Fondation de France is a private organization that is able to conduct its operations thanks to the support of its generous donors. Its governance is based on two guiding principles: transparency and collegiality.

How Fondation de France is run: answers to 3 questions

1. Who sets strategy for Fondation de France?

The Board of Directors sets strategy and also supervises operations, authorises the budget and the action programmes, approves the financial accounting, oversees management, and ensures compliance with legal requirements.

The president of the Board of Directors is elected for a four-year term, renewable only once. All the members of the Board, just like all the members of the councils of experts, are volunteers. The president of the Board of Directors names the Executive Director, who, together with his or her Executive Committee, is responsible for the implementation of the strategy.

The Executive Committee makes proposals and carries out the decisions taken by the Board of Directors. The Executive Director is in charge of the executive structure and provides both the Bureau’s administrative personnel and the Board of Directors with recommendations on strategy, action programmes and communications policy, along with the accounts and budgets.

2. How is the quality of management ensured?

In addition to the different types of external oversight that are in place, Fondation de France has set up a rigorous internal oversight mechanism. For each expense that has been incurred, payment is ordered by one person but made by another. Payments of 150,000 euros or more must carry the signatures of  two different people.

As well as our own funds and cash flows, as an umbrella organisation we also manage the capital of the 916 foundations that we host, all under the supervision of the Finance Committee, which meets twice a year to ensure that assets and funds are being used properly, in accordance with our goals.  

Overall, there are five internal committees watching over the use of assets and funds:  the Finance, Audit, Gifts, Personalised Funds Supervision, and Payroll committees. The accuracy and transparency of the annual accounts are certified by the Accounts Commissioner.

Because trustworthiness and rigour are key values for Fondation de France, the way it operates is formally stipulated in its statutes, its internal rules and regulations, and its financial management charter. Relations with the foundations that operate under our auspices are governed by the contractual terms and conditions and a bilateral convention. Delegations of authority are adopted by the Board of Directors.

Because trustworthiness and rigour are key values for Fondation de France, the way it operates is formally stipulated in its statutes, its internal rules and regulations, and its financial management charter. Relations with the foundations that operate under our auspices are governed by the contractual terms and conditions and a bilateral convention. Delegations of authority are adopted by the Board of Directors.

3. How can the use of donations be monitored?

The 539,255 donors, the testators, and the 916 foundations that we sponsor can earmark their donations for one particular cause, or more. Fondation de France scrupulously respects their wishes and makes detailed information available to them by different means (the website, social media, quarterly publications), and gives them a full accounting of the activities that they have funded. In the case of emergency operations, regular updates are made available online and sent to the donors. Moreover, the annual report provides both a global and a detailed view of our activities each year. The financial report, for its part, reviews the activities that were conducted or supported, the results, and the overall financial position of Fondation de France. The accounts and the balance sheet of net results highlight the major missions and are accompanied by a cash-flow chart and many detailed annexes.