How to apply

The Edmond de Rothschild Foundations focus on a “return on commitment” in project development. Our role is to assist our partners, share our know-how and contribute to the professionalism of the social sector.
This relationship is based on an important three-step process that is carried out in a climate of mutual confidence.

It includes an in-depth analysis to establish the foundations of the partnership, detailed and pertinent monitoring, and regular evaluations to enhance impact and effectiveness. We examine financial, structural and social factors for every partnership we create.

Selection criteria

• Activities

We begin by assessing whether your activities are compatible with our strategy. Education is the “heart” of our mission. The four core areas of interest in this endeavor are arts and culture, social entrepreneurship, intercultural dialogue and medical research (primarily ophthalmology and neurosciences).
It is therefore important to indicate how your project contributes to building an innovative and effective model in terms of training, sharing and cooperation among stakeholders.
We also determine whether synergies are possible with our existing projects and assess the reputation and prior accomplishments of the applicant.

• Management

Our criteria take into consideration both the person leading the project and the team working with him/her. A project leader must be experienced in the sector in question and demonstrate a strong personal commitment to the project without being indispensable to the project’s success in the long term. We also assess the team’s ability to respond to our requests for updates with concrete and detailed information. Likewise, the team must be complementary and possess excellent technical skills and professional networks.

• Strategy

We expect the project to have a unique selling point (USP), in that it is different from other projects and provides a specific solution to an identified problem. Risks must be identified and a model must be well defined and tested prior to implementation, even on a small scale, to ensure the project’s successful development.

• Financial forecasts

We strongly support the diversification of funding sources. The ability to generate revenue and reinvest it in a project is essential in the area of social entrepreneurship. Generally speaking, the administrative costs of a project must be consistent with operating costs. Its budget must allocate sufficient resources to unexpected expenses to ensure responsible management.