Forecast document for 2021 approved

• 155 million euros budgeted for allocations and strategic projects in 2021
• Total market value of the financial asset portfolio: 6.2 billion euros

Turin, 26 October 2020 – At its meeting held today, the General Council of Compagnia di San Paolo, chaired by Francesco Profumo, approved the 2021 Annual Planning Document, which defines the lines of action and forecast expenditure in the areas specified by the articles of association. 

“Solidarity, responsibility, sustainability and trust are the values that strengthen the dialogue with our stakeholders in a historic phase in which COVID-19 has made us all more fragile and uncertain, and amplified our weaknesses. We have moved up a gear, encouraged in particular by the European Commission’s Next Generation EU” – declared Francesco Profumo” – “Being a European, philanthropic and modern foundation, which also aims to be a development agent for the area in which it operates, means working with a clear strategy and with an integrated set of tools. We are definitely no longer an ATM, as Foundations are sometimes characterised! The starting point is proper management of our assets: tangible (institutional and diversified investments) and intangible (skills of the Compagnia di Sanpaolo Foundation Group). We are positive about our figures for 2021 and we perceive a great responsibility, but also the potential quality of our actions, which the Foundation has already experienced in the Consiliatura (2016-2020), where the integration of networks, group skills, grant-making, guarantee funds, capacity building, replicability of models and data enhancement, have demonstrated their validity in terms of results and evidence. We are now ready to translate create a new system based on our experiments by implementing the strategic plan for the next four years, which we are working on and which we will approve in January 2021, which will maximize the impact, generating an important leverage and resilience effect. All this thanks to the prudent management of assets intended to achieve healthy diversification of our portfolio investments that has guaranteed liquidity and generated returns to cope with a serious and complex economic and financial situation. Furthermore, together with its assets, CSP has aggregated intervention tools connected to its Mission-related investments, strategic investments in CDP, ISP, Iren and investment companies capable of integrating and supporting the institutional activities of the foundation.” The establishment of spending plans for next year takes into account the current situation and the fact that, at the end of July 2020, the European Central Bank confirmed the recommendation to national banks not to proceed with the distribution of profits at least until 31 December 2020, and intends to make a decision in the fourth quarter of 2020 on the approach to be followed after 1 January 2021. “We have therefore drawn up our forecast profit and loss account with a prudential approach, not making any estimates of dividends from Intesa Sanpaolo for 2021.” – continued Mr Profumo – “The potential fall in income means we are committed to thinking in an even more strategic way in the planning of interventions. “In view of the exceptional situation faced by the country and the uncertainty of the current picture, we have decided to commit ourselves on the disbursement front, allocating a budget of 155 million euros for 2021, an increase (+3%) on the budget for 2020 (151 million euros), making up to 20 million euros available in addition to the annual budget for integrated activities to support the first year of the strategic plan, in order to achieve the sustainability benefits for the beneficiary organisations that are one of the priority objectives of the new planning phase”.

DISBURSEMENTS IN 2021

“The estimated amount approved for next year, recorded in the Foundation’s 2021 profit and loss account, will be 135 million euros for interventions in the area specified in the articles of association, to date prudentially covered in part by the resources generated during the year and in part by making use of funds for the organisation’s activities- – “said Secretary General Anfossi- “Our goal is to keep our disbursements in the relevant geographical area as stable as possible, well aware of the importance of our role in supporting and ensuring the development of the society to which we belong and in which we operate. The disbursements stabilisation fund has been created precisely to cope with periods of contraction such as the one we are experiencing. In recent years we have set aside 360 million euros for this purpose, and we are drawing from it today, in a balance, sustainable and significant way, particularly considering the positive impacts of the mandatory provisions on the Foundation’s assets. 

Furthermore, at today’s meeting, the General Council stated its strategic aim of dedicating up to 20 million euros from the projects fund, yet to be allocated, to interventions to be carried out as described by the Chair. These extra resources will have to be allocated to projects that generate lasting efficiency and lower future requirements for the beneficiaries, so as to have a positive impact on the Company by reducing pressure on its profit and loss account.”

