow. 
Steve Gunderson is President of the
US‑based Council on Foundations.
These comments were first published as
a contribution to Alliance’s Foundation
Week blog.

The AGA 15
 This special plenary, chaired
by EFC Chair Emílio Rui Vilar,
focused on how foundations can
contribute to the development
of a stronger Europe in the years
to come, a Europe that is better
equipped to serve citizens in the
27 member states. Both plenary
speakers expressed their support
for the idea of a European
Foundation Statute to enable
European foundations to work
more effectively.
The
European
game
plan
16 The AGA
Mark Walport focuses on the global challenges
The plenary began with a presentation by Mark Walport of the
Wellcome Trust, who focused largely on the global challenges we
face and how these will push foundations to be more effective.
‘The global challenges are so great,’ he said, ‘that foundations will
be forced to think hard and make choices as to where they can
make the most difference.’ He went on to suggest some concrete
guidelines:
„„Foundations must think in terms of partnership, not
substitution: we mustn’t do what others, either government or
private sector, would do otherwise.
„„We must avoid entering open‑ended funding commitments,
without partners.
„„Our work must be excellent.
„„Finally, we can’t do everything.
He gave some examples of Wellcome’s own work which he felt
matched these demanding standards. One was the Human
Genome Project, for which the Wellcome Trust provided one‑third
of the funding. If foundations want to maximize impact, the digital
universe makes wide dissemination possible. Human genome
sequences are now available to all, through the European
Bioinformatics Institute.
Finally, Walport emphasized the importance of the European
Foundation Statute. The challenge is for Europe to be an enabler
for what foundations do, he said. ‘Our biggest resource is the
people of Europe. We need to remove bureaucratic red tape,
encourage donations and encourage innovation.’ In the light
of the global challenges we face around poverty, environment
and sustainability, ‘European foundations are needed as they’ve
never been needed before.’ The European Foundation Statute is
essential to enable foundations to play this much‑needed role,
he insisted.
Endorsement from the President of the
European Council
Herman Van Rompuy, first full‑time President of the European
Council and former prime minister of Belgium, who spoke next,
also backed the statute, which he called ‘a sensible idea’. If foun‑
dations do so much for the public good, he said, they are entitled
to ask for support. ‘I hope that you will ultimately succeed in this
endeavour,’ was his conclusion to a speech that recognized the
key role that European foundations can and should play in the EU
2020 Agenda and congratulated them on the way they act as a
link between citizens and governments (see opposite for extracts
from his speech).
‘We will be patient,’ Emílio Rui Vilar said in summing up. ‘A new
dialogue is opened by the speech today.’
Making it work: collaboration between foundations
and the EU institutions
Amidst all the talk of foundations and the EU during the special
plenary, an inevitable question arises: how easy is it to collaborate
with the EU institutions? A breakout session on ‘Making it work’
suggested that it isn’t always easy at all. One tension emerged
in relation to the Platform for Intercultural Dialogue – an initiative
facilitated by the European Cultural Foundation and supported
by five other foundations. The Platform was established to pro‑
mote practice exchanges between grassroots organizations and
to act as an interlocutor between these organizations and the
EU institutions. Today 11 European‑level and 26 national‑level
organizations in 18 countries are involved. They are in ‘structured
dialogue’ with the EU institutions. While convinced they can
have policy influence, they also realize that the EU institutions
would prefer to collaborate with large European‑level associa‑
tions rather than local‑level organizations, though this is where the
best work is often done. The EU likes to support innovation but in
practice only supports organizations that have been in existence
for five years.
There are also practical difficulties, described by Sabine Frank,
Secretary‑General of the Platform. EU application processes
and reporting requirements are lengthy and time‑consuming,
and payments often come late. Only the larger, more experienced
NGOs could hope to deal with the extent of bureaucracy involved,
referred to by one speaker as ‘cumbersome and horrible’. Another
participant referred to the problem of high staff turnover in the
DGs (Directorates‑General).
These difficulties in fact point to a valuable role for foundations.
While NGOs can be literally ruined by the bureaucracy, late pay‑
ments, etc, all this is much more manageable for foundations.
They have cash and can cope with the delays and outlay of time.
Foundations can offer a service to NGOs, said Gerrit Raws of
King Baudouin Foundation, which interacts with the EU institu‑
tions in several ways. While foundations should not undermine
the chances of NGOs getting grants, they can usefully take on
an intermediary role, he said, and provide support for those with
good projects who don’t have sufficient expertise.
There may also be a role for the EFC in all this: presenting best
foundation funding practices to EU institutions. Raws, among
others, was a bit dubious about whether it’s worth expending time
and effort doing this. In his experience, new people in the EU are
always keen to simplify the funding processes and then find they
can’t. Underlying the endless red tape is huge pressure from the
European Parliament not to make any mistakes, and above all to
avoid fraud. In his view, foundations just have to learn to deal with
it, and to support those less able to do so. One thing was clear: if
anyone is to take on this project, it has to be the EFC.

Herman Van Rompuy
Extracts from his
speech to the EFC
special plenary on
3 June
On the role of foundations
We need strong institutions, certainly in
a stormy period of rising individualism
and populism. We also need a strong civil
society to strengthen social coherence in
a period of change.
‘Change’ can be an objective, but
‘change’ can also be dictated from the
outside. We constantly have to adapt
ourselves to a new world. But we also
have to ensure stability in our societies.
Organizations and structures are
indispensable actors between the state
and individuals. A democracy cannot
live and prosper without that feeling
of ‘togetherness’ and ‘belonging to
something’. That is why your foundations
are important, both on a national and on
a European level.
I value the social contribution of
foundations highly – both your work
within the member states and your
work in bringing the citizens of different
member states together. Both are
important!
I do not underestimate a foundation
that operates only in one village, for
one school, for one hospital, far away in
Portugal or Finland. It is great if there are
contacts with other nationalities, but in
my view this is no requirement to pass
the test of being a ‘good’ European. The
‘Europe’ I cherish does not only exist
in cross‑border projects. The Union is
made up of about 500 million people
living in 27 democracies. The European
public good cannot flourish without
vibrant cities, without lively villages,
without well‑functioning member
states. And I think that in the Union we
are all more and more aware of this
interconnection.
On the European Foundation Statute
Since foundations do so much work
to enhance the public good, they are
entitled to ask at some point: what does
our political system do for us?
In your case, per definition, politicians
should only create the conditions.
The European Foundation Centre has
strongly made the case for a European
Foundation Statute: one legal framework
for public benefit foundations in 27
member states. This would reduce
cross‑border barriers and stimulate
foundation activities more generally. It is
a sensible idea.
In European politics, however, ideas
need time; even sensible ideas, and
sometimes especially sensible ideas!
In conclusion
I should like to congratulate you on the
important work you do. You constitute a
vital link between European citizens and
the work of the Union. You are a symbol
and a guarantee of our European way
of life. 
Herman Van Rompuy is President of the
European Council

