Patronage, often silent but essential, is one of the discreet pillars that sustain the country's culture, research, and social cohesion. In Catalonia, this spirit of support for the common good is articulated mainly through foundations, which in recent decades have woven a network of commitment and impact difficult to match. But who is behind these initiatives? What is the true face of Catalan patronage and how has it evolved to this day? And what is its link with culture?
One way to observe how patronage is articulated in Catalonia is through the movement and impact of its foundations. According to the report presented this October by the Catalan Coordinator of Foundations, there are currently more than 2,000 active foundational entities in Catalonia, representing a first-rate economic and social force. And the figures confirm it: according to the Observatory of Foundations, between 2016 and 2022 they have generated a gross added value of 4.2 billion euros (a contribution that represents 1.7% of Catalonia's total GVA), have created more than 100,000 direct jobs (2.8% of Catalan employment) and have provided 42.3 million services to beneficiaries, equivalent to 5.5 services per inhabitant. In addition, beyond the employment generated, there are currently more than 45,000 volunteers collaborating with foundations in Catalonia.
Regarding the areas of action, these mainly include culture (49%), social action (39%), education (8%) and scientific research (4%). The latter, especially that linked to health, "has acquired greater interest as a result of covid-19. "Society has become more aware of the importance of investing in research and health," says Maite Esteve, director of the Fundació Catalunya Cultura, who reflects —in a conversation at the foundation's headquarters— on the figure of the patron, so hidden in Catalan society.
The figure of the patron, outside the collective imagination
According to Maite Esteve, whether out of fear "of being accused of greenwashing or to avoid exposure," the Catalan patron does not usually make their philanthropy public; and this is, in large part, a cultural trait: "This does not happen in Madrid." The phrase is also repeated later by former Minister of Culture Ferran Mascarell, one of the great promoters of patronage in Catalonia in the first part of the 21st century.
Perhaps this discretion has not allowed updating the collective imagination. "Patronage has always been associated with people —mainly men— with a very comfortable economic position and strong cultural interests," contextualizes Sara Pérez, manager of the Catalan Coordinator of Foundations. But the true profile of the Catalan patron is different: "The majority profile are women aged 55 with a higher education level." Furthermore, it is not about large patrons making large economic contributions, "but about many people who collaborate with the sum of small amounts," she adds.
The Spanish Fundraising Association provides more information about this profile in the Spanish context: three out of five people over 18 in Spain have collaborated economically at some point with an NGO, and two out of five have done so in the last year. Patronage is no longer, therefore, something "associated with the elites." For Pérez, one of the reasons is the professionalization of foundations, which have improved their communication with patrons and have facilitated access and commitment to patronage: "The professionalization of foundations has allowed the democratization of patronage."
"The professionalization of foundations has allowed the democratization of patronage"
Whether they are large or small patrons, the reasons are not very different. The Spanish Fundraising Association indicates, in the 2024 Donor Infographic, that up to 20% of donors do so to change things and improve the world from their own position; 10%, to feel better about themselves; and another 10%, to generate an impact on a specific cause.
The philosophy of Josep Lagares —renowned Catalan patron, vice-president of the Metalquimia Foundation and executive president of Metalquimia— is not far from these reasons. From his foundation, he explains, they bet "on projects that have an impact on culture, education and creativation (creativity and innovation), so that the world is a better place." The word, by the way, he develops in his latest book Time-Out: creativation or extinction, we choose.
Convinced that only with "creativity and innovation will we move forward as a species," Lagares, through the foundation, touches all aspects of patronage: cultural, social, and research and innovation. And he does so, he says, with "a full backpack": "We are spiritual beings who have been allowed to live an earthly experience, and when we die, we will return to the spirit. We came naked, with nothing, and when we return, we will only take with us a backpack full of one thing: the good we have done on this Earth."
Lagares began to fill that backpack back in the eighties, betting on Catalan culture and music. "The sardana needed a boost," he recalls. And they gave it to her, at a time when cultural patronage was not yet very popular.
