PRESS RELEASE
3 February 2025
Organisations receiving donations
THREE ENDOWMENT FUNDS:
TRANSATLANTIQUE, L'ORÉAL FOR WOMEN, DE BROU
DE LAURIÈRE
A new legal form of philanthropy created by the Economic Modernisation Act (2008),
endowment funds have enjoyed growing success (several thousand funds have been set up
over the past 15 years) thanks to the flexibility of the rules governing their creation,
governance and operation. Following an initial investigation into this subject in 2021, the main
conclusions of which informed some of the developments in the first biannual report on
public generosity submitted to Parliament, the Court now intends to carry out regular audits
of endowment funds.
It is today publishing its analysis of three endowment funds, which
were selected with a view
to examining how this legal tool can be used in entrepreneurial,
commercial or wealth management strategies
. They support projects of general interest in
very different fields (aid for vulnerable women, medical research, culture, etc.), but share the
common feature of being so-called ‘redistributive’ funds, which fulfil their social mission by
providing financial assistance to partner organisations.
The Court makes largely convergent
findings on the governance of these three endowment funds and the conduct of their
activities. It therefore issues a series of recommendations to enhance transparency, optimise
the use of endowments and improve the impact of the actions financed.
Governance dominated by the founders, which would benefit from greater openness to
outsiders
Established by a single founder (natural or legal person), these funds are governed and organised
under the exclusive control of their founder or their close associates. They have taken the
initiative of setting up one or more advisory committees within their boards of directors,
composed at least in part of external figures, but the Court found that in practice these figures
are not closely involved in the governance of the funds. Recommendations have been made to
this effect, with the aim of opening up and enriching reflection and decision-making processes.
Improvements required in the management of activities undertaken
The charitable activities carried out by the funds reviewed, whose compliance with their stated
purpose has been verified by the Court, are governed by a set of rules that are generally
satisfactory. In the two endowment funds established by legal entities, the Court also noted that
the organisation and operational methods in place ensure a clear distinction between the
founder's commercial interests and philanthropic intentions. The Court has nevertheless urged
certain funds to supplement this set of procedures or to ensure its proper implementation. In
particular, this involves ensuring that outreach efforts are as broad and open as possible, in order
to guarantee the proper fulfilment of their public-interest mission over the medium to long term,
without limiting support to a narrow circle of beneficiaries. It is also important to improve the
management and monitoring mechanisms for the execution of the activities financed.
Finally, these audits highlighted certain specific features that warrant mention.
For example, despite its small balance sheet, the Transatlantique endowment fund hosts
individualised sub-funds established by philanthropists (both individuals and legal entities),
offering them a turnkey hosting service similar to that provided by public-interest foundations.
The Court confirmed that the fund satisfactorily fulfils its responsibilities in supervising,
supporting, and monitoring the hosted sub-funds. The de Brou de Laurière endowment fund, for
its part, illustrates the limitations of a model characterised by both a modest level of activity to
date and unavoidable operating and structural costs linked to the ownership of inalienable real
estate, which account for the majority of its expenditure. Over time, it has also built up
precautionary savings for which there appears to be little justification. This example illustrates
the need for a non-expendable endowment fund to be of a critical size to enable it to bear the
fixed costs inherent in its proper administration, which is a point of attention for the many small
projects that have emerged in France based on this model.
Read the report
PRESS CONTACT
Jean-Christian Gauze
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Press Office
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jean-christian.gauze@ccomptes.fr