- The Endesa Foundation's event to celebrate its 25th anniversary brought together key players in the social field to analyse its present and above all, its future in the round table entitled "Trends and Challenges in the Voluntary Sector". Video, 25 years of the Endesa Foundation
- Participants included the General Managers of the Endesa Foundation, the PwC Foundation and the Integra Foundation, María Malaxechevarría, Marta Colomina and Ana Muñoz de Dios, respectively, as well as the Manager of the Biodiversity Foundation, of the Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Elena Pita. All of them underlined the importance of the voluntary sector and the need to advance in collaboration models to fulfil their mission of building fairer and more equitable societies.
- Ms Malaxechevarría shared the Endesa Foundation's vision for the future, which involves "maximising its social footprint through efficient and professionalised management." She also shared balance sheet data from the 25 years the Foundation has been operative: €100 million invested in development and progress in our society, with projects that have made it possible to train 42,000 people in vulnerable employment situations; to benefit 300,000 students and teachers in educational programmes and bring art closer to 2,000 people through cultural projects and the illumination of more than 700 monuments.
- The event was attended by the Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida and there were speeches by Juan Sánchez-Calero, Chairman of Endesa and its Foundation; José Bogas, Chief Executive Officer of the company; and Gregorio Marañón, Chairman of the Teatro Real, where the event was held. A concert by the Reina Sofía School of Music provided a cultural note to this great event in the voluntary sector.
The Endesa Foundation closed its 25th anniversary celebrations with an event attended by numerous representatives of NGOs, public and private social entities and corporate foundations to speak about the present and the future in a roundtable forum on "Trends and Challenges of the Voluntary Sector". Participants included the General Managers of the Endesa Foundation, the PwC Foundation and the Integra Foundation, María Malaxechevarría, Marta Colomina and Ana Muñoz de Dios, respectively, as well as Elena Pita, the Manager of the Biodiversity Foundation, an entity within the Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
Marta Colomina, General Manager of the PwC Foundation, a leader in the study and analysis of the social sphere, began the conversation with an overview of the importance of this sector characterised by being diverse with regard to its purposes and typology, by being highly fragmented, with the presence of numerous small organisations, and it is significant for the following reasons: It employs more than half a million people and mobilises more than one million volunteers in more than 300,000 organisations and represents 1.4 percent of Spain's GDP. In specific terms, corporate foundations provide more than €1,000 million in investment.
Ms Colomina also pointed out four major challenges for the present and future for the voluntary sector: Ensuring public trust and our reputation through transparency and the application of the highest ethical standards; financial sustainability to maintain operational capacity in times of economic fluctuation; the impact of artificial intelligence and innovation which enables the design of new solutions in an ever-changing world; and finally, highlighting the strengthening of alliances, a key factor when it comes to addressing major social problems. "We have to move towards more collaborative models, understand and accept that we walk together. It is not easy, but it is essential," Ms Colomina said.
Alliances, a key factor in the future of the voluntary sector
María Malaxechevarría, General Manager of the Endesa Foundation, also underlined the importance of this collaborative approach as one of the key factors that is already shaping the voluntary sector, as "it enables us to have a greater impact more efficiently." In fact, the current way of working in the Endesa Foundation "is based on the co-design and co-creation of projects by leading entities in each jurisdiction. As a corporate foundation we have economic strength, but it is also very important to have the experience and collaboration of our partners."
Ms Malaxechevarría also shared the Endesa Foundation's vision for the future, focussed on "maximising our social footprint on all the stakeholders with which we interact, our beneficiaries, our partners and our founding entity, of which we are an expression of its social commitment. And all this with anticipation and a vocation for service, as well as an efficient and professionalised management capable of measuring our impact."
