ECB Charity Initiative

At the end of 2011 the European Central Bank (ECB) resolved to donate €110,500 to selected charity organisations across the euro area, as part of its charity initiative. With this initiative, which was launched in 2010, the ECB aims to support well-known and respected charitable organisations located in the euro area that are involved in social and humanitarian work and are not affiliated to any political organisation. The recipient charities are selected in cooperation with the 17 national central banks of the euro area on the basis of the above-mentioned criteria.

The focus in 2011 was on organisations working in the area of social, educational and cultural integration within Europe and the money was divided equally among the following organisations:

Belgium: Wheelit.be

Germany: Stiftung Polytechnische Gesellschaft

Estonia: Junior Achievement Eesti SA

Ireland: Don Bosco Teenage Care Housing Association

Greece: Greek Council for Refugees

Spain: Cooperación Internacional ONG

France: La Fondation de France

Italy: MUS-E Italia Onlus

Cyprus: The Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia

Luxembourg: Autisme Luxembourg a.s.b.l.

Malta: Malta Emigrants Commission

Netherlands: Europa Nostra

Austria: Volkshilfe Österreich

Portugal: Associação EPIS – Empresários pela Inclusão Social

Slovenia: Zveza prijateljev mladine Ljubljana Moste-Polje; and Društvo Ključ

Slovakia: Nadácia HELP

Finland: Irti Huumeista ry

The donations were taken from funds earned in recent years through the external activities of members of the ECB’s Executive Board and ECB staff. According to the ethics framework adopted by the ECB, members of staff may not accept for themselves any fees from third parties in respect of external activities which are connected in any way with the member of staff’s employment with the ECB. Such fees are given to charities. The same procedure applies to members of the ECB’s Executive Board.

The ECB’s charity initiative was launched in 2010, when the ECB resolved to donate €100,000 to charity organisations working in the area of healthcare for children and young people. It is the ECB’s intention to continue to donate funds to charitable organisations in the future, once a sufficient amount has been raised.