Inside the Foundation

Facts and Figures

ERSTE Foundation currently holds 20.13% in the stock of Erste Group Bank AG, one of the largest financial services providers in Central and South Eastern Europe. ERSTE Foundation invests its dividend revenue in the development of societies in Austria, Central and South Eastern Europe: it supports social participation and civil-society engagement, it brings people together and disseminates knowledge of the recent history of this region that has been undergoing dramatic change since 1989.

Facts and Figures

ERSTE Foundation’s work

The funds used by ERSTE Foundation for project work can be classified as either (i) funding of project partners, i.e., payments to non-profit organisations for the implementation of projects or (ii) direct project expenses, i.e., costs incurred by ERSTE Foundation for the research, development and implementation of projects in the frame of its 3 programmes Social Development, Europe and Culture. In 2006, ERSTE Foundation provided the nominal capital for the founding of Zweite Sparkasse, the bank for the unbankable, and in 2008/2009 of good.bee, an initiative to overcome financial exclusion. These were extraordinary expenditures, which are not incurred on a regular basis. The charts below give you more information on how ERSTE Foundation uses its funds for project work.

ERSTE Foundation’s total expenditure for projects 2005-2011: €51.2 million

Chart 1: Amounts in 1,000 euros

The funding of project partners makes up for the vast majority of ERSTE Foundation’s total expenditure. From 2005 to 2011, 68.3% of ERSTE Foundation’s funds were paid to non-profit organisations for the implementation of projects. Only in 2006, when ERSTE Foundation invested in the establishment of Die Zweite Sparkasse, a substantial amount was used for non-project related purposes.

Types of expenditure: Share in total project expenditure 2005-2011

In the period 2005-2011, start-up financing for Zweite Sparaksse and good.bee made up for 15.42% of ERSTE Foundation’s total expenditure. Direct project expenses accounted for 16,29% of total expenditure.

ERSTE Foundation’s regular expenditure for project work: Funding and direct project expenses 2005-2011: €43.3 million

ERSTE Foundation’s expenditure for project work in the period 2005-2011 — calculated as total expenditure minus the founding costs of Zweite Sparkasse and good.bee — amounted to a total of 43.3 million euros. Chart 3 shows the share of ERSTE Foundation’s programmes (Social Development, Culture, Europe and General Funding) in total funding and direct project expenses in this period.

 

Chart 3: Amounts in 1,000 euros 

 

Number of projects approved

From 2005 to 2011, a total of 741 individual projects was approved. Out of that, 255 projects were the results of calls for application.

ERSTE Foundation is the main shareholder of Erste Group Bank AG In Austria, private savings bank foundations are committed to serving the common good, while also carrying a special responsibility as main shareholders of their banking institutions. Therefore, ERSTE Foundation invests part of its dividend to promote the growth of Erste Group. The independence and the economic success of Erste Group, in turn, safeguard the future of its major shareholder, ERSTE Foundation.
20.13%Currently, ERSTE Foundation holds 20.13% of the capital shares of Erste Group. Together with those Austrian savings banks that are shareholders of Erste Group and that are associated in the cross-guarantee system (Haftungsverbund), the stake of ERSTE Foundation in Erste Group is 24.17%.
80% of ERSTE Foundation's annual budget is invested in projects that we initiate in our 3 programmes Social Development, Culture and Europe. The remaining 20% are spent as grants to non-profit organisations to support their projects.
€ 51.2 million is the total amount of funds ERSTE Foundation has spent between its founding date in 2003 and the end of 2011.
741 is the total number of projects ERSTE Foundation has imple-mented and/or supported between 2005 and the end of 2011.
35 is the total number of persons who form our operating team*. In detail, these are 29 employees and 6 freelancers. * excluding Boards, as of end-2011.

Fact Sheet



Click on the image to download the fact sheet. As of: December 2012

Annual Reports


You want to know more about the work of ERSTE Foundation? Here you can download our Annual Reports.