The first bridges of the 21st century between the cultural and business worlds
In Catalonia, the history of patronage in the 21st century has strong roots in the city of Barcelona and in culture. It arises, in fact, from the demands of a business sector that wanted to get involved in Catalan culture; from the conviction of a politician, Ferran Mascarell, who between the eighties and nineties saw that there were no bridges between both worlds and decided to build the infrastructures; and, of course, from the group of businessmen who were on the other side of the bridge, first in a Barcelona key and then in a Catalan one.
This movement culminates with a state regulatory framework: Law 49/2002 on patronage, which was a good starting point for what later became, in 2023, the current regulations: Royal Decree Law 6/2023. The next step that the sector demands? A Catalan law on patronage. But let's go in parts.
While it is true that at the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th century the Catalan bourgeoisie made a great commitment to cultural patronage, at the end of the 20th century that culture of patronage was neglected. In fact, when Ferran Mascarell arrived at the Culture Area of the Barcelona City Council, at the end of the eighties, "patronage did not exist." And not only that, but, politically, the parties did not perceive it as something positive: "it was conceived as an interference of companies in the cultural process."
"Patronage was conceived as an interference of companies in the cultural process"
For a brand, for example, to sponsor a festival "was criticizable," points out Mascarell. He recalls, in fact, the difficulties he had in getting any private contribution for the Grec festival. But he found sympathy in Sol Daurella (Coca-Cola) and in the Damm family.
Later, when he assumed the position of managing director of the Institut de Cultura de Barcelona (ICUB), he managed to change the rules of the game for patronage in Catalonia: "For the first time in the City Council, a public body could seek money and keep it to carry out the activity. It was not necessary to put it in the general fund of the City Council, but in the culture fund." Thus, the money served to promote more Grec, more popular festivals, more Mercè, more culture.
When he was proposed as a councilor (1999), he tried to formalize this dynamic, materializing it with the Barcelona Cultura Foundation; a scheme he later replicated when he arrived at the Department of Culture of the Generalitat —the second time— with Artur Mas. The result? With Enric Crous as president of the entity, a group of entrepreneurs created the Catalunya Cultura Foundation. "I was in the Department, I had a lot of work and I dedicated myself as much as I could; and Crous was a key piece for what is today the Foundation."
Currently, the Catalunya Cultura Foundation has 45 companies, 197 entities, has supported 315 cultural projects, has contributed 507,000 euros in prizes, and has granted 2,018 hours of training.
From "nobody pays their taxes" to the clamor for a Catalan law
Mascarell recalls the scenario prior to the 2002 patronage law. When he was a councilor for the Barcelona City Council, he often traveled to Madrid to meet with different ministers and officials from Culture and Finance. The answer he received was always the same: "Look, Ferran, in Spain nobody pays taxes, we are not going to make it even easier."
Luckily, the vision of patronage has evolved a lot in the first quarter of the century, getting closer and closer to the French model. In fact, after the great clamor from the foundational sector, in 2023 the reform of the patronage law was validated in Congress to favor access to patronage through a better legal and fiscal framework. How? With increases in tax incentives to stimulate micro-patronage, incorporating new types of donations and providing exemptions from fiscal taxes and symbolic returns or considerations.
Now, however, the foundational movement wants to go a step further. "The reform was made of the national law, and Catalonia has a section of personal income tax in which it can legislate on patronage," explains Maite Esteve, from the Fundació Catalunya Cultura. And she adds: "Catalonia deserves a patronage law; other autonomous communities already have it."
"Catalonia deserves a patronage law; other autonomous communities already have it"
Lagares points out, in fact, that a good law facilitates access to patronage, but it cannot be the main incentive: "If those of us who do patronage were dependent on the law, we would have stopped a long time ago." And he concludes: "You have to do it out of conviction, out of charity." For the full backpack.