FAQ Beneficiairies
"Who decides on the purpose of the sheltered foundations and the causes supported by them?"
"Does my association have to be registered with the Fondation de Luxembourg to qualify for support?"
"Does the Fondation de Luxembourg provide direct support for projects and organizations?
"Does the Fondation de Luxembourg put in place its own projects?"
"How are the supported projects selected?"
"Who implements the projects financed by the sheltered foundations?"
"How are the beneficiary organisations selected?"
"What basic criteria are used to select projects and project partners?"
"What role does the Fondation de Luxembourg play in oversight over the supported projects?"
"What is the relationship between the Fondation de Luxembourg and the beneficiary organisations?"
"Does the Fondation de Luxembourg impose a specific management method for the project?
"How is project oversight (monitoring and evaluation) effected by the Fondation de Luxembourg ?"
"How does the Fondation de Luxembourg evaluate the supported projects?"
"What does the Fondation de Luxembourg understand by an impact assessment?"
"Who decides on the purpose of the sheltered foundations and the causes supported by them?"
The donors and their philanthropic aspirations are at the heart of all the action taken by the Fondation de Luxembourg. The founders themselves determine which causes are to be supported. The Fondation de Luxembourg helps the donors to define and formulate the aim of their sheltered foundation because this is a crucial phase. The effectiveness of each donation depends upon the ability to match the donors’ motivations with the needs of the beneficiaries concerned.
The Fondation de Luxembourg, which is recognized as a public utility foundation, has the specific task of making sure that the supported causes are in the general interest and compliant with the requirements of the relevant laws and regulations.
"Can the association or club to which I belong create a sheltered foundation under the aegis of the Fondation de Luxembourg?"
No. A non-profit association (a.s.b.l.) cannot create a sheltered foundation under the aegis of the Fondation de Luxembourg. Sheltered foundations can only be established by private individuals or by businesses.
To set up a foundation (fondation d’utilité publique) or obtain recognition as being of public utility, a non-profit association must contact the Ministry of Justice. (www.mj.public.lu)
Any action which is in the general interest can be supported by a sheltered foundation under the aegis of the Fondation de Luxembourg. This may be support for an action in the field of culture, education, research, humanitarian aid, development aid, social cohesion, healthcare, environmental issues or assistance for entrepreneurial initiatives which are designed to develop solutions to issues of general interest.
The beneficiary can be a non-profit association, a foundation, a public institution, a group of persons or a private individual.
"Does my association have to be registered with the Fondation de Luxembourg to qualify for support?"
No. There is no provision for official registration with the Fondation de Luxembourg. However, we do invite the associations to contact us to present their organization and the projects supported by them.
"Does the Fondation de Luxembourg provide direct support for projects and organizations?
The Fondation de Luxembourg concentrates on its role as a source of advice and structuring proposals for the benefit of founders and sheltered foundations. It has no funds of its own to allocate to projects or organizations and therefore does not grant any support in its own name. The sheltered foundations under the aegis of the Fondation de Luxembourg themselves grant financial support to projects or organizations.
No. The Fondation de Luxembourg and the sheltered foundations are not active in the field of fundraising from the general public. The sheltered foundations are endowed with the capital needed for the attainment of their purpose by their founders.
"Does the Fondation de Luxembourg put in place its own projects?"
No. The Fondation de Luxembourg and the sheltered foundations are not intended to be operational foundations in their own right. They have a financing and coordinating role.
"How are the supported projects selected?"
As the Fondation de Luxembourg is neutral and independent, it does not choose the projects to be supported. The founders and the management committee of each sheltered foundation determine the selection criteria and decide on each case of support to be provided. The Fondation de Luxembourg has an advisory role in this process and makes sure that the supported projects are in the general interest and consistent with its mission.
"Who implements the projects financed by the sheltered foundations?"
The Fondation de Luxembourg regards its role as being a partner at one and the same time of the donors and players on the associative scene. It therefore does not itself manage the projects supported by the donors, but relies instead on the knowledge and experience of the associations, while still providing detailed oversight of the supported projects for the benefit of the donors.
Specialized and experienced project partners who enable effective and efficient use to be made of the financial resources therefore implement all the projects financed by the sheltered foundations. The Fondation de Luxembourg accordingly cooperates with non-profit associations, de facto associations, NGOs, foundations, research centres, cooperative societies etc. to respond to the social challenges which arise both now and in the future.
"How are the beneficiary organisations selected?"
