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.