The AGA 17
 Advocacy in the framework of Europe: How to influence
policy making?
There was much talk during the AGA of advocacy with the EU
institutions, but a breakout session on ‘Advocacy in the frame‑
work of Europe’ turned out to be more a discussion of how foun‑
dations can support advocacy per se. One of the main issues
for those carrying out advocacy with EU institutions seems to
be understanding how they work. More generally, the discussion
focused largely on whether foundations should engage in advo‑
cacy themselves or support others to do it.
Views on this varied considerably. ‘Wouldn’t you like these
foundations just to give you the money and get off your back?’
Stephen Pittam of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT)
asked Carlotta Besozzi of the European Disability Forum.
‘Carlotta, be brave, speak your truth,’ he encouraged her. Besozzi
was politic in her reply, insisting that ‘added value on top of fund‑
ing needs to be decided jointly’.
Astrid Bonfield of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund
disagreed with Pittam, drawing on her experience of supporting
a campaign to ban cluster bombs. ‘It’s not just about money,’ she
said. ‘As foundations, if we’re not using every asset we have to
access the people we have unique access to, we’re not doing
our job.’ She stressed the importance of the ‘honest broker’ role
foundations can play: they can access and bring together gov‑
ernment and other sectors. And if they have board approval in
advance, they can act quickly and take advantage of often very
short windows of opportunity.
But Nicolas Borsinger of the Pro Victimis Foundation sup‑
ported Pittam. Organizations like the Diana, Princess of Wales
Memorial Fund and Fundación ONCE have real weight in their
own countries, he said, but most foundations, including his own,
don’t. ‘Most foundations who want to support advocacy need to
support NGOs that do have credibility and expertise and stay
back.’
Christopher Harris, formerly with the Ford Foundation, made
the point that, unlike the two examples presented, most foun‑
dation support for advocacy is ineffective. A huge amount of
money may not be needed, but foundations must be willing to
offer long‑term core support, with capacity building for their NGO
partners if needed. 

The European Foundation Statute responded positively to both of these

Where does it stand?
The political will for a European
Foundation Statute exists at European
Commission level, but the support of
all 27 member states is needed to carry
it into effect. This was the principal
message relayed by Claire Bury of
the EC’s Internal Market and Services
Directorate‑General, who was one
of the panellists at this discussion.
Therefore, one of the key roles for
foundations in securing the statute is to
help the Commission to convince them.
While DAFNE (Donors and Foundations
Network in Europe) is useful as a
representative organization, she said,
what is needed is for foundations in
individual countries to produce solid
arguments, since this is where the real
fight lies. European pronouncements
would cut no ice with member state
governments. This week was an
opportunity to do this.
Another area of difficulty, she
remarked, was that, unlike with
companies (and she reminded
participants in passing that the
ideas. With the so‑called trio system,
whereby three successive presidencies
cooperate to provide additional
European Companies Statute had continuity by sharing common political
taken 20 years to achieve), there programmes, picking the member states
is no common definition or set of off one by one might pay dividends; she
characteristics that could be applied to recommended participants to look also
foundations across the EU. Here again, to Luxembourg and Italy.
the Commission needs foundations’ But the next hurdle, she argued,
help to frame the statute in the terms that was to present the idea to the EC’s
would be most beneficial to the sector. Impact Assessment Board; evidence
Fellow panellist Hans Fleisch of the from individual member states would
Bundesverband Deutscher Stiftungen be needed to convince what is a fairly
felt that there was probably already hard‑boiled entity. The crucial phase
95 per cent agreement on what the of this fact‑finding is between now
statute should look like. He said this and November – and the sooner,
was a chance to set a standard (without the better. 
interfering with diversity) for European
public benefit organizations, which
would in turn have an effect on national
legislation.
One participant remarked that
next year would see the Hungarian
presidency of the EU. Why not try
to win the Hungarian government
over in advance? Also, why shouldn’t
supporters of the statute present their
ideas to MEPs who, in turn, could bring
political pressure to bear? Claire Bury

18 The AGA
The second day of the AGA ended with a
networking reception at the Musée Magritte
Museum, situated in the Altenloh Hotel in
the heart of Brussels. The museum, which
opened in 2009, was partly funded by the
Magritte Foundation and displays over 200
works by the surrealist artist. A large number
of delegates attended the reception to mingle
and enjoy the unique surroundings. After
dark, the party continued with dancing at the
BELvue Museum.

Interview the theme is the relationship between I would expect

Pier Mario Vello
“I think that this new economic
crisis in the eurozone is worse than
the financial crisis in 2008 and the
beginning of 2009 – but we’re not
talking about it.”
What are your impressions of the
conference so far?
My overall impression is very good of
course. I have two comments. First,
foundations and the European Union,
but I feel there is a lack of commitment
on the EU side. Some of the people
here representing the EC have not
been well prepared. Although they
declare a positive approach towards
foundations, the statute has nevertheless
encountered a lot of difficulties, so there
is a sort of contradiction.
Second, I think that this new economic
crisis in the eurozone is worse than the
financial crisis in 2008 and the beginning
of 2009 – but we’re not talking about it.
someone among
the European
institution or
foundation
representatives to have raised the issue
because European countries will have
some big social problems in the future
and we have to forecast a higher number
of requests to foundations because
state funding will be cut.
Pier Mario Vello is Secretary General of
Fondazione Cariplo

