European Foundations Day will be celebrated throughout Italy on Wednesday 1 October, an opportunity to learn more about these entities - often ignored by the general public - which together with the world of volunteering and the third sector contribute to fueling and innovating welfare in our country . The initiative was launched last year by Dafne (Donors and Foundations Networks in Europe), the organization that brings together the associations of foundations of the continent, and to which they adhere in Italy Acri, which associates foundations of banking origin, and Assifero, the association which brings together other foundations and disbursement bodies.
Around fifty foundations have joined the celebration of European Day and tomorrow from north to south they will organize events, conferences and shows in which they will meet their communities in favor of which they are intervening in various fields: from welfare to education, from culture to the environment.
«Foundations are an important non-profit player in our country – said Giuseppe Guzzetti, president of Acri – yet often they are not well known. European Foundation Day is therefore an opportunity for many of our fellow citizens to meet them closely and get to know them better for what they do».
The president of Assifero, Felice Scalvini, comments on the initiative as follows: «We hope that initiatives such as that of the European Day of Foundations and Donors contribute to generating an action network in which institutional philanthropy, public bodies, corporates, associations, volunteers and individuals work together to build a generative, collaborative and inclusive, effective and sustainable welfare for our country».
There are many events that the Foundations of banking origin, associated in Acri, organize in their territories to celebrate the European Day of Foundations. Among the many we mention a few. In Parma, the Cariparma Foundation promotes the conference “Towards community welfare: the commitment of the Cariparma Foundation”, while the Monteparma Foundation organizes the meeting “From the past for the few to the present public. Donations, initiatives and cultural heritage of the Monteparma Foundation". In Florence, the Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze and the Council of Foundations of Tuscany invite to the round table "Development and social innovation: new possible paths". In L'Aquila, the local Foundation is planning a meeting dedicated to the development of the mountain area: mountaineers, writers and experts will discuss the theme “L'Aquila, capital of the Apennines. The development of the mountain territory as a driving force for the economy”. In Salerno, the Cassa di Risparmio Salernitana Foundation organizes the round table "For real social sustainability: what prospects?", a cultural debate on the issues of community welfare and social innovation. In Gorizia, promoted by the Carigo Foundation, there is the workshop “Obiettivo welfare. Comparing communities”, in which ideas and suggestions from the participants will be collected to better direct the Foundation's planning in the fields of work, health and volunteering. In Bolzano, the local Foundation inaugurates the "San Vincenzo" retirement home, which will host 62 elderly people. In Foggia, the Banca del Monte Foundation proposes the "Community Welfare" meeting. In San Miniato (Pi), the local Foundation meets the city's final year high school students (October 3).
In Milan, the Cariplo Foundation and Acri are organizing “Foundations of banking origin: from privatization to the common good” (on 2 October). There are also cultural events and extraordinary openings. In Palermo, the Sicily Foundation opens the doors of its headquarters, Palazzo Branciforte, offering free guided tours and workshops for children. The Carichieti Foundation will do the same (on 4 October) at Palazzo de Mayo. In Pescara, the Pescarabruzzo Foundation inaugurates the photographic exhibition “Radan, Inshallah. Tomorrow, if God wills” by the photojournalist Stefano Schirato and the journalist Jenny Pacini on the human rights violations of the Saharawi people, the result of a hard report in Western Sahara. In Viterbo, the Carivit Foundation presents the volume "Manipolarte", a didactic notebook on the clay manipulation and ceramic decoration workshops held at the Tuscia Ceramic Museum. In Treviso, the Cassamarca Foundation opens a new room in its headquarters to the public, entirely dedicated to displaying the works of art (over 3 including graphic works and paintings) that Mons. Bortolan donated to the Foundation in 2008. In Siena, the Mps Foundation, inside Palazzo Sansedoni, promotes the event “Ricordi. Travelers in the land of Siena”, an exhibition dedicated to the Malandrini photographic archive: a rich collection of period photos and postcards of the city.
