ERSTE Foundation
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| Founded | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Type | Austrian private foundation |
| Focus | Social Development, Culture, European Integration |
| Location | |
| Origins | legal successor of Erste oesterreichische Spar-Casse (First Austrian Savings Bank) of 1819 |
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Area served
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Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe |
| Method | operational foundation and grant giving |
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Revenue
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main shareholder of Erste Group Bank AG |
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Employees
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over 30 |
| Website | www |
ERSTE Foundation (in German DIE ERSTE österreichische Spar-Casse Privatstiftung or in short: ERSTE Stiftung) is the biggest Austrian savings bank 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. ERSTE Foundation uses the profit from its shares to support the development of societies in Central and South Eastern Europe.
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 engagement; it aims to bring people together and disseminate knowledge of the recent history of a region that has been undergoing dramatic changes since 1989. As an active foundation, it develops its own projects within the framework of three programs: Social Development, Culture, and Europe.
The foundation encourages the development of fairer and stronger societies, where nobody is left behind. It has developed two complementary strategies of social intervention: the integration of individuals and groups who live on the margins of society and research into social change. Its activities create fair prospects for people in difficult social conditions and situations of extreme need with regard to education and participation.
The culture program works on mostly transnational projects, involving research activities that focus on the visual arts from the 1960s to the present day. Culture is seen as a driving force for a democratic society and in its ability to forge links between diverse linguistic and geographical regions. Working with artistic strategies creates an experimental playing field for utopias and for proposals beyond the feasibility of everyday politics as well as for exploring the possibilities of various artistic approaches. Therefore, the culture program promotes independent projects and those engaged in the cultural sector by providing them with resources and cross-border contacts that are not embedded within state institutions, also to stop the so-called brain drain.
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