30 years, three remarks, and one fantastic gift

At the EFC’s Annual General Assembly and Conference 2019, in Paris, Körber-Stiftung announced that they will gift their share of Philanthropy House to the EFC, as part of the celebrations for the EFC’s 30th anniversary.

I would like, in this short anniversary blog, to offer three brief remarks after 19 years of being associated with the EFC in various functions.

Firstly, that it has been a very interesting time with many joint projects, which fed into infrastructure contacts and close friendships. In this way I got to know and appreciate life in Europe and the European idea in a very special way. It is worthwhile to commit oneself to living together in Europe.

Secondly, the achievements of the EFC for its members and for the European foundation system are unfortunately underestimated inside and outside, and are not valued enough.

Thirdly, that perhaps we deal far too much with ourselves in the organisation and not with the challenges. You can judge whether this assertion is correct!

But for the 30^th birthday of our EFC, and after nearly 20 years of our own engagement, we shouldn’t end with a critical remark!

Therefore, I am pleased that the Executive Board of Körber-Stiftung is following the suggestion to donate its share in Philanthropy House in Brussels to the EFC – as a sign of trust in this organisation and in the commitment of our common European future.

Körber-Stiftung, as one of the 6 original funders of the building, conceived the building in 2009 to be a hub for institutional philanthropy in Europe, to provide one roof, one home, for the philanthropic support organisations of Europe. The House, backed by 5 other philanthropic organisations, in addition to Körber-Stiftung; the Fritt Ord Foundation, the King Baudouin Foundation, Realdania, Stichting Fonds 1818, and the Van Leer Group Foundation, opened in 2013 and today hosts the EFC and several other philanthropic support organisations.

The gifting of Körber-Stiftung’s share in Philanthropy House to the EFC helps to solidify and support the EFC’s role, both in the present and the future, to champion institutional philanthropy in Europe and safeguards the future of Europe’s philanthropy infrastructure.