The Compagnia di San Paolo was founded in Torino in 1563 as a charitable brotherhood and is one of Europe’s most important private foundations.
The current Articles of Association, adopted in the year 2000, specify its purposes: the Foundation participates in society’s activities by pursuing ends that are of public interest and social utility, with the aim of favoring civil, cultural, and economic development in the community in which it is active. Development is thus the goal, but also the criterion according to which the initiatives supported by the Compagnia are evaluated.
The areas in which the Compagnia acts are those of scientific, economic and juridical research; education; art; conservation and enhancement of cultural heritage and activities and of heritage sites; health; assistance to the socially deprived categories. These areas of intervention go side by side with interdisciplinary activities, which are more and more needed in order to respond to the complexity of modern life.
The Foundation’s activities are financed with the income produced by the estate over the course of centuries and which the Compagnia has the task to pass on intact to future generations.
The Compagnia is a member of the European Foundation Centre and of ACRI, the Italian Association of Foundations of banking origin.
How we work
The Compagnia supports development with the resources produced by the income of its own estate according the provisions of its Articles of Association and Regulations.
Article 3 of the first section of the Articles of Association defines the sectors in which the Compagnia operates – “ scientific, economic, and juridical research; education; art; preservation and optimization of cultural goods and activities and of the landscape heritage; public health; assistance to socially deprived categories” – that are the object of an ever more integrated approach, one that is able to respond to the complexity of modern themes.
The Compagnia’s action is carried out through payments and projects that are managed directly by its structure and, indirectly, through its operating bodies: the “ Fondazione per la Scuola”, the “ Ufficio Pio,” the “ Collegio Carlo Alberto,” the “ Istituto Superiore Mario Boella,” the “ Istituto Superiore sui Sistemi Territoriali per l’Innovazione,” and the “ Human Genetics Foundation”.
Also worth mentioning is the Fondazione Bersezio- run by a Board appointed by the Compagnia –aimed at carrying out developments in culture through projects and actions which honour the memory of Vittorio Bersezio.
The Compagnia’s governance is based on the action of two different boards: the “ Consiglio Generale” – whose function consists of working out the strategic guidelines and goals that are inspired by both the Compagnia’s institutional action and investment policies – and the Management Committee, to which the Foundation’s administration is entrusted. Both boards are presided over by the Chair with the assistance of the Secretary-General, who is in charge of the structure.
The components of both boards are appointed by cultural, administrative, and economic institutions for a term of office of four years.
Every four years the “Consiglio” drafts a Multi-year Planning Document in which it defines the guidelines and criteria for the four-year period. Every year, it produces the Planning Guidelines, that define the resources allocated for the year to come, and the Annual Report, a final balance of the previous year.
The Sectors
>> Research and Higher Education
Supporting research and higher education is a fundamental priority for the Compagnia di San Paolo, as it believes that education and the development of basic and applied research are an essential condition for a new economic growth.
>> Cultural Heritage
In spite of the critical economic and financial phase, the Compagnia confirms its commitment in favor of culture as an answer to people’s intellectual and spiritual needs, as well as an irreplaceable factor for the advancement of research and knowledge.
>> Health
Interventions in the sector of public health services are realized through the financing of numerous projects, destined, until now, especially to the acquisition of innovative equipment for the research, diagnosis, and cure, and in a smaller yet still considerable part, to the study of new management models in the area of heath care. Next to these are smaller contributions in areas of specialization (neurosurgery, transplants, emergency medicine) and in the fight against socially relevant pathologies.
>> Welfare Policy
The deep transformation of the social-economic context and above all the progressive reduction in resources during the last few years has brought about an evolution in the role of the Compagnia within the local welfare system, opening up possibilities of establishing new ways of dealing with Institutions and the Third Sector. From a company allocating funds, the Compagnia has gradually taken up a more dynamic role regarding public and private actors, collaborating more and more as far as policies and ways to intervene are concerned, in many cases taking a directly operative role itself.
