The Fondation de Luxembourg announced that, because of a winter storm on Wednesday 17 January 2024, which led to the postponement of its anniversary celebration due to be attended by Luxembourg’s Grand Duke and Prime Minister Luc Frieden, it is looking forward to commemorating its fifteenth anniversary in the coming weeks.
The Luxembourg Foundation was created by the Luxembourg State at the end of 2008, on the initiative of former Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, with the mission of promoting and facilitating philanthropic commitment in Luxembourg. As an umbrella foundation, it supports donors from the Grand Duchy and abroad who wish to engage in long-term philanthropic actions.
In fifteen years, the Fondation de Luxembourg has reached several significant milestones. After receiving an initial endowment of €5 million from the Luxembourg state and the Oeuvre Nationale de Secours Grande-Duchesse Charlotte in 2008, the Fondation de Luxembourg has gone on to raise over €330 million in assets committed by donors to projects in the general interest. In 2017, it received recognition by French tax authorities as a French public utility foundation, a recognition that has since been renewed twice. During the year 2020, the Fondation de Luxembourg distributed a record 10€ million in donations to projects, a record which was since been broken each consecutive year. Finally, in 2022, the Fondation de Luxembourg surpassed the threshold of 100 foundations created under its aegis, and now counts 110, representing founders from the Grand Duchy and from across Europe.
Beyond its role in accompanying donors who have chosen to engage in philanthropy under its aegis, the Fondation de Luxembourg added it has also reacted in real-time to crises by creating emergency foundations and channelling donations to the most urgent needs, for example during the COVID-19 pandemic and after the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
President of the Fondation de Luxembourg, Henri Grethen, said: “The world has changed in the fifteen years since the Fondation was created, and philanthropy has evolved with it. As demonstrated time and again, the generosity of our donors knows no bounds, and despite crises, contributes to building stronger, more harmonious societies. It will continue to do so, as long as inequalities and instability persist.”
The Fondation de Luxembourg, through its hosted foundations, actively supports projects in five main areas: Social Cohesion and Reducing Poverty, Universal Education, Health and Research, Culture and Diversity, and Biodiversity and Climate Change. The Fondation de Luxembourg explained that it accompanies donors in identifying and monitoring projects and takes charge of the daily management of the foundations it hosts.
Director General of the Fondation de Luxembourg since its creation, Tonika Hirdman, highlighted that: “The many achievements of the Fondation de Luxembourg over the past fifteen years confirm Luxembourg’s essential role in regard to European philanthropy. Looking to the future, we will continue to act, building bridges between the charitable and financial sectors and capitalising on our successes to achieve even greater impact within our societies.”
In this approach, the Fondation de Luxembourg will launch a new climate foundation under its aegis in 2024. Focused on climate change and biodiversity, the foundation will allow companies to support local projects that have been pre-selected.
Fifteen years after its creation, Fondation de Luxembourg allocated over €75 million to general interest projects. The association emphasised that it will continue enabling philanthropy that responds to global challenges.
The Fondation de Luxembourg announced that, due to a winter storm on January 17, 2024, which led to the postponement of its anniversary celebration attended by Luxembourg’s Grand Duke and Prime Minister Luc Frieden, it is looking forward to commemorating its fifteenth anniversary in the coming weeks.