The AGA 19
 Interview
Mo Ibrahim
“What I’m trying to say is that
we are not perfect in Africa,
and Europe and America are
not perfect either. So we should
get off our soap box and
sort ourselves out before we
preach to everybody else.”
In your speech on receiving the Raymond Georis
Prize, you talked about the fact that we have our own
governance challenges in Europe and the US. You
talked of undemocratic institutions that are supposed
to be making decisions, of a revolving glass door
between business and government. What do you think
foundations and civil society organizations can do to
help address these challenges?
You can do a lot because you are much, much more powerful than
you think. The balance of power between governments and civil
societies is changing. Because of the development of telecom‑
munications and the web – emails, YouTube, etc – people are
connected now. Every one of us can be a walking newspaper;
it’s no longer just the big institutions. That gives civil society an
amazing voice.
Someone like Obama couldn’t have succeeded before. The
Clintons had the Democratic Party machine, they were the king
and queen of the Party – who was this guy Obama? He comes
from nowhere and suddenly comes in with the nomination. Very
intelligently, he used things like the internet to connect the com‑
munity. So technology is giving a lot of power to players who were
not actors before; now they can be actors.
But so far the banks have escaped unscathed with their
bonuses. We have let them do it.
We are not putting enough pressure on our politicians. You notice
British politicians outbidding each other on who’s going to be
more tough on the banks, so we need to hold them to that. One
of the problems, I’m afraid, is that some of the things the banks
are doing are not really clear to the public – we don’t understand
this concept of casinos. It has nothing to do with banking, it’s
about speculating. It has no social or economic function what‑
soever other than generating fees, which feeds bonuses. The
public unfortunately don’t have enough financial education to
understand this. We really need to explain to people exactly what
the banks have been doing. Already there is a huge amount of
20 The AGA
anger; we live in dangerous
times. I was telling our banker
friends last night: you guys are
finished; by your actions you
have really finished capitalism.
So the logic for
foundations would really
be to give their support to
civil society organizations
that can mobilize
public support and hold
politicians to account to
push them to rein in the
bankers?
Absolutely. Once people get organized, they can talk, they can
debate, they can make decisions, they can act, and we can put
pressure on the politicians. We can ask our MPs questions, we
can write in newspapers or on our websites. We can make things
difficult for people, and we hope that the bankers and the govern‑
ment will really appreciate how serious the situation is.
Do you feel it’s time for Europeans and North Americans
to start looking to themselves instead of looking at
Africans and accusing them of being corrupt?
As an African, I have to face our own shortcomings. I just wish that
my friends in Europe and the US would do the same. Europeans
and Americans in general are fond of talking about us corrupt
Africans and the lack of rule of law, lack of this, lack of that –
and in many cases maybe they are correct. But I think we should
not speak with forked tongues because we should also look to
ourselves in Europe and America and ask ourselves how much
partnership in corruption we are in with those corrupt people in
Africa or Asia or anywhere else.
We have no right to criticize others unless we are happy to
indulge in self‑criticism, and unfortunately my friends in Europe
and the US have developed this resistance. They all think they
are lily white, above reproach. African observers of the recent
British elections were stunned when they found that at several
election stations huge numbers were unable to vote. They are
saying, ‘Excuse me, when this happens in Kenya, you guys have
a go at us and say Africa is again failing its people, and this time
it’s here and nobody’s taking any action.’
So what I’m trying to say is that we are not perfect in Africa,
and we have to face it. Europe and America are not perfect either,
and when we accept lower standards in what we’re doing, we
lose the moral right to preach to other people. So we should
get off our soap box and sort ourselves out before we preach to
everybody else. 
Mo Ibrahim was Chairman of Celtel International until 2007,
when he stepped down to run the Mo Ibrahim Foundation
The closing plenary
began with the
awarding of the
Raymond Georis
Prize for Innovative
Philanthropy in
Europe, now in its
seventh year. This
year’s winner was
Mo Ibrahim, founder
of the Mo Ibrahim
Foundation, for the
initiative he has
developed to promote
better governance
in Africa.

The closing plenary

his comprises the Ibrahim Index, which measures 84
parameters of good governance, and the Mo Ibrahim
Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. This prize
has not been awarded this year, for the second year run‑
ning. According to the seven‑member prize committee,
there have been ‘no new candidates or new develop‑
ments and therefore no selection of a winner has been made’.
‘In his work to encourage good governance in Africa, Dr Mo
Ibrahim matches the best of Europe with the best of Africa. In
doing so he is at the cutting edge of a new paradigm for global
philanthropy,’ said Raymond Georis.
As Mo Ibrahim was to do in the speech that followed, Georis
made the point that Ibrahim’s efforts to promote good govern‑
ance could serve as a model for other regions, including Europe.
‘We need to look at EU institutions in these dangerous political
and economic times. Important decisions are taken in situations
where there is no democratic control.’
In his speech, Ibrahim stressed the need for Africa to put its
colonial history behind it and take responsibility for its own future.
‘Africa is a very rich continent,’ he insisted. ‘Don’t believe Oxfam
and our other friends. Africa has 950 million people and 23 per
cent of world resources. But the people are very poor. We can’t
continue to blame colonialism; that ended 50 years ago. It is
time for us to take responsibility. What happened was a failure
of leadership, of governance. All good things start from good
governance.’
But the failure of governance is not just an African problem.
‘For every corrupt African leader, there are a dozen corrupt busi‑
ness leaders in the US and Europe,’ he said. ‘In the financial crisis
so much pain has been inflicted on the world by the irresponsible
behaviour of the bankers. Have they dispensed with their fiduciary
duty? There is a glass revolving door between governments and
banks. A $30 billion payment to Goldman Sachs from a Secretary
to the Treasury who was previously with Goldman Sachs was not
identified as corruption. If it had happened in Kenya, it would have
been on the front page of the Financial Times. We are working
on governance in Africa, but you should pay attention here too.’

The AGA 21

The photo competition
The awarding of the Raymond Georis Prize was followed by the
announcement of the photo competition results. This year’s win‑
ner, submitted by King Baudouin Foundation, shows hero rats
saving people’s lives. Ludwig Forrest, who received the prize on
behalf of KBF, explained that the rat is a real hero, educated by
Tanzanian organization Apopos to detect landmines and diag‑
nose tuberculosis.
Twenty years of the EFC
The keynote speaker was Francis Charhon of Fondation de
France. Charhon began by declaring himself very impressed by
the new form of meeting represented by Foundation Week, then
went on to look back over the last 20 years of the EFC. Laying
the Foundations: 20 years of the EFC properly closes the first
two decades of the EFC, he said. In 1989, foundations and their
activities were little known in most European countries. The EFC
has brought the foundation sector into view as well as working for
legal and fiscal changes. ‘One of the Centre’s great successes,’
he said, ‘has been to inject a real dynamism in this young sector,
and above all to introduce its leaders to one another, allowing
them to build working relationships on a basis of mutual trust and
friendship.’
The EFC has been through many phases, he remembered, pay‑
ing tribute to the help – both money and experience – received
from ‘our American friends’ in the hard early days, which was in
his view ‘a determining factor in the Centre’s survival’. Now the
22 The AGA
Hero rats saving people’s lives
Sylvain Piraux
issue is European integration. ‘Each of our 27 member states has
their own culture and traditions, and it is not easy to get them to
march to the same tune . . . We need to work together to find our
own strategy for development and action, through collective sug‑
gestions, consensus and active cooperation, if we want to build
a Europe which truly serves its citizens.’ Europe is now a safe
and peaceful place, he said, but the emergence of isolationism,
nationalism and xenophobia is a danger.
There remains one issue to be solved, said Charhon: are we a
European centre or an international organization? The European
Foundation Statue derives from the wish to have ‘more Europe’ in
our lives. Ignoring questions about whether the statute would be
useful, he turned the question around: why don’t we have a stat‑
ute? It would cost nothing. Foundation efforts can never replace
those of states, but if we can leverage our efforts, we can make a
significant difference. ‘As I look at the path we’ve come down,’ he
 MOUs with the EFC.
Below: Marwan Awartani
signs on behalf of the Arab Interview
Foundations Forum.
Left: Serge Raicher signs on
Chet Tchozewski
behalf of the European Venture
Philanthropy Association
“My impression is that it was
an experiment and I think a
successful one.”

