Fundación Luis Vives

An independent organisation working to develop and empower the Spanish SOCIAL ACTION Third Sector

• Background: the Luis Vives Foundation was created in 1987, after the aggregation of several pre-existing foundations,  collecting the spirit of the distinguished Spanish Renaissance man Juan Luis Vives, who, already in the 16th century, promoted Social Action and fought for principles of justice, defence and protection of the people. 
• About us: the Foundation is managed by a steering board with the support of independent professionals, all committed to the development of the Third Sector and to social justice.
• Our role: the Foundation's overarching aim is to strenghten and empower the Spanish Social Action Third sector (voluntary and community groups, social enterprises, charities, cooperatives and mutuals) trying to improve partnership between the third sector and its stakeholders (government, enterprises, trade unions, universities, etc.

Mission

The mission of the Luis Vives Foundation is to develop and empower the Social Action Third Sector. 

In order to achieve this mission the Foundation has developed four activity lines:

• Information and awareness raising
• Training
• Technical assistance and advising
• Analysis, research and debate

Values

The Foundation is committed to being:

• ...Independent: setting its own agenda to accomplish its mission, independently from any public or private body.
• ...Open minded: at all management levels. The attitude towards its partners is receptive and cooperative, establishing relationships of mutual trust and always considering everyone’s interests.
• ...Innovative: continuously improving our services and adapting to changing needs; taking initiatives to lead procedures aimed at amobilizing actors and resources in benefit of the sector.
• ...Professional: our management style is ruled by principles of rigorousness, efficiency and excellence, and is guided by quality criteria.

Information and awareness raising

Over the years, the Foundation has developed a wide offer of information and awareness raising sources.

Website

• The Foundation's website: www.fundacionluisvives.org with 70,000 visits per month.
• The website co-managed with Chandra Foundation: www.solucionesong.org with 400,000 visits per month.

Weekly e-Newsletters

• EAPN Flash: news regarding European and Spanish social policies, with 10,000 subscribers.
• Solucionesong.org: with 110,000 subscribers.

Training

Wide training offer in not-for-profit organisations (NPO) management (accountancy, taxes, project management, quality, communication, volunteering, etc.):

• Degree in NPOs management, co-managed since 2000 with UNED (Spanish University of Long Distance Education): more than 1,200 students have enroled in this course.
• On-site Training: free courses aimed at social organisations, more than 600 students per year benefit from these courses.
• On-line Training: through the website Solucionesong.org.

Technical assistance and advising

The Foundation offers different services aimed at strengthening NPOs:

Technical assistance

Analysis, diagnosis and improvement proposals for organisational development.  Currently, four projects are being managed:

• Implementing quality systems
• Elaborating strategic plans
• Elaborating communication plans
• Strengthening organisations working with immigrants

Advising

Services aimed at solving NPOS' queries through:

• Our on-line Frequently Asked Questions Service managed through the website Solucionesong.org.
• Advice Service aimed at giving guidance on the creation of associations and foundations. 

Analysis, research and debate

The Foundation encourages initiatives aimed at creating and exchanging information about the sector:

• Spanish Review on the Third Sector (Revista Española del Tercer Sector): four-monthly scientific publication about the Third Sector.
• Forum on the Third Sector: thematic forum on the main challenges of the sector. A summary of the results and the main findings are spread through seminars and the printed collection “Debate Handbooks”.
• Seminars and workshops: aimed at fostering dialogue and exchange of information and good practice on Third Sector relevant matters (accountancy, communication in the European Union, social inclusion, etc.).

In 2008 this action line will be reinforced with new products, such as a publication on Corporate Social Responsibility and a Yearly Report on the situation of the Third Sector.

Cross-departmental services

In addition,  two crossed-departmental services support our four action lines:

• European affairs: in recent years, affairs related to European social policies have acquired a growing significance in the foundation’s activities.  Our aim is to include the European perspective to our four action lines in order to bridge bonds between Spanish NPOs and the European institutions.
• Publications: publishing is oriented to promoting quality and useful tools for the development of NPOs. Together with the Spanish Review on the Third Sector (RETS) and other studies, we publish three other collections: European Handbooks, Management Handbooks and Debate Handbooks). A new publication on Corporate Social Responsibility will appear in 2008 .

Partners...

Our main partners are:

• EAPN
• KPMG
• UNED
• CSIC
• Villafañe & Asociados

The Foundation is a member of:

• La Asociación Española de Fundaciones (Spanish Foundation Association)  
• European Foundation Centre. 
• El Observatorio de RSC. (Corporate Social Responsibility Observatory)

Who was Juan Luis Vives

Juan Luis Vives is considered the most important representative of humanism in Spain. He was born in Valencia, 1492, with a jewish background, and had to leave Spain most likely for this reason. He soon started travelling around Europe’s most important cities, completing his education, started at the University of Valencia.

Juan Luis Vives was a prestigious educator. He met and rub shoulders with the greatest characters of the time such as Erasmus of Rotterdam or Thomas More.

Many believe Juan Luis Vives was the first promoter of Social Action with his work "De subventione Pauperum", in which he analyzes the situation of marginalized collectives of the time, searching for solutions inside public institutions.

"No hay cosa, por fácil que sea, que no la haga difícil la mala gana". Juan Luis Vives (“There is nothing, as easy as it may be, not made difficult by reluctance”).

Translated by Elisa Raggio Quilez.