The founders and the management committee of each sheltered foundation determine the selection criteria and take the decision on each case in which support is given. The Fondation de Luxembourg only intervenes as a technical advisor in this process. In addition, the Fondation de Luxembourg is required to make sure that the project partners comply with the applicable laws and regulations and that their objectives are compatible with the mission of the Fondation de Luxembourg.
"What basic criteria are used to select projects and project partners?"
The Fondation de Luxembourg advises the founders and management committee to enable them to make a well-informed choice. The experts at the Fondation de Luxembourg can therefore help them to rank projects according to quality criteria defined in advance. Typically, a detailed analysis is based on the following quality and success criteria:
- Pertinence
- Feasibility
- Viability/Sustainability/Permanence
- Organization/Efficiency
- Effectiveness/Impact
"What role does the Fondation de Luxembourg play in oversight over the supported projects?"
The Fondation de Luxembourg provides oversight (monitoring and evaluation) of the projects on behalf of the founders and therefore enters into a relationship of very close cooperation with the beneficiary organizations. This relationship is based on mutual respect between partners and originates from the philanthropic aspiration of the founders.
"What is the relationship between the Fondation de Luxembourg and the beneficiary organisations?"
The Fondation de Luxembourg sees itself as a partner at one and the same time of the founders and of the beneficiary organisations. Its role is to facilitate implementation of the philanthropic projects supported by the founders. To attain that objective, it cooperates closely with the beneficiary organisations and relies on their competencies. This cooperation is set down in a written convention signed by the Fondation de Luxembourg with the beneficiary organisation. This convention contains a detailed description of the project to be supported, describes the nature of the cooperation and defines the procedures for monitoring and evaluating the project.
"Does the Fondation de Luxembourg impose a specific management method for the project?
The purpose of all the sheltered foundations under the aegis of the Fondation de Luxembourg is to achieve a goal defined by their founders. The management of the project cycle must therefore be focussed on the goals and results which the project is expected to achieve. The Fondation de Luxembourg leaves the project partners freedom to choose the project management method. However, it formulates minimum criteria and quality indicators and invites the project partners to use the monitoring and evaluation tools requested by the founders.
The Fondation de Luxembourg advises the project partners throughout the project cycle from the planning phase to the final impact assessment; by doing so, it helps them to include performance indicators and a coherent monitoring and evaluation methodology.
The Fondation de Luxembourg encourages the beneficiaries as far as possible to adopt the Logical Framework tool for the formulation, management and evaluation of the project. The Logical Framework is a management tool designed to improve the planning and evaluation of the projects which presents the key elements needed to understand and manage an intervention in a simple, systematic and understandable manner.
"How is project oversight (monitoring and evaluation) effected by the Fondation de Luxembourg ?"
All the supported projects undergo continuous monitoring and evaluation by the Fondation de Luxembourg. The Fondation de Luxembourg draws upon its expertise and cooperation with the project partners to follow up and evaluate projects. The project partners are therefore required to submit regular narrative and financial reports to the Fondation de Luxembourg. These reports must contain a number of elements defined by the founder and the Fondation de Luxembourg enabling the progress and impact of the project to be evaluated.
The Fondation de Luxembourg also pays regular visits to the projects and beneficiary organisations to ensure objective and independent monitoring.
"How does the Fondation de Luxembourg evaluate the supported projects?"
The evaluations, which are made throughout the project life cycle, take the form, more often than not, of self-evaluation reports written by the beneficiary organisation. These narrative reports must answer specific questions put by the founders and the Fondation de Luxembourg. The beneficiary organisations are asked as far as possible to supply field data and statistics confirming the advances described in the progress reports. The Fondation de Luxembourg reserves the right to visit the beneficiary organisations and the projects themselves on site to verify this data and make its own evaluation studies. At the request of the founders, external evaluations of large scale projects can also be made by independent experts.
"What does the Fondation de Luxembourg understand by an impact assessment?"
Assessing the impact of a project means measuring or evaluating the positive or negative, intended and unintended effects of a particular intervention.
The impact assessment is an important instrument used to determine whether a project is attaining its objectives, how the beneficiaries are affected and what the situation would have been in the absence of the project. Moreover, an impact assessment organized during the project implementation can give important lessons about the changes to be made to an ongoing project in order to increase its effectiveness. An assessment can involve both quantitative and qualitative analyses. A convincing assessment showing a causal relationship between the observed impacts and the intervention normally requires the combined use of quantitative and qualitative methods.
The Fondation de Luxembourg assists the donors and beneficiaries with the planning and implementation of project assessments enabling the quality and impact of the projects to be measured.