Financial Groups and other Networks
EFC Social Investment Group
The EFC Social Investment group brings together representatives from foundations, business, private investors and multilateral agencies to encourage knowledge sharing; expertise exchange and networking; and more foundation involvement and collaboration in the field of social investment. Underlying this are the objectives of gaining a better understanding of foundations' needs, motivations, strategies and the particular role they can and do play in creating added value in this area; and of developing knowledge and tools to support foundations' work.
EFFIO
The group of European Foundation Financial and Investment Officers (EFFIO) aims to provide a platform, where individual foundations can exchange views, ideas and information on investment issues from a European perspective. The functioning and also framework for investment of foundations differs between European countries. EFFIO is a forum where members can share information on investment topics, trends, developments and problems they may encounter. The idea of creating a platform for European Foundation Financial Officers to address specific European investment issues was tabled by members of the European Foundation Centre (EFC), under the lead of the Van Leer Group Foundation in 2002. To date the group brings together some 20 foundations.
Watson Wyatt Worldwide Survey 2003
www.watsonwyatt.com
Watson and Wyatt Worldwide is a global consulting firm focused on human capital and financial management. A Swiss Branch ids carrying out a survey of foundation assets management practices in Europe. They have started in Italy with foundations of banking origin and intend to extend it to the rest of Europe. It is planned as a database of Italian and European Foundations with accounting/asset/management/governance indicators. In the near future they want to perform peer group benchmarking against 1) Italian foundations of banking origin and 2) larger European foundations. The medium term project will be to develop foundation risk indicators to give broader risk management perspective. The project aims at gathering 10-year of reports, accounts and annual reviews of grant-making activities for the largest European Foundations, as well as Statutes and Statements of Investment Principles where available.
The Bellagio Forum for Sustainable Development
www.bfsd.org
The Bellagio Forum is an international network of foundations, non-governmental organizations, media institutions and corporations. It has members in Asia, Europe and North America. Upon an initiative of the Rockefeller Foundation in 1993, BFSD was founded in the small village of Bellagio, in northern Italy. The Forums' mission is to foster cooperation that contributes to environmental balance, economic stability and social progress in an international framework. As a catalyst between the private sector, civil society and government, BFSD has developed into one of the pre-eminent voices on sustainable development issues. Bellagio aims to develop some guidelines for responsible investment management of endowments.
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