Philanthropy: best practices as seen through the experience of a family foundation

“The Foundation”: ever since I was a child, I have heard this word in numerous family conversations. A discreet, somewhat mysterious word that for me resonates with childhood memories of my tall, slender grandfather, the smell of sugar being refined in the Tienen area, the face of a young girl in a red blouse with a soft smile, whose portrait hung in the family house hallway and whom everyone called “Titite”.

That is about all I knew of her. For me, “the Foundation” was a rather abstract member of the family for which my grandparents and my father traveled for miles. And that’s it. Those whose parents were involved with this Foundation may have the same memories.

 Many years later, when philanthropy became my profession, I discovered the exciting adventure of a family initiative that began four generations ago and has touched several hundred thousand people in Belgium and abroad. I discovered that the effective philanthropic practices that are taught today, were applied naturally within the Foundation. I want to share those with you by telling its story.

•  Transcending emotion into action: the primary driver of philanthropy is emotion. Intense emotion can be a powerful tool to trigger action. Our great-grandparents drew this strength from the sorrow of losing their daughter Marguerite-Marie, nicknamed “Titite”, who died at thirteen from scarlet fever. To honor her memory, they created a Foundation that bears her name.
•  Remaining true to the original vision while evolving with the times: the Foundation’s primary mission was to create a pediatric clinic in the Tienen (medium-size city east of Brussels) rural region immediately after the war, in response to the shortage of facilities to rapidly take care of orphaned children. The mission of meeting this need was the Foundation’s first vision that allowed it to evolve. If it had remained focused on its primary mission, the care of orphans, it would no longer have reason to exist. The Foundation thus evolved towards the care of handicapped children, then adults, and individuals with severe mental disabilities, a ‘taboo’ topic that only existed in a healthcare ‘desert’.
•  Social innovation: when the Foundation, in Flemish “de Stichting”, opened its first reception center in 1951 for orphans and sick children in Tienen, it was built as a hospital and based on a medical, therapeutic approach. By specializing in mental disability with the help of its caregivers, the Foundation changed the paradigm in terms of care of the mentally handicapped person: they switched from medical care to education. This had an impact on infrastructure: the hospital is now part of a “campus”. Residents are organized by small groups, living together, family style in their own premises. In the 70s, it was a totally new idea to consider persons with mental disabilities not as patients but as persons with special needs. This new approach would have an impact far beyond the doors of the Foundation. Today, this approach has become the norm in Europe. The Tienen campus was constantly innovating. As an example, the “Stichting” management implemented a form of psycho-sensory therapy called “Snoezelen” to communicate with mentally disabled persons. Today, this method is also used internationally by caregivers in day-care centers and hospice centers.
• From curative to preventive: In the 80s, the Foundation entered its cruising speed phase. In addition to an operational campus, a second facility was built in Tienen, then a third one in Hakendover, a few miles away, and the Foundation began financing other institutions; this raised the question of “what comes next?”. My famously outspoken grandmother exclaimed in the middle of a board of directors meeting: “Taking care of these people is great, but how about tackling the causes?” This is how this organization began awarding research grants on the prevention of disabilities. In 1988, the “Stichting” that was  the campus operator was split and a “Support Fund” was created to help other organizations in the area of disabilities, and to finance research on prevention. This resulted in the creation of a new governance organ: the Scientific committee that brought together the best specialists on the subject from all universities of Belgium. Every year, the Fund finances around fifteen research grants for a total amount of 1 million € and gives a boost to research on causes of disabilities. Every two years, the Fund gathers fellows, scientists and practitioners in a symposium where research results are shared.
•  Opting for social finance: this specialized Fund focuses on financial support of other organizations and on awarding fundamental research grants. Soon after its creation, it added to the “traditional” donation, a scheme of an “interest-free loan”, allowing institutions approved for the reception of persons with disabilities to become quickly operational while waiting for their subsidies. The Fund also purchases properties that are made available for reception centers at affordable rents, which relieves them from property management. Last, the Fund also invests in an “impact” logic by selecting asset classes matching its social purpose (affordable housing, for example) and applying strict sustainability criteria.
•  Advocacy for the invisible: the strength of the Stichting and of the Fund is in their expertise in the area, their scientific advisers, and their action over time. Moreover, they are a neutral actor, a perfect relay between the public (public bodies aiding the disabled, CPAS (public center for social welfare), etc.) and private entities (parents associations, the healthcare sector, etc.). They can showcase the topic of mental disability with accuracy and with an approach of general interest. As an example, autism, a little understood disability although it is common, is one of the areas that the Fund has recently put in the spotlight by financing research grants as well as the first reception and educational centers specifically for this pathology. Every three years, an international conference focusing on research in the area of autism is organized by the Fund. This event gave a “voice” to a group that did not have one.
•  A powerful family bond: Today, the fourth generation is represented on the boards of both structures: the Stichting and the Fund. I am fortunate enough to have joined my cousins as a board director to represent a great family. We are divided into several workgroups. We are not here for glory: we have a lot to do! We meet every month and share our progress. I’m not sure that, as members of the fourth generation, we would have known each other if it hadn’t been through the Foundation. Family branches move apart and bonds are lost when all members are scattered all over the world. And yet, we come together to pursue our great-grand-parents’ vision. It is a young girl in a red blouse, with a sweet smile, who brings us together. She is still here: her name is Marguerite-Marie Delacroix.