The Cariperugia Foundation presents the newly established "Fondazione CariPerugia Arte" to the public, which will manage the cultural activities of the Foundation, from exhibitions to events. The Monte di Pietà di Vicenza Foundation promotes the free-entrance concert-show “Per Francesco. Saint of Earth, Man of Heaven” (October 5). In Rome, the Bnc Foundation presents the activity carried out in 15 years by its instrumental company Bnc Garanzia, which provides welfare services in favor of the families of railway workers. Finally, in Fossano, the local Foundation presents the balance sheet of the first year of activity of the "NoiAltri Fossano" Foundation, created by the Cassa di Risparmio di Fossano Foundation, the Diocese and some voluntary and third sector organisations, with the aim of making their interventions in the territory on the welfare front are more organic. Finally, several Foundations such as those of La Spezia, Trieste and the Compagnia di San Paolo adhere to the 2a European Day of Foundations and Donors with dedicated communication initiatives.
As regards the other foundations and granting bodies, there are numerous initiatives put in place by the members of ASSIFERO. The Brescian associates – Cuore Amico Fraternità Onlus, Congrega della Carità Apostolica, Fondazione Adele and Cav. Francesco Lonati, Alessandro Cottinelli Foundation, ASM Foundation, Banca San Paolo di Brescia Foundation, Cogeme Onlus Foundation, Count Gaetano Bonoris Foundation, Credito Agrario Bresciano Foundation, Brescian Community Foundation Onlus, Guido Berlucchi Foundation Onlus, Guido and Angela Folonari Foundation, Lucchini Foundation , Luigi Bernardi Foundation, Maria Enrica Foundation, Tassara Foundation, Dominique Franchi Onlus Foundation, Liliana Giordano and Giuseppe Scalvi Foundation – meet the territory in an event of discussion with the press and open to the public from 11 at the headquarters of the Brescia Community Foundation Onlus in via Gramsci 17 in Brescia. In addition to discussing the meaning of the European Day, aggregate data on the operations of the Brescian foundations in terms of assets and donations to the local area and to the third sector will be disseminated.
In Padua, the Antonveneta Foundation and the Bano Foundation will celebrate European Day together. For the occasion, the Bano Foundation, which promoted the exhibition “Corcos. Dreams of the Belle Époque", open at Palazzo Zabarella in Padua until 14 December, and the Antonveneta Foundation, which has supported its activity for many years, will offer a series of guided visits to the exhibition starting from 1 October , also thanks to the collaboration of the Antonveneta Territorial Area of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena. The De Agostini Foundation of Novara and the Foundation of the Bergamo Community Onlus promoted the initiative and its meaning by spreading it through their own websites and institutional communication channels. Telecom Italia Foundation and Intercultura Onlus Foundation present the results of the National Observatory on the internationalization of schools and student mobility. The initiative is promoted by the two member foundations of ASSIFERO in collaboration with the Directorate General for International Affairs of the Ministry of Education, University and Research and with the ANP – National Association of School Managers and High Professionals.
The presentation event, which takes place on 1 October at the Gio Ponti Auditorium, in Assolombarda in Milan is part of Orientagiovani 2014 and organized in collaboration with Assolombarda. Speakers Marcella Logli (Telecom Italia Foundation) and Roberto Ruffino (Intercultura Foundation). The Foundation of the Community of the Province of Mantua Onlus organizes the study seminar on the so-called "Art-bonus", the law 106/2014 - Tax credit to encourage donations in support of culture. At the Training Center of Confindustria Mantova in via Portazzolo, 9 the auditor Gian Paolo Tosoni and the board member notary dott. Omero Araldi will provide those present with a first reading of the provision. Bracco Foundation, in the person of the general secretary Dr. Mariacristina Cedrini, has spread the importance of the initiative in every recent event that the Milanese foundation has organized and/or supported. Finally, in their respective territories, the other ASSIFERO members organize open doors and moments of awareness throughout the week about their work and the social impact that the work carried out by the foundations and the resources disbursed generate towards citizens.