One of these partners is precisely the Integra Foundation. The two entities have been jointly undertaking the "Changing Lives" programme for nine years, which seeks to provide employment for people in vulnerable situations. For the General Manager, Ms Ana Muñoz de Dios, "the challenges we face in the voluntary sector should really be seen as opportunities. The main challenge is digital transformation, the key to improving the efficiency of entities and being able to help more people with a sustainable model; and training beneficiaries to help them get more digital jobs. Other challenges include supporting companies in the development of their ESG social dimension, keeping stakeholders in mind in order to generate a greater social impact and be able to measure it."
According to Ms Colomina, the sector also has a challenge ahead of it: The need to manage the relative distancing of the new generations because "according to a report by the Botín Foundation, 8 out of 10 NGOs find it difficult to connect with younger people", a segment of the population that according to the General Manager of the PwC Foundation, requires communication models that are adapted to their channels. He also pointed out that "young people seek to get directly involved and demand an immediate impact."
The fact is that, for this new generation, environmental conservation is one of the issues that most concern them. In this regard, Elena Pita, Manager of the Biodiversity Foundation, pointed out that "the complexity of the environmental challenges we face requires the involvement of all players and this is essential on the road towards ecological transition. To achieve this, we work by establishing alliances and bridges with other administrations, with science and the academic sector, with the private sector and with society as a whole. Our mission is to contribute to reversing the loss of biodiversity and this requires promoting actions in several areas at the same time, to conserve healthy ecosystems, restore degraded ecosystems, promote the sustainable use of biodiversity and curb the causes of its deterioration."
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Endesa Foundation, 25 years of commitment to social development
The event highlighted the challenges and trends for the future and also acknowledged the present and achievements made by the voluntary sector, in which the Endesa Foundation has made a significant contribution. The Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, spoke in defence of his position that "in order to continue growing, society needs to be cohesive. I think we can learn some lessons from these 25 years of the Endesa Foundation. These are issues that will serve as a better guide towards our common future. We will be better and stronger if we do it together and if we do it with everyone."
The Chairman of Endesa and its Foundation, Juan Sánchez-Calero, pointed out that "the Foundation is a key element for Endesa to be able to provide support for society and define the social objectives of the founding entity." He also highlighted as an essential characteristic of the Endesa Foundation "the intelligence of humility to be able to establish alliances with others to reach more people, to be more efficient." A desire to improve things is an especially valid component in today's society." In his speech, the Chairman of the Teatro Real, Gregorio Marañón, highlighted the importance of culture in making progress towards a better world, a task in which the Endesa Foundation has been involved for 25 years and which, in the words of Mr Marañón, is an example of "how to do good and also succeed."
Today, the Endesa Foundation is developing around twenty projects through five lines of action: Education, Training for employment, Culture, Biodiversity and Corporate Volunteering "for which there were 60,000 beneficiaries last year", as pointed out by the CEO of Endesa, José Bogas. "The Foundation is a source of pride for all of us who are part of the company. It has evolved over the past 25 years, growing, adapting to the times, but always with a desire to serve, to respond to the most pressing social needs, to be part of progress towards a better life and a better world."
Over the course of its 25-year journey, the Endesa Foundation has allocated more than €100 million to improving people's lives and their environments. In the last decade, its educational programmes have reached more than 300,000 students and teachers in all training cycles, promoting STEM vocations and technological entrepreneurship, care and commitment to the environment, as well as knowledge of the world of energy and its responsible use. In the field of training for employment, nearly 42,000 vulnerable people have been trained, and in the field of culture, art has been made accessible to about 2,000 people. Furthermore, throughout its history the Endesa Foundation has provided illumination for more than 700 historical-artistic heritage monuments by means of efficient, sustainable lighting projects.
In recent years, the Endesa Foundation has embarked on two new areas. Firstly, since 2021 it has channelled the solidarity concerns of more than 2,000 employee volunteers of Endesa who have shown their commitment by contributing to the preservation of the environment and the improvement of the lives of nearly 40,000 people. Secondly, it has created the Biodiversity area, which aims to raise awareness and take care of the environment with projects carried out by experts in this field. For example, nature has been restored in 26 islands of biodiversity in seven green spaces in Madrid.