A new home for European philanthropy

Brussels is going to become the capital of European philanthropy. Foundation House will open its doors in 2013 and will be situated at 94 rue Royale, in the heart of the city. The House is the result of the foresight and the financial commitment of six European foundations: King Baudouin Foundation (Belgium), Körber-Stiftung (Germany), Institusjonen Fritt Ord (Norway), Realdania (Denmark), Stichting Fonds 1818 (The Netherlands) and the Van Leer Group Foundation (The Netherlands). Each foundation donated one million euros to develop Foundation House as a green, accessible, state-of-the-art and multi-purposed facility.

Foundation House will gather together a number of philanthropic organizations and will represent a “home away from home” for foundations in need of temporary proximity to the EU institutions.

In Europe there are 110 thousand foundations, providing employment to up to one million people and spending between 83 and 150 billion euros annually on projects and programs.

“Foundation House signals a coming of age for the European philanthropic community as for the first time we will have a common and open space to engage with the general public, as well as our strategic partners, and to illustrate the wealth of good work foundations are undertaking for citizens across Europe,” says Gerry Salole, European Foundation Center Chief Executive Officer. “With the European project in the throes of its greatest political and financial crisis, the establishment of Foundation House is a manifest and concrete message from foundations of their faith in Europe’s future.”