Read the full 2026 report
Free access to all five chapters, the self-assessment scorecard and all 12 verified sources.
Benchmark report · 2026
The State of Foundations 2026
France
The sector is still growing, with 6,040 active foundations and endowment funds in 2025 and €18.4 billion spent in 2024, under stricter rules. The money remains concentrated and, in Europe, more than one programme in five whose application route is visible starts with an email, a document or an enquiry.
Published October 2026 · 12 verified sources · ~15-minute read
Funds and foundations · 2025
6,040
active, +59% in ten years
Sector spending · 2024
€18.4bn
for the public interest, +5.4% in one year
85% by public-utility (RUP) foundations
Europe, visible application route · 2026
22.5%
start with an email, a document or an enquiry
63.8% online (n = 351)
Data from
Fondation de France
|
Observatoire de la philanthropie
|
Centre français des Fonds et Fondations
|
EY
|
Les entreprises pour la Cité
|
French Senate
|
Admical
|
Centre Inffo | Ministry of the Economy
|
Optimy research
TL;DR
Key findings
1
6,040 active organisations in 2025
France had 6,040 active foundations and endowment funds in 2025, 59% more than ten years earlier.1 The sector is widening, and the peer group a foundation compares itself with is changing with it.
2
In 2024, spending grew faster than inflation
In 2024, foundations and endowment funds spent €18.4 billion on public-interest causes, 5.4% more than a year earlier and above inflation.2 The barometer publishes its amounts with a two-year lag, so 2024 is the most recent year.1
3
The money is highly concentrated
Public-utility foundations accounted for 85% of the sector's spending in 2024.2 In 2021, 55% of organisations spent less than €100,000 a year.4 Compare yourself with organisations of your own size, not with the sector total.
4
In Europe, more than one programme in five starts with an email, a document or an enquiry
Optimy could see the application route of 351 European programmes.12 Of these, 22.5% start with an email, a document or a first enquiry, and 63.8% use an online form.12 The figure is European because the French sample is too small.12
5
Oversight of endowment funds is tightening
Since 18 June 2025, all their legal filings go through the Démarches simplifiées platform.8 According to the Senate commission of inquiry, the law of 25 June 2026 also allows an endowment fund that has been inactive for two years to be dissolved.6
6
A new payroll charge
From March 2026 salaries onwards, foundations and endowment funds pay the apprenticeship tax.10 It amounts to 0.59% of payroll each month, plus an annual balance of 0.09%.10 Organisations that employ staff therefore need to budget for it.
7
Corporate foundations and funds: average budget lower than in 2023, amount per project up
In the Panorama 2026, the average annual budget is €1,674,239 in 2025, against €2,032,630 in 2023.5 Yet the average amount per project reaches €42,228 in 2026, about 9% more than in 2024.5
8
Public grants to associations fell in 2024
National public grants to associations fell by €2.2 billion between 2023 and 2024, or 18.8%, according to the Senate commission of inquiry.6 If you fund associations, keep an eye on the number of requests you receive: some may look to you for that funding.
Chapter 1
The sector is still growing: 6,040 organisations in 2025, €18.4 billion spent in 2024
The French philanthropic sector keeps expanding, both in the number of organisations and in financial resources. The Fondation de France 2026 barometer counts 6,040 active foundations and endowment funds in 2025, up 59% in ten years.1 This is the reference population for any foundation that wants to benchmark itself, and it changes from one year to the next.
The amounts, however, relate to 2024, because the barometer publishes its financial figures with a two-year lag.1 An endowment fund, for example, files its accounts up to six months after its year end, and the accounts then have to be collected.8
In 2024, the sector held €47.1 billion of assets, received €19.8 billion of resources and spent €18.4 billion on public-interest causes.2 Resources grew by 6.2% in one year and spending by 5.4%, faster than inflation.2
6,040
active foundations and endowment funds in 2025
€47.1bn
of assets held by the sector in 2024
€18.4bn
spent on public-interest causes in 2024
+5.4%
rise in spending from 2023 to 2024, faster than inflation
Endowment funds and hosted foundations make up most of the sector
Endowment funds and hosted foundations, which are attached to a host foundation, made up 80% of the sector in 2024.3 That year, France had 2,833 endowment funds, against 2,665 a year earlier, and 3,000 foundations, up 32% in ten years.3 The typical organisation is therefore not a large public-utility foundation but an endowment fund or a hosted foundation.
