ERSTE Foundation (in German DIE ERSTE österreichische Spar-Casse Privatstiftung or in short: ERSTE Stiftung) is the biggest

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

savings bank A savings bank is a financial institution whose primary purpose is accepting savings deposits and paying interest on those deposits. They originated in Europe during the 18th century with the aim of providing access to savings products to ...

foundation. In 2003, it evolved from the Erste Oesterreichische Spar-Casse, the first Austrian savings bank founded in 1819. It is the main shareholder of Erste Group. As a private austrian savings banks foundation, the foundation invests parts of its

dividends A dividend is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, it is able to pay a portion of the profit as a dividend to shareholders. Any amount not distributed is taken to be re-i ...

to support the development of societies in Central and South Eastern Europe.

Mission

ERSTE Foundation is active in Central and South Eastern Europe. Its mission goes back to the savings banks idea of the 19th century. It supports social participation and

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker ru ...

Projects (examples)

* Zweite Sparkasse (Second Savings Bank) – was ERSTE Foundation’s first project aimed at promoting social and financial inclusion. Its main objective is to enable customers to regain a sound financial footing in the long term. *NGO Academy – was founded in 2013 with the aim of providing educational services. It offers executive managers and members of NGOs a range of programmes to strengthen organisational structures and enhance management skills. The academy is organised in cooperation with the Competence Center for Nonprofit Organizations and Social Entrepreneurship of Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Wien). *Europe's Futures - Ideas for Action – is a cooperation with the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna and its social and political scientists, and leading European organisations and think tanks, addressing crucial topics related to the European Union: asylum and migration, rule of law and democracy, European enlargement and social inclusion. *Balkan Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence – Fellowship for journalists from 10

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

countries in cooperation with the

Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Balkan Insight is a website of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) that focuses on news, analysis, commentary and investigative reporting from southeast Europe. It is run by journalists in southeast Europe. BIRN was founded in 2004 ...

and Open Society Foundations to strengthen

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

and

free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogn ...

through good quality journalism in

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

. *Reporting Democracy – Reporting Democracy is a cross-border journalistic platform, implemented by the

, dedicated to exploring where democracy is headed across large parts of Europe. *Kontakt. The Art Collection of Erste Group and ERSTE Foundation – Its purpose is the support and promotion of Central, East and Southeast European Art. *tranzit.org – is a network of autonomous initiatives working in the field of contemporary art in

, the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

and the

Slovak Republic Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

and across the borders of a wider Europe. Each tranzit initiative works under its own conditions in a variety of local, cultural and social contexts. Activities range from exhibitions, thematic projects, and seminars to publications based on long-term research and participatory interventions into the public discourse.

Igor Zabel Award for Culture and Theory

ERSTE Foundation established the biennial Igor Zabel Award for Culture and Theory in 2008. It supports the work of art historians and theorists in CEE and highlights the notion of arts and culture, encouraging the production of cultural knowledge and exchange between ‘East’ and ‘West’. The award is named after the Slovenian author, art critic and

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

Igor Zabel Igor Zabel (14 August 1958 – 23 July 2005) was a Slovene art historian, curator, and essayist. He was curator at the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana and one of the most prominent writers on modern and contemporary art in Slovenia. In 2007 h ...

(1958–2005), the senior curator of Ljubljana's Moderna Galerija. He established cultural links between Eastern and Western Europe. ''Winners:'' * WHW (What, How and for Whom?) (2008) * Piotr Piotrowski (2010) * Suzana Milevska (2012) *

Ekaterina Degot Ekaterina Degot (Екатерина Дёготь; b. December 2, 1958, Moscow) is a Russian art historian, art writer, and curator based in Moscow, Cologne and Graz. Biography A member of the Russian Academy of Fine Arts, she received her doct ...

(2014) * Viktor Misiano (2016) * Joanna Mytkowska (2018) * Zdenka Badovinac (2020)

Cooperations with other foundations in international projects

*European Fund for the Balkans (EFB) *Grant Makers East Forum of the European Foundation Centre (efc) *Civitates - a philanthropic initiative for democracy and solidarity in Europe

magazine.erstestiftung.org

Since 2018 ERSTE Foundation publishes stories and reports from media in the region (e.g. Dennik N, Political Critique,

Gazeta Wyborcza ''Gazeta Wyborcza'' (; ''The Electoral Gazette'' in English) is a Polish daily newspaper based in Warsaw, Poland. It is the first Polish daily newspaper after the era of " real socialism" and one of Poland's newspapers of record, covering the ...