What are your impressions of the

conference?
My impression is that it was an
experiment and I think a successful
one. I like the Foundation Week nature
of it. There were things you wouldn’t
expect, like the Darwin exhibit – it was
interesting to have that here. The formal
part, of course, was like everything else –
some of it was better than others, some
was better prepared than others. I think
the EFC staff did a great job of giving
us a menu to choose from and I like the
more informal character that’s emerging
– like lunch and dinner from a buffet.
And simple things like all of the meeting
rooms having good natural lighting.

What was the session you

ended, ‘I’m confident of our ability to deal with the difficulties with most enjoyed?
imagination, commitment and enthusiasm.’ Bizarrely, maybe, the one on
cross‑border giving regulations – which
Any other business is not what you might expect me to
The closing plenary was also the occasion for the signing of enjoy. But really I’m impressed with
Memorandums of Understanding between the EFC and the what’s been accomplished in terms of
European Venture Philanthropy Association and the Arab lowering the barriers for cross‑border
Foundations Forum, to strengthen the relationship and collabora‑ giving among EU member states – up
tion between them and the EFC. to 15 now out of 25. Just five years
Finally the time came to announce the theme of the next confer‑ ago, it was almost like all these tax
ence and the next Chair of the EFC. ‘Challenging times neces‑ lawyers didn’t know what charitable
sitate pulling together so we can not only survive but improve,’ he giving was. This year, it kind of stopped
said. ‘For the next conference we looked them in their tracks when I asked them
for a theme to illustrate the interconnec‑ about giving to Ghana. They said, that’s
tion of Europe and the rest of the world. not on our agenda, but then five years
We thought the oceans themselves pro‑ ago cross‑border giving in Europe
vide an inspiring theme, representing the wasn’t either.
very essence of life and at the same time Chet Tchozewski
alerting us to the difficult environmental is Honorary
President
problems we face. We would like to wel‑ of Global
come you to Cascais, Portugal, next year.’ Greengrants Fund
It is in Cascais in May 2011 that the
next EFC Chair, Marco Parlangeli (left),
Chief Executive of the Italian foundation
Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena,
will assume his new role. 

The AGA 23
 Interview
Francis Charhon
“I don’t know where the idea
Photo Pavol Demes

comes from that Europe can

disappear or anything like that,
but it’s impossible.”

Going back to something you said in your speech in
the closing plenary, do you think the EFC should be a
European organization or an international one?
For me this has been an important question from the beginning.
It’s curious because this is something that has never been clear.
It’s probably why we were able to grow up. When we started
we were European and we were helped by many international
organizations, and we were extremely happy to be supported.
Since then the organization has gone in two directions – one
international and one European. I liked the idea of the European
Foundation Statute – I was in fact the father of the idea – because
of the European perspective. In my view, the EFC is a European
institution which can have very strong relationships with the
Council on Foundations and other non‑European organizations.
Whenever the idea is to reinforce Europe, people start to
say you have to enlarge, you have to create a new space. They
are constantly trying to update the idea of Europe and the spirit
of what we are doing. The question is: is the EFC working as
an international organization for Europe in the world or it is a
European organization working for Europe in the world? It’s a
difficult question to answer.
American organization with an international programme. In fact,
they are less international than the EFC, but perhaps that’s not
a good idea.
I think what the rest of the world, particularly the
Americans, want is a strong Europe. They’re worried that
the debt crisis in the eurozone is going to bring the rest
of the world down.
But crisis is good for Europe. Each time there is a crisis we find a
new solution and we step up. I don’t know where the idea comes
from that Europe can disappear or anything like that, but it’s
impossible. When I think of the European Foundation Statute,
and the EFC, these are political projects to reinforce the citizen‑
ship of Europe, so that we can have institutions in which we can
recognize ourselves.
Do you feel encouraged by Herman Van Rompuy’s
remarks about the statute happening?
I’m sure it’s going to happen. I never quit! 
Francis Charhon is Chief Executive
Officer of Fondation de France

So do you think that until now it’s been more

international – and you want it to be more European?
We have gone phase by phase. First, it was a European centre
paid for by foreign donations. It took a long time to set it up. We
were very preoccupied with Eastern Europe because of the Wall
falling and we didn’t really have time to think about the organiza‑
tion. Now we are on the way to financial independence, and a real
European project, the European Foundation Statute. After that
there will be tax issues and other European projects.
We have to find a way to represent the 27 countries, but also
to have strong links with other foundations outside Europe and
to connect with the world. The idea is not to close things; we will
always be open. If you look at the Council on Foundations, it’s an

24 The AGA
The AGA AGA sessions offered the chance to discuss various
EU policies, and also more general sector‑wide
Some session issues such as impact measurement, partnerships
and the use of social media. Some session
highlights highlights are shown on the next two pages.

Impact measurement, evaluation,
benchmarking, non‑profit analysis
– what works?
Andrew Milner
Over the past few years, remarked Barry Knight of CENTRIS,
who co‑presented this session, techniques and tools for evalua‑
tion have proliferated. How do you choose one over another? He
proposed four basic rules: it should be owned by the organiza‑
tion using it – that is, it should be seen as an integral part of the
organization and staff should be comfortable using it; it should
be useful; it should be robust (that is, deliver valid and reliable
results); and it should be simple.
Fellow presenter Lisa Jordan of the Bernard van Leer
Foundation also pointed out the distinction between evaluating
a foundation’s programmes and evaluating the institution itself.
Most are more ready to do the former, yet understanding their
impact as grantmaking institutions is imperative not only for
learning how to make the best use of their resources but also for
demonstrating the value of their privileged fiscal status in what
could sometimes be a hostile climate.
Any evaluation, suggested Jordan, especially one to track
long‑term change, needs to be built into the planning stage of a
programme. This would enable progress on the perennially diffi‑
cult questions of evaluation: attribution, measuring advocacy, and
the disparity between the time it takes results to appear and the
need to commit funds to programmes. Collecting baseline data,
for instance, would provide a means of comparative analysis.
Both stressed, however, that there is no ‘philosopher’s stone’
– no single technique or method that will serve for all eventu‑
alities. You have to choose the method to suit the job and, even
when you have found the right tool, you are likely to have to modify
it to your particular requirements.
Finally, as Knight observed, evaluation is a developing disci‑
pline. As with each individual evaluation, the discipline, with many
diversions and course corrections, is edging closer to accurate
results. Both Knight and Jordan are trying to build a community of
practice that should include not only foundations but also other
organizations that have the same value base. 