According to the Panorama 2026 by EY, the Centre français des Fonds et Fondations (CFF) and Les entreprises pour la Cité, an average of 350 new organisations are created each year.5 Companies created 39 in 2025, including 9 corporate foundations and 30 endowment funds, against 55 in 2024.5
Reading the figures: registers, active funds and older series
The figures vary by source, because not every source counts the same thing. According to the Senate commission of inquiry, between 30% and 40% of the 4,628 endowment funds on record in 2024 may be dormant.6 The Fondation de France counts only 2,833 active ones the same year, a gap close to that dormant share.3 To compare yourself, use active organisations rather than registers.
The sixth national study by the Observatoire de la philanthropie goes further back. It puts spending at €14.72 billion in 2021, up 34% since 2017 in constant 2021 euros.4 These data are older than the annual barometer's, but they point the same way: growth that has lasted for several years.
Takeaway: your reference population is the 6,040 organisations active in 2025, not the registers. Compare your budget growth in 2024 with the sector's 5.4%. If yours grew more slowly, your relative weight in the sector has fallen.
Chapter 2
Who gives? A minority of large organisations accounts for most of the spending
The sector total hides very strong concentration. In 2024, public-utility (RUP) foundations accounted for 85% of spending,2 while endowment funds and hosted foundations made up 80% of organisations.3 The national total therefore mainly describes RUP foundations, not the typical organisation.
The sixth national study by the Observatoire de la philanthropie measures this gap by size. In 2021, the 1.5% of funds and foundations that spent more than €50 million a year accounted for two thirds of the sector's spending.4 At the other end, 55% of organisations spent less than €100,000 a year and together accounted for only 0.5% of spending.4
85%
of spending by RUP foundations in 2024
1.5%
of organisations, spending over €50m a year, made two thirds of spending in 2021
55%
of organisations spent less than €100,000 a year in 2021
76%
of funds and foundations were grant-makers in 2022
In 2022, three organisations in four funded projects run by others
In 2022, 76% of funds and foundations were grant-makers, meaning they funded projects run by other organisations rather than carrying out their own activities.4 Their financial weight was limited, however: in 2021 they accounted for 26% of the sector's spending, against 24% in 2017 and 17% in 2013.4
For a funder benchmarking itself, this distinction matters. The €18.4 billion of 2024 includes the spending of operating foundations, which run their own activities, and therefore overstates the amounts paid to projects run by others.2
Social action, the leading field in 2022
Among causes, social action comes first: it was the main field of a quarter of organisations in 2022.4 It is followed by arts and culture (19%), health and medical research (15%), education and training (14%), then the environment (8%).4 Placing your own field in this list tells you whether you work in a crowded area or a less common one.
Companies, a funder apart
Companies form a distinct group. According to CFF data cited in the Panorama 2026, 1,011 foundations and endowment funds were created by a company.5 Corporate philanthropy is measured by Admical's 2024 barometer, based on 2023 tax data supplemented by an IFOP-Admical survey.7
According to this barometer, total corporate support for public-interest organisations stood at €3.8 billion, against €3.6 billion in the previous edition.7 Donations declared to the tax authority reached €3 billion in 2023, and the rest of the total comes from the survey.7 This amount covers all public-interest organisations, not just foundations: do not add it to the sector's €18.4 billion.
Takeaway: compare yourself with your peers, not with the national total. If your foundation spends less than €100,000 a year, it resembles 55% of organisations in 2021. If it distributes grants, its group weighed more in 2021 than in 2013: 26% of spending, against 17%.
Chapter 3
An endowment fund's calendar: six months after year end to file and publish
After the amounts comes the calendar: for an endowment fund, legal deadlines run from the end of the financial year. Within the following six months, it sends its activity report and annual accounts to the prefecture.8 Above €10,000 of resources, it also attaches the statutory auditor's report.8
Publication of the accounts follows the same calendar. Endowment funds publish their accounts in the Journal officiel no later than six months after the end of the financial year, in addition to filing them with the prefecture.8 You can therefore read other endowment funds' published accounts each year to compare yourself with them.
