27/06/2024
A growing European movement for a community-driven energy transition
Financials
The ECF is a non-profit charitable foundation, registered in the Netherlands. In addition to European laws, we comply with the relevant US laws for public charities, Section 501(c)(3) and Section 170(c)(2)(B) of the US Internal Revenue Code, and we are considered by the US tax authorities as an organisation equivalent to a 501(c)(3) public charity.
The ECF’s financial statements meet the conditions for a Public Benefit Organisation (ANBI) under Dutch law. View our 2023 ANBI standard form here. To view our 2023 Egapro Index, click here.
To ensure that we operate independently and in alignment with our charitable purpose and values, our funding is subject to our Funding Acceptance Policy and Funder Due Diligence Process (overview below), as well as approval by our Funding Acceptance Committee.
Funding Acceptance Policy and Funder Due Diligence Process
Core fundraising principles
The ECF only accepts funding…
- …from sources that do not present a known threat that could result in damage to the organisation’s reputation;
- …from sources that enable it to operate independently and in alignment with its charitable purpose and values;
- …where it can meet the funder’s expectations and intent;
- …when it can explain why the gift was accepted;
- …if it is lawful to do so;
- …that has been reviewed in alignment with the ECF Funder Due Diligence Process.
Sources of funding
The ECF Funding Acceptance Policy specifies and defines sources of accepted and unaccepted funding. Accepted sources of funding do not constitute a fundraising strategy; the ECF may not actively pursue funding from all acceptable sources.
The following funding sources can be accepted by the ECF, subject to the funding meeting the necessary Funder Due Diligence Criteria: Private Foundations; Family Foundations; Corporate Foundations; Major Donors; Donor Advised Funds; Legacies and Gifts in Wills; Lotteries; Bilateral Funders*; Multilateral Funders*; Pooled Funds; Public Fundraising; Intangible Items; Tangible Items. The following funding sources are not accepted by the ECF: Commercial Entities; Corporate Social Responsibility Programmes; Anonymous Donations (where ECF does not know the identity of the donor).
The ECF Funding Acceptance Policy is supported by a comprehensive Funder Due Diligence Process, which is applied to all prospective new funding partners. Due diligence is periodically refreshed for existing partnerships.
*While the vast majority of the ECF’s funding comes from philanthropic sources, it receives a small amount of government funding (currently less than 1% of its annual budget) for technical assistance work carried out by the 2050 Pathways Platform.
Decision-making
All funding acceptance or rejection decisions are made by the Funding Acceptance Committee consisting of the Managing Director, the Executive Director for Strategic Partnerships, the Executive Director for Communications and the Chief Financial Officer. In exceptional circumstances the Supervisory Board is consulted to make decisions on rejecting or accepting funding.