Beyond the emergency: lessons
from disaster response
Andrew Milner
Public attention for disasters is short‑lived and the funds raised
for them are not always well spent, said Rien van Gendt of the Van
Leer Group Foundation, who chaired this session. Do founda‑
tions have a different role in responding to disasters from relief
agencies, and if so what is it? He outlined five rules from the book
produced by the Foundation Center last year on disaster grant‑
making: stop, look and listen; don’t act in isolation; think beyond
the current emergency; use the expertise of local organizations;
and be accountable to those you are trying to help.
Most of the two presenters’ (Joia Mukherjee of Partners in
Health and Nicolas Borsinger of Pro Victimis Foundation) remarks
naturally focused on the Haiti earthquake, but both also spoke
from their experience of other disasters. Both broadly agreed that
Haiti relief efforts had almost amounted to what Mukherjee called
a disaster within a disaster: the UN’s cluster system had been
exclusive, bureaucratic and counter‑productive; relief efforts had
bypassed what was left of Haiti’s public authorities and had, in
some cases, undermined existing very effective programmes.
It didn’t have to be like this. Not everyone, said Borsinger, has
the right to intervene in the wake of a disaster. The government
in question and/or the international community should establish
a priority system for relief agencies that could do essential work.
Accompaniment was the term Mukherjee used to describe the
way Partners in Health works with both local communities and
public sector authorities to strengthen their hand. We need to
be able to fund and assist the grassroots and to work with public
authorities so that governments and communities can together
build a society that works. The absence of this in Haiti and in other
disaster regions has made calamities infinitely worse. We also
need to be more radical in tracking the money raised for disaster
relief, she urged, and to be accountable for the waste of money.
Is there a particular role for philanthropy? For one thing,
said Suzanne Siskel of the Ford Foundation, we need to take a
long‑term approach. As van Gendt had noted, the world’s atten‑
tion faded quickly although it was clear that rebuilding Haiti would
take years. 