6 months
to file accounts and activity report (endowment funds)
€10,000
of resources: above this, the fund attaches the statutory auditor's report
3 months
to declare donations received (early May for a 31 December year end), according to the tax authority
23%
of corporate foundations and endowment funds surveyed in 2026 run a rolling call for projects
Donations received have their own deadline
According to the tax authority's online procedure, non-profit organisations that issue tax receipts must declare their donations each year (article 222 bis of the General Tax Code).9 They declare the total amount of the receipts and their number within three months of the year end.9 For a year ending 31 December, the deadline falls on the second working day after 1 May.9
If your endowment fund closes its year on 31 December and issues tax receipts, check whether the donation declaration applies to it. The first half of the year then holds two deadlines: the donation declaration in early May, then filing the accounts before 30 June. Schedule your selection committees outside those weeks, so that reviewing applications and closing the accounts do not take up the same team at the same time.
Corporate foundations and funds mostly find their projects themselves
The pace of decisions also depends on how projects arrive. In the Panorama 2026, 72% of the 129 corporate foundations and endowment funds surveyed find their projects themselves, and 52% run one-off external calls for projects.5 Both practices have barely changed since 2024, when they stood at 73% and 52%.5
The change comes from the rolling call for projects, which takes applications all year round instead of in a single round. It concerns 23% of the organisations surveyed in 2026, against 18% in 2024.5 The practice remains a minority one, but it shifts the workload: fewer peaks, and more applications to follow at all times.
Takeaway: build your calendar from your year end. If you are an endowment fund, note the six-month deadline and keep your committees clear of it. If you move to a rolling call, like 23% of the corporate foundations and endowment funds surveyed, plan to follow applications all year round.
Chapter 4
Applications in Europe: among programmes with a visible route, 63.8% are online and 22.5% start with an email, a document or a first enquiry
Between August and October 2026, Optimy studied the public websites of the funders on its research list and classified the application route of each programme. In France, the route was not visible for 51 of the 86 programmes reviewed, which leaves only 35 cases, too few for a national figure.12 For grant programmes, this chapter therefore uses the 351 European programmes whose route Optimy could see.12
Of these programmes, 63.8% take applications through an online form or portal.12 The others use an email, a document or post (11.1%), ask for an enquiry first (11.4%) or work by invitation only (13.7%).12 Because a route is more often visible when it is an online form, the online share may be higher here than among all programmes.
63.8%
of European programmes with a visible route are online
22.5%
of European programmes with a visible route start with an email, a document or an enquiry
13.7%
of European programmes with a visible route are by invitation only
24.2%
of European company programmes with a visible route are online
More than one European programme in five with a visible route starts with an email, a document or an enquiry
In total, sending by email, document or post and asking for an enquiry first concern 22.5% of European programmes with a visible route, more than one in five.12 If this applies to one of your programmes, measure the time your team spends preparing these applications for the committee.
Company programmes are online even less often. Across all regions, 34.5% of the 548 company programmes whose request route Optimy could see (donations, sponsorship, community engagement) use an online form.12 The others mostly ask for a first enquiry (29.6%) or work by invitation (26.1%).12 In Europe, the online share falls to 24.2% (n = 128), against 38.8% in the United States (n = 263).12
Small teams for better-funded projects
In organisations created by companies, teams are often small. The most common format is a team of 2 to 3 full-time equivalents (FTE), for 38% of the organisations surveyed in the Panorama 2026.5 Next come organisations that run with less than 1 FTE (21%) or with 1 FTE (17%).5
The average budget in 2025 is lower than in 2023, but the average amount per project is rising. According to the Panorama, the average annual budget is €1,674,239 in 2025, against €2,032,630 in 2023.5 The average amount per project, meanwhile, reached €42,228 in 2026, against €38,720 in 2024, about 9% more.5 Each selected project therefore commits more money.
Note on sources: the Panorama 2026 covers 129 organisations created by companies: 66 corporate foundations, 37 endowment funds, 21 hosted foundations and 5 public-utility foundations.5 Its averages cover very uneven budgets, from €10,000 to €46.5 million, and so describe the group rather than a typical organisation.
What sets leading programmes apart
Optimy customer
The Fondation Groupe EDF manages an annual budget of €10 million and has supported more than 469 projects since 2016. In 2020, it put the form for its Covid solidarity fund online within a few days, and its grant agreements are pre-filled automatically with Optimy.
Takeaway: in Europe, 22.5% of programmes with a visible route still start with an email, a document or a first enquiry. If that is your case, move to a single form before your next round. Make the key documents mandatory in that form, so that every application reaches the committee complete.
