THE PERCE NEIGE

FOUNDATION

Fiscal years 2018 to 2021

Organisations funded by public charity

September 2023

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Executive Summary

In 2016, the Perce-Neige Foundation succeeded the association of the same name, which had been

recognised as a charitable association fifty years earlier. It was set up by actor Lino Ventura and his

wife in 1965 to accommodate and provide support for people with mental disabilities and their

families

1

. Having developed strongly over the last three decades, it now occupies an important place

among disability institutions

2

. This audit follows on from those carried out by the Court in 2003 and

2009

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.

A foundation with a robust business model and proven governance,

which has modernised its organisation over the period

By 2021, the foundation was managing nearly 40 medical-social establishments under the generic

name of Maisons Perce-Neige, serving more than 1,100 residents. Its business model is primarily

based on the collection of “day rates”, which correspond to the public contributions paid by the

supervisory and rate-setting authorities, and which accounted for nearly 80% of its operating income

between 2018 and 2021.

The second largest source of revenue is funds raised through public generosity. In addition to public

funding, they contribute to the financing of shared functions implemented by the head office, in

particular the related staff costs, which contribute to the quality of

the organisation’s management

and services. In addition, they provide the bulk of the funding for investments that enable the

development of accommodation capacity. They also fund the diversification of services for people

with disabilities and their carers. Between 2018 and 2021, the foundation will have spent more than

€62 million of income from public generosity, including €32 million on investment and €30 million on

operating expenses.

The Foundation has a proven governance structure. It has taken advantage of the changes to its

articles of association to develop its missions and further modernise its operations, in particular by

establishing thematic committees (friends, scientific, financial) and a risk map. Against a backdrop of

sustained growth and diversification, it has undertaken a number of internal projects involving head

office in particular, and has enhanced its ability to manage its activities over the period.

This effort requires further attention, particularly in the areas of human resources management and

property management. It could also be supported by even more effective document management

and internal control. The quality of the governance and management provided by the head office,

together with the formalisation of the organisation’s

priorities in a recent ambitious strategic plan,

1

Initially dedicated to “

supporting the cause of children with mental disabilities and adaptation difficulties, and their

extended care

”, the articles of association were adapted in 1976 to broaden its scope

to include adults and the elderly. The

Foundation adopts this broader definition, setting itself “

the goal of accommodating and supporting, in an appropriate

manner, children and adults affected by a mental impairment or a physical or psychological disability

.”

2

Nearly one in two French people are familiar with it, and 95% have a good impression of it, according to an IFOP survey

carried out for the foundation in May 2022.

3

Court of Accounts,

La vie avec un handicap

, report to the President of the Republic, July 2003, and Court of

Accounts,

Le comité Perce-Neige

: l’impact des recommandations de la Cour

, final observations, June 2009.

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now provide the foundation with a framework conducive to meeting these challenges and

continuing its development.

Resources generated through public generosity are substantial and

subject to rigorous management

The resources collected from the public increased by 56% between 2018 and 2021, when they

exceeded €22 million. Three quarters of these resources are made up of gifts (bequests and life

insurance), which, paradoxically, are the subject of the least active fundraising strategy. Donations

and gifts are subject to rigorous management, enabling fundraising costs to be kept under control

and to be profitable: in 2021, every euro spent generated €4.7 in donations. However, attention

must be paid to the documentation of procedures, which is currently in the process of being

updated, and the settlement of the oldest bequests.

The funds are used in accordance with the purpose of the appeals for donations and the

foundation’s corporate purpose, focusing on accomm

odating the disabled and expanding the

capacity of the establishments. In addition, they help to diversify the organisation’s activities by

financing various innovative initiatives.

Strong growth in financial reserves, requiring the implementation of a

strategy for their use and better financial information for donors

The foundation has substantial reserves, the result of a series of surplus years linked to the high level

of resources generated through public generosity. In 2021, the foundation generated a new surplus

of almost €10 million and had more than €156 million in cash and marketable securities in assets,

including more than €73 million in resources from public generosity carried forward at the end of

the financial year.

The foundation was slow to define a strategy for using these reserves, which was finally adopted at

the end of 2022, and must ensure that it is properly implemented. In this context, the level of

resources available to it from public generosity was not sufficiently disclosed to the public or

benefactors, either at the stage of appeals for donations or in the report on their use, and this

should be corrected. Without prejudice to this last observation, the financial information complies

with regulatory requirements.

With regard to the preparation of the use-of-funds statement (CER) corresponding to resources

generated through public generosity, expenditure that in reality comes under “operating costs”

should not be classified as “social missions”.

Finally, the Foundation’s investment

policy is rigorously managed by bodies whose membership

would nevertheless benefit from being broadened. Its management appears prudent and is based

on a controlled strategy.

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Recommendations

This Court opinion is accompanied by two recommendations

1.

in the statement of use of resources, exclude expenses relating to the governance and

management of the foundation from the social missions;

2.

supplement financial communication by detailing the foundation’s reserves, their intended

purpose and their projected schedule for use.