"Nobody gives money to a foundation just for tax relief"

She has been general director of Esade, development director of Cidem, is part of the board of the Associació Orfeó Català and now presides over the Coordinadora Catalana de Fundacions. She walks straight, like a dancer (she was very involved in this discipline for several years), and her first job was as a private mathematics tutor. Eugènia Bieto is passionate when she talks about the foundational world and is a good motivator, both for her team and for the outside world. Now she explains everywhere the good news of the new Patronage Law, and she has a good claim for people to approach the foundational world: to live is to participate.

--- Is Barcelona a city with a foundational culture?

--- In Catalonia there are 20% of all foundations that exist throughout the State. And, furthermore, they are spread throughout the territory. More concentrated in Barcelona, ​​of course, but there are quite a few everywhere. Some of them are 400 years old, like the Fundació Hospital de Santa Creu i Sant Pau, or Fundació Casa de la Misericòrdia de Barcelona. The oldest ones are, in fact, the hospital ones. They are all a historical combination of civil society, administration, religious congregations, who at one point realize that this city or this municipality needs a hospital, for example, for tuberculosis patients. Or for people who did not have the economic means to go to private centers. And then they decide to provide that service themselves. It is an element, a phenomenon, that is very much alive throughout Catalonia. --- Still? Isn't he on leave? --- Catalan foundations employ 40% of all people in the State who work for foundations. That is, on average we are larger than the rest of the State, followed by Madrid and Andalusia. Furthermore, what many people don't know is that during the pandemic many companies closed, but the number of foundations increased. Or some that were dormant were activated.

--- I hadn't thought about it.

--- The fact that a country promotes the foundational act and develops a favorable legal framework, and makes them visible, makes them possible, values them, is very important. Because, on the one hand, real needs of society are being addressed, reaching where public administration cannot or even should not reach (private enterprise has other objectives). And, on the other hand, it is a sign of a mature, responsible and supportive society.--- As you say, the company has other objectives. But there are companies with "corporate social responsibility."The people who work in foundations, what makes them special is above all a great commitment to the mission. Foundations are missionary,thisis the difference. People who work say they do it because they are interested in the cause, the purpose.--- And how is this world now?--- Well, finding a new legal framework, with the new Patronage Law. But the framework must be general: if a framework is created where foundations and patronage have more advantages, this makes society in general find a way to link itself to projects.--- Beyond going to vote every four years.Exactly! In the end, it's an oil slick, which ultimately causes the impact to reach all of society. And people who want to do something have a vehicle to do it. Otherwise, everything we decide for the general interest we do through taxes and elections. But sometimes what people want is to emphasize a path, a sector, a problem, an interest.

--- And the Coordinator, what function does it perform?The Coordinator has existed for about 46 years. Before that, there was already a base, there were a good number of foundations in Catalonia before '78, but a certain coordination was necessary. Someone realized that there is a very important civil society in Catalonia, which in many cases materializes in a series of large, small, old, all kinds of foundations, or people who simply want to do something, and it is decided that an entity is necessary to group them all together to defend their interests (before administrations, and against the market), and also to provide them with services (advice, support, training...). But also so that they can get in touch with each other, and to lobby, that is, to have influence in public administrations to create legal frameworks that favor their development.--- Not bad.And another main objective, which I was forgetting: to give visibility to foundations, to talk about them, because they don't always get to be known.--- And how do they work?We have 750 members and are growing significantly, but the important thing is not to keep adding members, but to help and motivate those who already are. Give them importance, thus favoring a constant "scale effect": the more foundations you have associated, the more richness there is in the group dynamic. Right now we have them grouped by areas: culture, research, social, education, health, universities...--- Everyone believes that cultural ones are the most abundant.--- Well no, they are the social ones. And, afterwards, the cultural ones. And each area of the Coordinator has a commission, of which those who want to be part of it. The Coordinator provides services for all, but the commission provides specific services and what I do is try to get the commissions themselves to exchange activities. Do a lotnetworking, favor cross-learning (which they already do in training seminars, but it's about doing it more stably).-- What size is it, a foundation, approximately?--- The average foundation has fewer than 10 workers, therefore, we find ourselves with very significant fragmentation. It is a very small volume and, evidently, there are great imbalances among them. But it's that: when you are a foundation with few resources, what you can do are alliances. And there are even foundations that sometimes merge.