) as well as original articles in its bilingual online magazine (German/English). The magazine follows developments significant to society, politics and culture in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe. It supplies images and concepts on topical issues, encourages discussion and contributes to current debates.

History

The origins of the foundation go back to the 19th century. The Erste österreichische Spar-Casse was founded in 1819. As a result of the amendment to the Austrian Savings Bank Act, Erste österreichische Spar-Casse was split into an operational

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becau ...

( Erste Bank AG) and a

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

(DIE ERSTE österreichische Spar-Casse Anteilsverwaltungssparkasse, in short: AVS) in 1993. In 1997 Erste Bank, which had merged with GiroCredit Bank AG der Sparkassen,

went public Going public may refer to: * Initial public offering, financial action by a business * Whistleblowing, exposure of previously private information * ''Going Public'' (Newsboys album), 1994 * ''Going Public'' (Bruce Johnston album), 1977 {{Dis ...

, making AVS the main

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal ...

of the company, which has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange ever since. In 2003 AVS was formally transformed into DIE ERSTE österreichische Spar-Casse Privatstiftung, in short: ERSTE Stiftung (ERSTE Foundation), which began its operations two years later.

Organisation

ERSTE Foundation is a savings bank private foundation as defined by the Austrian Savings Bank Act.

Boards

The bodies of the foundation include the Managing Board, the

Supervisory Board In corporate governance, a governance board also known as council of delegates are chosen by the stockholders of a company to promote their interests through the governance of the company and to hire and fire the board of directors. In civil ...

and the Association. The private Savings Bank Association, established in 1819 and comprising more than 100 members, elects the members of the Supervisory Board and designates its president. The Supervisory Board appoints the members of the Managing Board and supervises the foundation’s management. The Managing Board conducts the foundation’s business and decides on the allocation of project funding, assisted by an Advisory Board of international experts.

Members of the supervisory board

*Bettina Breiteneder *Maximilian Hardegg *Barbara Pichler *Johanna Rachinger *Philipp Thurn und Taxis *Markus Trauttmansdorff *Kurt Zangerle *Andreas Treichl (chairman) *Manfred Wimmer (deputy chairman)

Members of the managing board

*Boris Marte (CEO) *Wolfgang Schopf (Deputy CEO) *Eva Höltl *Martin Wohlmuth

Employees, budget and projects

At ERSTE Foundation work around 20 employees in 2022. More than 2,000 projects have been implemented or supported since 2005. ERSTE Foundation’s total project expenditure 2005–2021: more than EUR 121 mio.

Memberships in umbrella organisations

The foundation is a member of the following national and international umbrella organizations: *Philanthropy Europe Association (Philea) *Network of European Foundations (NEF) *European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA) *Verband für Gemeinnütziges Stiften *Verband österreichischer Privatstiftungen (VÖP)

ERSTE Foundation Library

Founded in 2007, the ERSTE Foundation Library advances knowledge by building collections and providing open access to materials and information resources that support its projects. It contains around 12.000 items. Topics include art and media theory and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

minority Minority may refer to: Politics * Minority government, formed when a political party does not have a majority of overall seats in parliament * Minority leader, in American politics, the floor leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative b ...

and

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures us ...

issues,

cultural theory Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the political dynamics of contemporary culture (including popular culture) and its historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers generally investigate how cultural practices ...

and

policies Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an orga ...

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with t ...

and political developments,

social banking An ethical bank, also known as a social, alternative, civic, or sustainable bank, is a bank concerned with the social and environmental impacts of its investments and loans. The ethical banking movement includes: ethical investment, impact inve ...

, innovation in foundations,

philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

demography Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as ed ...

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum l ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. ...

, and the

art of memory The art of memory (Latin: ''ars memoriae'') is any of a number of loosely associated mnemonic principles and techniques used to organize memory impressions, improve recall, and assist in the combination and 'invention' of ideas. An alternative ...

. Geographically, the collection focuses on Central and South Eastern Europe. The Library is open to the public and free of charge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erste Foundation Arts foundations based in Europe Development charities based in Austria Foundations based in Austria Organisations based in Vienna Banking foundations