European Union Stimulates Philanthropists to Provide Donations for Research Activities

European Forum on Philanthropy and Research Funding is an initiative of the European Foundation Centre, supported by the European Commission. The Forum was launched on 4 December 2007 with the purpose of supporting donations from philanthropists provided for financing research activities in Europe. In the first phase, the Forum will be launched for a period of three years and will deal with questions such as a policy of financing research activities on the part of existent donor organizations as well questions concerning legal, fiscal, regulatory, ethical and managerial issues. The Forum is only the first in a series of the Commission’s initiatives, alongside with an initiative of conducting a feasibility study of the European Foundation Statue that would serve as a tool for implementation of foundations’ activities. The aim of such initiatives is to enable merging of different private resources throughout Europe for the sake of a public good, especially in the area of research activities.
According to experts’ claims, a support of philanthropists to research activities amounts to less than 3% of all investments in the area of research activities. In the United States, for example, that figures vary between 4% and 5%.
The Forum will be opened for all European foundations as well as participants of research activities. The members of the executive board of the Forum were selected within two associations, namely the European Foundation Centre and the European University Association.
For more information about the European Forum on Philanthropy and Research Funding you can contact:
Gerard Salole,
Chief Executive, European Foundation Centre (EFC)
tel.: +32 2 512 8938; email: efc@efc.be
 
You can also find additional information on the Forum's website. Detailed information about the Commission’s initiatives in the area of philanthropic support to research activities can be found here.