The AGA 25
 What is not counted doesn’t
count: why researching
foundations matters
Marta Rey García
This turned out to be an exciting debate about the state of
research on foundations in Europe, with all panellists basically
agreeing that knowledge about the sector is scarce but much
needed. As Anthony Tomei of the Nuffield Foundation, chairing,
said, the reasons for this include: foundations’ interest in evaluat‑
ing their own practice; the need for the sector to demonstrate its
impact to policymakers and potential partners; and the need for
critical thinking about foundations’ role in European society.
Wioletta Gradkowska from the European Commission’s
Research Directorate‑General described the ‘Foundations
research and mapping’ (FOREMAP) project, which identifies
areas of improvement and effective action in public‑private
research partnerships, while John Healy from the Centre for
Nonprofit Management, Trinity College, Dublin proposed rein‑
forcing the quality and international scope of existing centres for
research and teaching rather than creating new ones.
The session provided me with an opportunity to talk about the
research that the Institute for Strategic Analysis of Foundations
(INAEF) is undertaking. The project’s first step is to gather data
Building philanthropic
infrastructure – sexier than
you think
Caroline Hartnell
Judging by the fact that there was standing room only for this ses‑
sion, one can only conclude that EFC participants already think
it’s a pretty sexy topic, but sexy or not, the sad fact is that there
are ever fewer funders willing to fund philanthropic infrastructure.
Why? Moderated in great style by David Emerson of the UK’s
Association of Charitable Foundations, the session tried to get to
the bottom of this question and presented two foundations that
actually do fund infrastructure.
Karin Jestin of Fondation 1796, which works on sustainable
development, social entrepreneurship and helping to build the
sector in Switzerland, cited the need for cooperation among foun‑
dations as one reason for supporting philanthropy infrastructure.
Another is the need to put philanthropy on the map: if they are not
seen as relevant partners, she said, foundations will lose oppor‑
tunities to have impact.
26 The AGA
about the 11,000 or so Spanish foundations in order to get an
idea of their impact. Our medium‑term goal is to provide the sec‑
tor with tools to build its capacity and evaluate its performance,
with a view to increasing its value to society.
The debate that followed reminded us that a sustainable
agenda for research on European foundations not only requires
the commitment of research bodies and donors’ associations but
also makes demands of the accountability and transparency of
foundations themselves. It would also benefit from the application
of mainstream academic research theories and models, and from
a focus on international comparability that starts with streamlin‑
ing data‑gathering methods and exchanging best practice. The
European Research Network on Philanthropy is already working
towards this.
My personal concluding remark is that it also requires a new
view from all of us researching the ‘foundations forest’: since we
are counting the trees, we should make an extra effort to under‑
stand the ecosystem where foundations enter into long‑term rela‑
tionships with the public, business and civil society sectors, and
to understand how these relationships can ultimately generate
social capital. 
Marta Rey Garcia is assistant professor
at the University of A Coruña, Spain
and director of INAEF. This report is
based on her contribution to Alliance ’s
Foundation Week blog.
The second presenter was Pieter Stemerding of Adessium
Foundation, a newcomer to the small band of infrastructure
funders (see Alliance interview with him at http://www.alli‑
ancemagazine.org/node/3158). Adessium’s decision to estab‑
lish the Erasmus Centre for Philanthropy at Rotterdam University
arose from their founder’s own difficulty in finding useful, inde‑
pendent advice about embarking on philanthropy.
Why do so few fund in this area? The most obvious reason
is that there are so many causes foundations want to support,
and infrastructure can’t compete with children, human rights, etc.
A speaker from New Zealand suggested that if trustees don’t
see the value, they won’t fund. UK consultant David Carrington
remarked that if investing in infrastructure fosters self‑criticism,
something that foundations are bad at, this will help effectiveness
and demonstrate the value of infrastructure. Overall, however,
demonstrating the value of infrastructure remains neither easy
nor straightforward.
Several speakers suggested that it should be the responsibil‑
ity of every foundation as a good citizen to support their own
ecosystem and make sure it’s sufficiently visible to the rest of
society. Seen in this light, funding infrastructure could be seen as
a ‘self‑imposed tax system’. 
 Postscript
The new CEOs
On Tuesday 1 June, six new
foundation CEOs came together
for dinner, giving them the chance
to share their experiences of
taking the helm. Caroline Hartnell
talked to one of them to find out
how it went.
Interview
Sara Llewellin
“Meeting up helped us to have that daybreak moment
of realization that someone else is experiencing
some of what you’re experiencing”
You were one of the people who attended the dinner for
the new CEOs earlier in the week. I think the notable
thing about the new group is that it’s almost all women?
That’s right. Apparently almost all of the new appointments to
CEO positions among EFC members over the past year have
been women. There is one man, but he was unable to attend the
dinner. This is unusual in continental Europe, but in the UK the
foundation movement traditionally has a lot more women heads.
Photo David Drewery
Did you feel that as a group you had things in common?
Yes, we had both variety and things in common. Between six of us
at the dinner, we come from five countries and fund across many
countries in different areas of work – science, education, criminal
justice, migration. But what we had in common was that we were
all trying to get to grips with an organization that was new to us,
and/or a new sector, sometimes in a new country. I think it’s a bit
lonely being a new chief exec – you have to forge a new relation‑
ship with your board, and some things take a bit of time to learn to
navigate, like issues of governance and management.
Meeting up helped us to have that daybreak moment of reali‑
zation that someone else is experiencing some of what you’re
experiencing. We didn’t just talk about things that we were finding
difficult, but also about the optimism of being agents for social
change and about wanting to drive better impact measurement
and better understanding of what we’re trying to achieve.
The fact that you’re all women is obviously an interesting
thing in itself. Do you think it adds anything to the
dynamic of the group? Would it have been different if it
had been mixed?
I think it is inevitably a different dynamic. We’ve all grown up try‑
ing to change a cultural dynamic of male supremacy. We weren’t
grouping together around the issue of glass ceilings or how other
people perceive us as women in senior positions, but I think it
does inevitably affect the tone of the conversation.
Do women tend to have a different style of leadership
on the whole?
I think so, but I think it is cultural rather than DNA, so the extent is
different in different cultures. Management culture has become
more psychological over the past decade or so anyway, so there
are a lot of men in this field whose style of management is facilita‑
tive rather than the old‑style autocratic machismo approach.
Is this group going to carry on in some form?
I don’t think we will meet up much because we’re geographically
dispersed, but we will keep up with each other as an email family.
Certainly one or two of us will also be talking on the phone about
things that we’re struggling with. 
Sara Llewellin pictured second from
left, took up the post of Chief Executive
of the Barrow Cadbury Trust in
November 2009
Postscript 27
 What did they think?
Views from around the
Gina Anderson
Philanthropy
Australia
“We’re watching
European
countries
struggle with
the aftermath
of the global
financial crisis, and yet I feel like
here at the conference it’s the
elephant in the room.”
Two things stand out for me. One
is the focus on Africa, which is very
understandable because of its
geographic closeness to Europe,
whereas Asia is our focus. And of
course because of that focus – Europe
and Africa – nowhere else makes it onto
the map.
The second thing is, on the other
side of the world, we’re watching
the European Union and European
countries struggle with the aftermath
of the global financial crisis, and yet I
feel like here at the conference it’s the
elephant in the room – barely mentioned
and certainly not discussed.
Europe, like Australia, has big
government. And as big government
has big debts and they’re going to have
to cut government budgets, where’s
that money going to come from, and
how will that hit the poor and vulnerable,
and what is expected of foundations
in response? Will it undercut
social funding of infrastructure for
not‑for‑profits? What’s the responsibility
of foundations in the face of this crisis
at home, let alone abroad? At the
conference, it feels like everyone knows
it, but nobody’s talking about it.
The third comment I would make
is I’m always struck when I travel
28 Postscript
internationally that, at a general level,
the issues philanthropy is facing are
exactly the same whether you are from
a large advanced economy or a very
small developing economy. We’re all
dealing with impact and evaluation,
with measurement and transparency,
with justifying our special tax status to
governments.
It’s so very similar and yet I think
we are all in danger of just tinkering at
the edges. I think real social change
happens, certainly in our part of
the world, when foundations work
with not‑for‑profits, business and
government, and find that sweet spot.
Because you have all those partners
at the table, you think about things in
a very different way. Often when we
get together as foundations, what we
really end up talking about is the sort
of programme that might address part
of the problem but doesn’t actually
focus on the really hard stuff, which is
achieving social change.
Patricia Aragonés
Fundación Fabretto,
Spain/Nicaragua
“It’s been a
great way to
exchange ideas
and learn about
opportunities
with
organizations
that I didn’t think we would have a
particular match with before.”
The conference has been very
informative. We are a family of three
foundations – a US foundation and a
Spanish foundation exist to serve the
rural education programmes we operate
in Nicaragua. We began in Spain five
years ago and now we’re beginning to
look beyond Spain to the rest of Europe.
We have similar issues about
cross‑border donations, being able
to work more effectively throughout
Europe in terms of raising money. We’re
interested in the European Foundation
Statute, and also the VAT implications.
We’ve had an opportunity to
engage with other foundations, both
grantmaking institutions to whom we
often apply for funds and those that we
might partner with on the ground. It’s
been a great way to see them and, in an
informal way, exchange ideas and learn
about opportunities with organizations
that I didn’t think we would have a
particular match with before. It’s been
very enriching.
Fernando Rossetti
GIFE, Brazil
“I missed the
NGOs here and
I see very few
businesses, so
I’m not sure if
we’ve got the
right format yet.”
I think the interesting thing about this
conference is that foundations are trying
to create dialogue with government. The
challenge is to create the right format
for productive dialogue with different
institutions, like government, businesses
and NGOs. I missed the NGOs here
and I see very few businesses, so I’m
not sure if we’ve got the right format yet.
Maybe you do have to focus on dialogue
with government on the European
Foundation Statute, but for many of the
themes, such as Africa or education or
marginalized youth, the dialogue should
be much wider.
world
You also need to discuss public
policy, and although I don’t see that here,
I do see the intention. What I’m saying
is that we’re all learning. There was an
intentional focus on the dialogue with
the European Union in this conference,
and I think we’re learning even if we
haven’t yet achieved a format to produce
more creative or even productive
dialogue.
Akwasi Aidoo
TrustAfrica
“I think
European
foundations can
do more, and
that’s my call –
that they should
take centre
stage globally.”
The key point about this Foundation
Week and the EFC conference is
that they truly represent a crossing of
borders. Europe has a long tradition
of crossing borders – sometimes not
in a good way – and Europe itself has
been knocking down its own borders.
I believe there is a need for European
philanthropy to stress that tradition
and to live it and to go global. I see
this week’s event as a very important
step towards that. The philanthropic
community is reaching out to the
bilateral and multilateral institutions, and
to the Brussels institutions. With people
from all over the world here, it’s more
than a European event and that’s a very
striking thing.
The good news from TrustAfrica’s
standpoint is that even though we
live in a period of crisis – the financial
crisis has been the context of almost all
discussion over the last couple of years
– there’s a lot of hope that foundations
and philanthropic institutions are still
very enthusiastic about what they do
and eager to reach out and do more.
There is a proverb that says, ‘when it’s
dark enough, you can see the stars’ and
I’m really happy to see that European
foundations are not becoming more
insular and inward‑looking, and are keen
to step forward. There is an optimistic
atmosphere about this event that is very
healthy. I haven’t heard or experienced
the sort of pessimism or fear that one
senses very easily in the governmental
and private sectors, with the euro
crisis and what’s happening in Greece
dominating the news. It’s almost as if
this is going in the opposite direction.
So it’s very optimistic, very hopeful, and
I like that.
But I think European foundations
can do more, and that’s my call – that
they should take centre stage globally.
There’s a lot that European foundations
specifically and European philanthropy
as a whole can bring to the global
community.
Terry Odendahl
Global Greengrants
Fund, US
“This conference
isn’t turning
out to be as
European as I
expected.”
I took in two
sessions on my
first day: a portion of the Peace and
Security Funders briefing on ‘A view
from Europe’ and the Global Fund for
Community Foundations’ ‘Not such a
poor cousin: understanding the unique
role of community philanthropy in
driving development’. Each was good,
although quite different in tone. Missing
from the first was much discussion
of the role that philanthropy might
play in promoting peace. The Peace
and Security Funders’ reception was
a particular treat with philanthropic
inspiration and music by Colombian
star Juanes.
The Global Fund for Community
Foundations has just completed a
baseline study of 50 applications for
grants. Sound boring? Not at all. Lively
discussion followed the presentation
of preliminary results, focusing on the
importance of the community foundation
as a model of locally driven philanthropy.
I was particularly struck by the diversity
in the room. Participants came from
Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin
America, and all had important stories to
tell. This conference isn’t turning out to
be as European as I expected.
Peter Cleaves
Emirates Foundation,
UAE
“I got gems out
of every session
I went to.”
This conference
focused very
much on
European
issues, so why would a foundation
from the Arab world be interested in
attending? The fact of the matter is
that the European Foundation Centre
is a source of value for any foundation.
I went to programmes on evaluation,
on volunteerism, on endowment
management, on climate. These are all
enormous issues worldwide and I got
gems out of every session I went to.
Postscript 29
 The Next What they hoped
for from the
Generation programme . . .
Programme ‘I am hoping to get to know better the typology
of foundations, as it’s different to what we
have in Italy, and to get inspired by their work.’
Giulia Coss, Compagnia di San Paolo, Italy

