Enterprise foundations – ‘foundations that own companies’ – play an important role in European society as responsible, long-term owners of business companies. In addition, through their donations and operating philanthropy, they contribute significantly to the public good. And yet, despite their significant contribution to European society, European enterprise foundations live out a shadowy legal existence which limits their potential contribution.

The new ELI project therefore aims to contribute to overcoming these obstacles by presenting a catalogue of solutions to legally regulate enterprise foundations. The Project Team will develop a legal definition of enterprise foundations with a view to provide clarity on this legal construct. Through comparative legal analysis, the project will identify key sources of variation in national enterprise foundation law (including the law of functional equivalents such as trusts and companies) and explain the legal and economic implications of these choices. This will provide national and European legislators with an informed menu of options on the issue.

Moreover, based on existing enterprise foundation law, the project will outline a model enterprise foundation law and key legal obstacles which currently prevent enterprise foundation rules from being implemented by a broader set of European countries. The model law will be drafted to meet the needs from as many European countries as possible.

More information about the project, which emerged out of the ELI High Level Expert Group meeting on Charitable and Other Long Term Foundations in Europe, is available here. All interested ELI Members are invited to join its Members Consultative Committee by sending an email to the ELI Secretariat.

The project is generously supported by the Enterprise Foundations project of the Copenhagen Business School.