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

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

savings bank A savings bank is a financial institution that is not run on a profit-maximizing basis, and whose original or primary purpose is collecting deposits on savings accounts that are invested on a low-risk basis and receive interest. Savings banks ha ...

foundation. In 2003, it evolved from the Erste österreichische Spar-Casse, the first Austrian savings bank founded in 1819. It is the core 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, after which the stock exchange decreases the price of the stock by the dividend to remove volatility. The market has no control over the stock price on open on the ex ...

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 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

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 countries in cooperation with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network and

Open Society Foundations Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the s ...

to strengthen

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

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 recognise ...

through good quality journalism in

media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

. *Reporting Democracy – Reporting Democracy is a cross-border journalistic platform, implemented by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, 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, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

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

and the Slovak Republic 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. *'
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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 , 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 particular ins ...

Igor Zabel (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 (2014) * Viktor Misiano (2016) * Joanna Mytkowska (2018) * Zdenka Badovinac (2020) * Bojana Pejić (2022)

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

Tipping Point Magazine

Since 2018 ERSTE Foundation publishes stories and reports from media in the region (e.g. Dennik N, Political Critique, Gazeta Wyborcza) as well as original articles in its bilingua
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 Deposit account, 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 m ...

( Erste Bank AG) and a

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

(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, making AVS the main

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

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 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 An advisory board is a body that provides non-binding strategic advice to the management of a corporation, organization, or foundation. The informal nature of an advisory board gives greater flexibility in structure and management compared to the ...

of international experts.

Members of the supervisory board

*Bettina Breiteneder *Eva Höltl *Johanna Mair *Barbara Pichler *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) *Gudrun Egger *Martin Wohlmuth

Employees, budget and projects

At ERSTE Foundation work around 30 employees in 2024. More than 2,200 projects have been implemented or supported since 2005. ERSTE Foundation’s total project expenditure 2005–2023: more than EUR 148 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 Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but it mos ...

and

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

, minority and

gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

issues, cultural theory and policies,

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

and political developments, social banking, innovation in foundations,

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

demography Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examine ...

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 le ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

, and the

art of memory The art of memory () 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 term is "Ars Memorativa ...

. 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