For the first time, the EFC offered a ‘As part of the Brussels microcosm, I’m aware
of the EFC but don’t know much about the
group of 12 ‘Next Generation Leaders’ individual organizations. The Next Generation
from foundations the possibility not programme is a rare opportunity to have an
only to attend the AGA but also to be exchange of national perspectives between
younger people.’
led through it by EFC staff. Thomas Fischer, Bertelsmann Stiftung, Belgium

‘My expectation is basically to be inspired and

The aim of this initiative is to: to have the opportunity to think outside of my
„„give a group of ‘younger’ foundation people the opportunity day‑to‑day practice. I’m pleased that there’s
to meet and get to know each other; someone taking me by the hand through the
„„provide them with insights into issues relevant to philanthropy incredible maze of activities during this week.’
and their particular jobs; Maite Garcia, European Cultural Foundation,
„„give them the opportunity to take part in this key EFC event Netherlands
and get acquainted with EFC staff and structures.
‘I’m looking to learn about how women’s funds
After this initial pilot the aim is to make this initiative an integral and women’s rights and feminist issues are
part of the EFC annual conference. addressed by different foundations, especially
Caroline Hartnell met seven of the Next Generation group on more established and traditional foundations,
the first day of Foundation Week and asked them what they were and to find out how we could work together
hoping to get out of the programme. On the final morning, she and contribute to relevant discussions.’
spoke to three of them about what they had in fact got out of it Amanda Gigler, Calala Women’s Fund, Spain
and which sessions they had enjoyed the most.
‘I’m here to exchange ideas with colleagues
from other foundations – it’s a great
opportunity to work out your most effective
personal grantmaking strategy.’
Jasmijn Melse, Adessium Foundation, Netherlands

‘What I’m hoping for here is to learn about

what’s happening in the future for the EU, how
it will affect our area, and how we can have
positive relationships across the border. We
also serve the migrant and Roma communities
so it’s interesting to hear what other
foundations are doing in this area.’
Shelia Slemp, United States Peace Corps
volunteer, Carpathian Foundation, Ukraine

‘I want to learn more about other foundations

on a European level and to find out what other
Photo EFC

people of my age do at other foundations.’