*As of today it is expected that the amount of disbursements approved for 2021 will be prudently covered in part by the resources generated during the year (€ 99.8 million) and in part by resorting to funds for the institution’s activities (€ 38.8 million) 

*Confirmed mandatory provisions: 20% of the surplus to the mandatory reserve, equal to 24.95 million euros, with 3.33 million euros to the volunteering fund and 0.3 million euros to the national fund for common initiatives of the Foundations

LINES OF WORK FOR INSTITUTIONAL ACTIVITIES: GOALS

In 2021, the Foundation will be involved in the following lines of work in particular:

Culture

• Building Capacity to Attract Mission: the intervention tools dedicated to enhancing the cultural heritage, live entertainment and contemporary research and creativity
• Developing Skills Mission: We will invest in skills as an enabling factor, promoting the active role of cultural institutions in educational communities and professionalisation paths for artists, creatives, institutions, operators and cultural managers for the purposes of local development
• Preserving Beauty Mission: greater focus on heritage maintenance programmes and restoration projects characterised by integration, investment, and the creation of basic conditions to allow other organisations to also invest planning and financial resources, with advanced tools.

• Encouraging Active Participation Mission: attention and support will be strengthened for participation networks relating to new cultural centres and aggregation centres as places for culture but also for active citizenship in the Foundation’s areas of activity. 

People

• Housing Mission: systems for providing social housing will be tested, current housing initiatives and services will continue and new social housing models will be tested; new social and housing inclusion hubs will be supported; CSP will also act as a link between local entities and initiatives and the potential offered by European resources.
• Work Mission: Job placement opportunities for vulnerable people will be promoted and expanded, also identifying new types of recipients, consolidating assessments of actions taken, while also further supporting the ecosystem of public, non-profit and private entities operating in these areas. Two special projects will be launched in prisons in Turin and Genoa.
• Education Mission: Continued inter-institutional work will be done to revise education categories, working in particular with Fondazione per la Scuola and Xkè? Curiosity Laboratory. Previously tested initiatives to reduce inequalities, combat educational poverty among children and early school leaving will be developed and redefined. Investment will continue in the nought to six category, particularly by formulating suggestions for decision and policy makers. 
• Community Mission: projects selected in the context of the Call for Proposals on Health, common effect, mental distress and the B² = il bene x bene” Call for Proposals, to support local collaboration systems for the collection and redistribution of basic necessities through local networks. The culture of solidarity will continue to be promoted by supporting Community Foundations and working ever more closely with Ufficio Pio, which will allow actions taken to combat the various manifestations of inequality to be combated.
• Inclusion Mission: access and protection for women victims of violence and the victims of crime in general will be guaranteed by supporting and strengthening local, national and European networks, promoting projects to make young people the increasing protagonists of plans for change in their community. Following the closure of the MOI inter-institutional project, actions will be launched to develop and consolidate local networks supporting vulnerable local people, particularly those with a migratory background.The commitment to other areas of the world will continue and include a new joint initiative by Italian foundations in Africa.  

Planet

• Interventions will focus on strengthening action aimed at supporting the research and innovation ecosystem (social economy, resilience and digital transformation sector), natural heritage enhancement policies, initiatives to promote healthy lifestyles, the evolution of health system processes and the start of a debate about international issues with a concrete impact on the various Missions of Compagnia di San Paolo.
• Enhancing Research Mission: The Artificial Intelligence Call for Proposals will be developed further and support provided for the Istituto I3A initiative
• Accelerating Innovation Mission: We intend to consolidate the social economy ecosystem with an opportunity to attract a dedicated accelerator and a data-driven system – Impact Data HUB
• Promoting Well-Being Mission: The Muoviamovi Call for Proposals will be focused on using natural capital, emphasizing the positive interaction between well-being and the environment, offering opportunities for further study on mountain and inland areas
• Protecting the Environment Mission: An action will be developed to support the energy transition as a way of contributing to the achievement of the climate neutrality objectives set by the EU for 2050, the basis of the European Green New Deal
• Fostering International Opportunities Mission: Constant monitoring of the opportunities related to the implementation of European recovery actions will continue with a view to matching opportunities, particularly as a way of contributing to the debate about international issues