Chapter 5
What changes in 2026-2027: more oversight and new charges
The rules around the sector are tightening, particularly around endowment funds. In its July 2026 report, the Senate commission of inquiry notes that between 30% and 40% of the 4,628 endowment funds on record in 2024 may be dormant.6 It also notes that national public grants to associations fell by €2.2 billion between 2023 and 2024, or 18.8%.6
The first finding bears directly on the rules described below, which mainly target endowment funds. The second concerns foundations that fund associations: keep an eye on the number of requests you receive, as some associations may look to you for that funding.
2 years
of inactivity: an endowment fund can then be dissolved, according to the Senate
0.59%
of payroll each month, plus a 0.09% balance: apprenticeship tax
€24,256
of payroll tax: below this amount in 2026, an endowment fund does not owe it, according to the CFF
€2.2bn
less in national public grants to associations between 2023 and 2024
Oversight: endowment funds under scrutiny
- Filings fully online. Since 18 June 2025, all of an endowment fund's legal filings must go through the Démarches simplifiées platform, and nothing is accepted by email or post any more.8 In six départements (Nord, Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Gironde, Rhône and Bouches-du-Rhône), the rule has applied since 26 February 2025.8
- Dissolution of inactive funds. According to the Senate commission of inquiry, the law of 25 June 2026 on combating social and tax fraud now allows the authorities to dissolve an endowment fund that has been inactive for two years.6
- Statutory auditor on the board, still a proposal. The same commission recommends making it mandatory to invite the statutory auditor to the board meetings of endowment funds, to strengthen the auditor's role in raising alerts.6 This is a recommendation, not a law.
Taken together, these changes give more weight to regular filings. For an endowment fund, the safest course is to keep its filings up to date on Démarches simplifiées and to be able to document its activity for each year.
Tax: one new charge and two reliefs
- Apprenticeship tax. Under the 2026 Finance Act, foundations and endowment funds become liable for the apprenticeship tax on pay for the March 2026 employment period onwards.10 It comprises a main monthly share of 0.59% of payroll and an annual balance of 0.09%.10
- Payroll tax. According to the Centre français des Fonds et Fondations, the 2026 Social Security Financing Act extends to endowment funds an allowance that already applied to associations and public-utility foundations.11 The tax is not due when it amounts to less than €24,256, the 2026 figure, which is updated each year.11
- Donations by very high earners. According to the CFF, the differential contribution on high incomes (CDHR), the 20% minimum tax on very high incomes, now takes tax reductions for donations into account.11 This correction, made by law no. 2026-103 of 19 February 2026, concerns articles 200 and 238 bis of the General Tax Code and applies from the taxation of 2026 income.11
The overall picture is mixed. Organisations that employ staff pay a new tax. According to the CFF, however, the smallest endowment funds with employees may avoid the payroll tax, and very wealthy donors keep their tax advantage. Check now what the two payroll measures change for your operating budget, in 2026 and in 2027.
Takeaway: in 2026, an endowment fund's compliance depends on regular online filings and real activity. Keep your filings up to date and include the apprenticeship tax, due since March 2026, in your 2027 budget. Also check whether the payroll tax allowance applies to you.
Self-assessment
Benchmark your foundation
This scorecard turns the five chapters into a self-assessment. Each row takes a figure from the report: tick the rows where your foundation meets or beats the benchmark, then read the profile that matches your score.
Your score sorts you into three profiles
- 7-9: you are the benchmark. Publish your criteria and your timetable, so that applicants send you proposals that already meet your expectations.
- 4-6: you have a solid base; close the two easiest gaps first. A single form replaces email submissions, and a schedule of rounds keeps clear of your year-end weeks.
- 0-3: start with how you receive applications. A single form with published criteria brings order to incoming requests and creates the data that several other rows depend on.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
How many foundations are there in France?
How much do French foundations spend each year?
What are an endowment fund's obligations in 2026?
How do foundations receive applications?
What is changing for foundations in 2026?
From application to impact report, with Optimy
Optimy brings the whole cycle of a grant programme onto one platform: a single form to receive applications, review and scoring by the committee, tracking of grant agreements and payments, then impact reports. Foundations, corporate foundations and endowment funds use it to decide faster and to account for every euro they give.