Anja Stanitzke, VolkswagenStiftung, Germany

30 Postscript
. . . and what they got out of it
Giulia Coss
“I liked the
visionaries
session – it
showed a
completely
different way
of interpreting
grantmaking from the way we do at
Compagnia.”
This is my second conference, but the
Interactive Fair is new. It has given us
a chance to present ourselves both to
people who know about foundations
and to those on the outside. We
have the chance to share ideas and
experiences with people from different
backgrounds. I don’t have much
experience of European work, so this
was a chance for me to grow and learn.
It’s a huge conference so I might have
felt a bit lost if I hadn’t had someone to
guide me towards sessions that would
be interesting for me. You also have
this group of people around that you
recognize, so you have someone on
the same level to chat to and share your
thoughts, questions or even problems.
It helps us to form ideas for the future
and be a stepping stone between the
older generation and younger people
who don’t yet have the vision of what a
foundation is.
I liked the visionaries session – it
showed a completely different way of
interpreting grantmaking from the way
we do at Compagnia. Sometimes ideals
can seem a little unreal – too big to be
possible – but these people invest their
money to make them happen, and they
reach results. The second session I liked
was the one about social networks and
how they are useful for communication.
It’s probably not a method we would use
ourselves but it’s interesting to see how
different foundations work.
Jasmijn Melse
“The Next
Generation
programme
gives us a safe
environment to
discuss ideas
and the reality
of what we’re doing. They’re calling
it a leadership programme, but
we’re all here to learn, both within
the group and outside.”
I’ve been to a few smaller conferences
before, but not a sector‑wide one, so
for me this was a great opportunity to
immerse myself in a sector that is really
rich, diverse and dynamic. It helped
me to find out more about what the
philanthropic sector is about, and think
about the added value of foundations
in Europe. The foundation sector
is so varied in terms of focus and
organizational structure, and finding
out the differences and similarities can
help develop your own personal strategy
as a grantmaker. The Next Generation
programme gives us a safe environment
to discuss ideas and the reality of
what we’re doing. They’re calling it a
leadership programme, but we’re all
here to learn, both within the group
and outside. You get a chance to meet
inspiring people who can advise you on
how to acquire the knowledge and skills
you need for your work. We want to get
the best from all the different people
we’re meeting, both learning from the
older generation and forming our own
ideas on the way forward.
I thought the visionaries meeting
was the most inspiring for me – it was
interesting to see how, after many years,
they [Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust]
really re‑engage with the vision of the
founders. The seven visionaries have
unusual ways of approaching things,
and it was impressive to hear how much
they have achieved in the last five years.
It showed me again that foundations
shouldn’t always go for the safe project.
Shelia Slemp
“When you’re
labelled Next
Generation, it
gives people
who’ve been
around for a while
permission to
come up and feel comfortable giving
us advice; I felt like it opened the door
for people to introduce themselves.”
This is my first conference in Europe,
and getting to know different players
in the field has been one of the most
interesting things about it – it really is an
interactive fair. It’s almost overwhelming,
the amount of new things to take in. The
Next Generation programme gave me
people to talk to about what you’ve heard,
to find out what other people thought and
to help you reflect for yourself. Although
we’re different ages and from different
backgrounds, there’s a common link of
energy and wanting to share ideas. When
you’re labelled Next Generation, it also
gives people who’ve been around for a
while permission to come up and feel
comfortable giving us advice; I felt like it
opened the door for people to introduce
themselves.
I’ve been focused on philanthropy in
Ukraine for two years, so the evaluation
session I went to got me thinking more
globally about what we’re doing. In the US,
where I come from originally, we have our
models and our systems, but this session
made me think about what it means
for me here, working in an international
arena. Another session I enjoyed was the
community foundation session [‘Not such
a poor cousin’, hosted by the Global Fund
for Community Foundations] – it really
spoke to the issues we’re trying to tackle in
Ukraine right now. The information was not
new but the focus was different because it
was about the implications of foundations
supporting the start‑up of new community
foundations. I liked that it was rooted in
evaluation and research; it really validates
the work that these foundations do.
Postscript 31
 Confessions from
a Eurosceptic
Filiz Bikmen Bugay
When I first saw that the theme for the EFC conference
2010 was ‘A Conversation with the Institutions’ I was
disappointed. It seemed irrelevant to our work in Turkey,
which is not (yet?) a member state. And Brussels never
had any appeal for me. So I was, I believed, destined for
an unsexy conference in an unsexy city! In the end, the
event wrecked all my preconceptions by producing three
A‑HA moments that summarize what I consider to be a
major success for the EFC and for Turkish foundations.
The first occurred at a dinner with TUSIAD (Turkish Industrialists
and Business Association, the main EU advocacy organization
representing Turkey in Brussels) on 31 May. As representatives
of Turkish foundations, we were briefed on the latest develop‑
ments in the EU and EU‑Turkey relations, and began to realize
that EU‑Turkey relations are not only a job for others (the private,
public and academic sectors) but also something foundations
need to take part in.
The second moment was on the following day at the panel on
Turkish Foundations (1 June). There was great audience engage‑
ment and discussion about, among other things, whether Turkey
looked east, west or both ways. One of the comments came from
Swedish MEP Anna Maria Corazza Bildt. I was both surprised
and pleased to see her come on her own time and of her own
Foundations can support
but not replace the state,
says MEP
‘Foundations will play an even more important
role in society in the future – but they should not
become stopgaps for duties to be fulfilled by the
state,’ said MEP Nadja Hirsch, member of the
ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for
Europe) group, ahead of the concluding day of
Foundation Week. Hirsch was a panellist at the
opening plenary of the AGA earlier in the week.
She added that she favoured a ‘cooperative
approach’ whereby foundations might start
initiatives that the state would scale up. However,
she cautioned against the illusion that foundations’
budgets could ever compare with state budgets.
She also spoke in favour of ‘an optional European
Foundation Statute’, but warned against
over‑regulation that could ‘harm the diversity of the
foundation landscape and their capacity to act’.
32 Postscript
accord. It sent yet another message to us that our work ‘on the
ground’ is important to the accession discussions and process.
We really did start to get the feeling that Foundation Week would
be an important turning point for us.
The third and final moment was on Wednesday (2 June)
when we had a series of meetings with high‑level officials at the
European Council, the European Commission and the Turkish
Embassy. One specific outcome of the meetings was the idea
of preparing a ‘foundation report’ of activities to inform the unit
that prepares Turkey’s annual report card (known as Progress
Reports), which is published every October. Our input will bal‑
ance the report by including examples of the positive social
change foundations are helping to create in Turkey, and the
Turkish government’s support (and, when needed, by sharing the
bad news and lack of support as well!). This series of meetings
was the perfect climax to our group’s growing sense that our hori‑
zons are expanding to include Europe and European relations.
So, I confess: I arrived feeling very apathetic about a ‘conversa‑
tion with the institutions’, and about the cold and dreary Brussels
weather, but I left a sunny Brussels not only with heightened
awareness and optimism about the value we as foundations
can offer but also with a stack of cards and great interest from
individuals that drive the accession process in Brussels. 
Filiz Bikmen Bugay is Head of
Programs at the Sabancı Foundation.
These comments are based
on one of her contributions to
Alliance’s Foundation Week blog
(http://alliancemag.wordpress.com).
Gerry Salole
Photo Pavol Demes
Looking back on
Foundation Week
Looking back on the week, the SQUARE seemed to be a
problem for some people – a common criticism was that
it didn’t seem inviting. Other than that, it’s my feeling
that the week exceeded expectations.
About a year ago we were warned by many that the event
would be too large, and so EU‑focused that it risked turning off
participants. Therefore much credit should be given to the EFC
members who supported this idea from the very beginning. I’m
also truly amazed by how well the EFC staff pulled the whole
week together. I do think that we have been vindicated.
Foundation Week has proved that if you leave people alone
to discuss the issues they want to discuss and invent their
own session formats, and just let them get on with it, there is
a great response to this freedom. The week has provided a
great launchpad from which we can rethink and repackage our
Annual General Assembly and Conference.
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Facing the Extremes
Grantmakers East Forum
26–27 October 2010
Tbilisi, Georgia
For more information, contact the GEF
Secretariat at gef@efc.be
Future EFC
events
The 2010 Grantmakers East Forum is about change and transformation in
geographies ‘East’, which for many funders increasingly means beyond the
EU member countries.
Georgia, aspiring for many centuries to be more closely integrated with Europe,
with real prospect for European integration today, has experienced significant
transformations in recent years. These transformations have often involved extremes,
both positive and negative. This dynamic is not unique to Georgia. The issues and
trends of transformations and extremes that will be discussed over the two-day event
resonate throughout Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia. An open dialogue
about such phenomena should help this unique community of funders examine their
own programming as well as understand better the work of their peers, and ultimately
the people they seek to serve through funding commitments.

Are we running out Good research needs good people, and European research foundations
of talent? support many thousands of researchers in the sciences and humanities.
The role of European The 2010 Annual Conference of the European Forum on Philanthropy and Research
foundations in building Funding will focus on how foundations and other funders work with the researchers
human capacity in they support to foster creativity and innovation, and encourage mobility, international
research networking and the development of the research leaders of tomorrow.
7–8 December 2010
Stuttgart, Germany
For more information, contact
Carl Dolan, Research Forum Officer at
researchforum@efc.be

Resources and Using the oceans as a metaphor, conference delegates will embark
sustainability – the on a voyage to explore the sea of opportunities and challenges facing
oceans foundations in their work.
22nd EFC Annual General Oceans act as a perfect prism through which to consider a wide array of
Assembly (AGA) and programmatic themes. They symbolize connectivity and mould our cultures by their
Conference proximity or distance. For centuries they have defined human migration patterns,
26–28 May 2011 provided livelihoods and invaluable resources, and acted as a reminder of the
Cascais, Portugal vulnerability of our environment.
For more information, visit www.efc.be
Delving deeper, the need to address the sustainability of our oceans and their
or contact aga@efc.be resources mirrors foundations’ need to consider how to make the best use of the
world’s resources (natural, human, knowledge, financial or otherwise) so that future
generations can benefit from work done now. Sustainability and long-term thinking
are imperative if foundations’ contribution to society is to be lasting and meaningful,
and not just a drop in the ocean.
In short, foundations cannot discover new oceans until they have the courage to
leave sight of the shore. With its stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean, the Cascais
setting will give the impetus to foundations to lift their anchors.