FACT was founded by a family with dual French/American citizenship, and has board members in both countries. To honor and sustain these bi-cultural roots, FACT began making grants in France in 1996. Though our grantmaking program in France is quite small — a total of $250,000 annually — it is an important component of our grantmaking because it gives us the experience and perspective to think about how to further social change. There are a number of things about France that make philanthropy there different from in the United States.
- France has a strong, centralized state sector — Decisions are made in Paris and carried out in the rest of the country.
- France has a strong welfare state — There is a tradition of public assistance from the central government rather than private philanthropy.
- French citizens are supposed to be treated equally under the law — The French government puts a high priority on integrating foreigners into the French population, with mixed results.
- France has a long tradition of protest through political parties and labor unions, which are very powerful and can mobilize many people around various social issues such as unemployment, education, social security and alternatives to globalization.
Most nonprofit activity in France is funded by the government (through various entities), political parties, and labor unions. Although the state gives a considerable amount of money to nonprofit and social programs, its approach is very heavy-handed and nonprofits lack independence and autonomy of action. As a result, these organizations welcomed FACT’s “no strings attached” money.
In both the U.S. and France, the nonprofit sector is split between social service agencies and activist organizations. In France, social services are provided by local, regional, and central governments, and labor unions and political parties serve as the vehicles for most civic activism, which is a much more integral and accepted part of the culture. With little private money to fund activism, independent groups are mostly staffed by people who volunteer outside of their jobs.
Working in France has given us the opportunity to observe other differences and similarities between nonprofit work there and in the U.S. For example, our French grantees are much more aware of the adverse impacts of globalization than organizations in the U.S., and have been organizing to demand greater accountability from international institutions and corporations.
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