Related reading: How the EDF Group Foundation manages its grants with Optimy
Methodology & sources
Every statistic in this report comes from the source cited below, and we checked each one again against that source in October 2026, before publication. Where the data year differs from the publication year, we say so: the Fondation de France barometer publishes its financial data with a two-year lag, so the €18.4 billion of spending relates to 2024. Figures are reproduced as published, without estimates. Where a source rests on a survey, such as the 129 respondents of the Panorama 2026, the text says so.
Between August and October 2026, Optimy studied the public websites of the funders on its research list. For each grant, scholarship or award programme, the visible application route was classified as: online form or portal; email, document or post; enquiry first; invitation only. The sample is Optimy's research list, not a random sample. The shares cover only the programmes whose application route Optimy could see: in Europe, 346 of the 697 programmes reviewed (49.6%) showed none, and in France 51 of 86. Because a route is more often visible when it is an online form, the online share may be higher among the programmes counted than among all programmes. As France does not reach the threshold of 40 programmes with a visible route, this report uses the European figure (n = 351); for company programmes, the European figure covers 128 programmes. The European figure rests mainly on British and Irish programmes (221 of 351), followed by the Benelux (44), France (35), Germany, Austria and Switzerland (27) and the Nordic countries (24).
- Fondation de France, Observatoire Philanthropie & Société, Baromètre annuel de la philanthropie 2026 (organisations active in 2025; 2024 financial data, year N-2) · fondationdefrance.org/images/pdf/fdf_barometre_edition-2026_.pdf
- Fondation de France, press release for the Baromètre annuel de la philanthropie 2026 (11 June 2026, 2024 financial data) · fondationdefrance.org/images/pdf/2026/CP%20Barometre%20philanthropie%20FDF%202026.pdf
- Fondation de France, Observatoire de la philanthropie, Baromètre annuel de la philanthropie 2025 (organisations active in 2024) · www.fondationdefrance.org/images/pdf/2025/FDF_BAROMETRE_2025.pdf
- Observatoire de la philanthropie, Fondation de France, Les fondations et fonds de dotation en France, sixth edition (2021-2022 data, published in 2023) · www.fondationdefrance.org/images/pdf/2023/Rapport_Fonds-fondations2023.pdf
- EY, Centre français des Fonds et Fondations and Les entreprises pour la Cité, Panorama 2026 des fondations et fonds de dotation créés par des entreprises mécènes (129 respondents) · www.ey.com/content/dam/ey-unified-site/ey-com/fr-fr/insights/real-estate-hospitality-construction/documents/ey-panorama-des-fondations-2026-etude-vdef.pdf
- French Senate, commission of inquiry, summary of the report Qui finance l’intérêt général ? (July 2026) · www.senat.fr/fileadmin/cru-1783325159/Structures_temporaires/commissions_d_enquete/2025-2026/CE_Financement_politiques_publiques/r25-8601-syn.pdf
- Admical, Baromètre du mécénat d’entreprise 2024 (2023 tax data supplemented by an IFOP-Admical survey) · admical.org/contenu/barometre-du-mecenat-dentreprise-2024
- Legal affairs directorate of the economic and financial ministries and Ministry of the Interior, Guide pratique des fonds de dotation (December 2025, copy hosted by Associathèque) · www.associatheque.fr/fr/fichiers/actualite/guide-pratique-fonds-dotation-2025.pdf
- French tax authority, online procedure Déclaration des dons (article 222 bis of the General Tax Code) · demarche.numerique.gouv.fr/commencer/declaration-des-dons
- Centre Inffo, apprenticeship tax for associations and non-profit organisations: clarifications from Urssaf (4 March 2026) · www.centre-inffo.fr/?p=509495
- Centre français des Fonds et Fondations, Brève juridique : loi de finances pour 2026 · www.centre-francais-fondations.org/app/uploads/2026/07/CFF-Breve-juridique-Loi-de-finances-pour-2026.pdf
- Optimy research of funders' public websites, August to October 2026: application route of each grant, scholarship and award programme, classified by Optimy (method above) · #methodology
About Optimy
Optimy is the platform that companies, foundations and endowment funds use to run their grant, corporate giving and volunteering programmes, from application to reporting. The Fondation Groupe EDF, featured in chapter 4, is an Optimy customer, and its description comes from the customer story published by Optimy. optimy.com
© 2026 Optimy · You may quote this report with attribution ("Optimy, The State of Foundations 2026: France") and a link to this page.