--- And now you have led this reform of the Patronage Law.

--- We have not led it. We must be fair: this came out on the initiative of thePdecat. It had been on the table of finance ministers for many governments, but it was never a priority. ThePdecatmanaged to bring together the Spanish Association of Foundations, the Catalan Coordinator, and the Spanish Association ofFundraising, as well as to the team of theFoundation CatalunyaCulture. And a first text was achieved, with enough substance to be agreed upon with all these agents.--- But if there is such a concentration of foundations in Catalunya, are the demands here not too different from those of the rest of the State?The will did not cost so much to unite, but the fine print did a little. It's just that the Spanish Association of Foundations makes exactly the same speech as us!--- You've been fighting for it for a long time, then.Miquel Roca was helping with the 2002 one, the 2014 reforms were very small, and thePdecathas rescued it now. Specifically, Sergi Miquel and Ferran Bel, in the Congress of Deputies.--- What do you say about the stigma that foundations carry, for sometimes being murky or hiding money diversions?This happened before, at the time of the scandal ofMillet, now it happens much less. There was a breeding ground, which did not comeonlyof the foundations, but also of the associations, which, by the way, have also been very active with the current reform. And COVID has also helped a lot, and also the Spanish Association ofFundraising, there are many elements and many actors that have converged at the same time. There was a lot of prior frustration. This breeding ground was in favor of civil society as an agent capable of helping in matters of general interest. But words like "public-private collaboration" or "civil society" also resonate in the parties, especially in Catalonia, more than in the State.---A new framework, then.A new legal, fiscal, and labor framework for the foundational sector, to protect its agents. Incidentally, the tax deduction for crowdfunding is expanded. That is, for example: everything that the Hospital Sant Joan de God foundation doesGodhelps a lot to encourage people to give. They see the millionaire donations from footballers, banks, etc., or how Judith Mascó lends her image to promote the FoundationAred, or the achievements of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, or the miracles of theGuttman, or the Casaldels Infants, orArrels… All this is a people's initiative!

--- And the administration?

--- The administration must facilitate and control transparency policy, carry out the control of foundations' accounts, have a good Protectorate that helps and audits, as well as disseminate foundational activity.--- Has the new Patronage Law already come into force?January 1, 2024.--- Broadly speaking, what changes does it incorporate that might be attractive to people?The donation base is set at 250 euros, before it was 150: those first 250 have a tax deduction of 80% in the IRPF, and from 250 euros it is 40%. But also, if you collaborate for more than three years, you deduct an additional 5%. As for companies, their donations deduct 40% in Corporate Tax.--- Does this equate us at a European level?We are still very far behind compared to Anglo-Saxon culture: Great Britain and the United States are a culture apart. France has a significant tax relief regime, but not so much a culture. Do you understand me? Noonlyit is about economically fostering, but about fostering a cultural change. The culture of participating, wanting to be happy by influencing topics of general interest. Let's be honest: If you give 250 euros, you don't do it for the tax deduction.--- How do you know?The proof is that you haven't given them just anywhere, right? No: you've gone tothat onespecifically. Another thing is companies, which do look a lot at the tax issue, but an individual? An individual wants to favor the foundation whose mission they feel most identified with!

--- To give.

--- For me, life, for example, has been favorable, and I feel that I must give back to society. It has given me opportunities above all, I mean. And I want to give them, like the scholarship I once received. And when people want to feel fulfilled and happy, it's not a bad idea to link themselves to a foundation. However: this foundation also has duties to perform. The first of all, to create that emotional bond. To build loyalty. I was on the Scholarship Advisory Board of the FoundationBlanquerna, and I always told them they needed a narrative to emotionally connect the students from whom they requested financial contributions.--- The tax deduction is not enough.Happiness consists of having a purpose in life. So, every time, for example, the Pasqual Maragall Foundation makes progress on something, it feels like you paid for it. But this is also because the foundation has greatly loyalized its donors, and surely it has to do much more in this regard. Therefore, a lot of transparency is also necessary: if I donate 30 euros, I want to be able to track where they went. And what part goes to structure, etcetera.-Anything else?Do something more than pay taxes and vote. And, if you participate in any foundation, do something more than deduct the amount: make it yours!

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