The "Cassa dei Risparmi di Forlì" Foundation is the historical and ideal heir to the "Cassa dei Risparmi di Forlì" established, on the initiative of some praiseworthy citizens, on the 3rd June 1839 by a Papal Rescript issued by Pope Gregory XVI. Its essential aim was to collect the savings fruit of family labour and stimulate the foresight of the more humble classes, while at the same time encouraging the nascent economic activities. It was recognized as a non-profit organization by Royal Decree on 17th March 1861, later it hived off the banking sector and gave it to the "Cassa dei Risparmi di Forlì" Public Limited Company by public deed dated 22nd June 1992, thus carrying out the shake-up plan approved by the Minister of Treasury Decree No 435745 of 2nd June 1992. The "Cassa dei Risparmi di Forlì" Foundation had been engaged in banking activities providing a service for the local economy and had supported -on occasion in cooperation with private or public institutions- the cultural development of the Forlì community and its neighbouring territory. The "Cassa dei Risparmi di Forlì" Foundation, in full obedience of current rules and regulations, pursues the objective to support with funds deriving from its property assets initiatives intended to promote the social, cultural and economic development of its historical territory of reference. That will be done in the way and manner regulated by its Charter and in continuation of its time-honoured tradition. To that purpose it must preserve, increase and carefully manage its assets, which are the fruit of the labour of the Forlì community and also of the diligence, self-sacrifice and allegiance of all those, men and women, who worked for the original banking institution.
Foundations were initiated in 1992 as a consequence of the "Amato" legislation, which promoted the transformation of banks into stock corporations and assigned the task to stimulate the socio-cultural development of their territories to "foundations" operating mainly through actions of a subsidiary nature. Only in 2003 a precise identity and the corresponding role were finalized, after several -sometimes contradictory- legislative attempts. That was the year the Constitutional Court ruled that the foundations' legal status has a private nature and they do enjoy full autonomy in statutory matters as well as in the conduct of their business, thus recognizing them as "parties to the organization of social liberties".
Such a definition effectively describes the fact that foundations have always been interlocutors both of the public system and of the community: a sort of middle course that, abiding by the laws in force, manages to provide with weight and substance non-profit activities inspired by basic values and criteria. The salient features of foundations are:
The "Cassa dei Risparmi di Forlì" Foundation is a private institution whose purposes concern the common good. As a consequence, its activities are aimed at the promotion of the individual and of a given territory. In practice, its function is performed mainly by financing own projects or granting contributions to third parties that apply for them. Such operations must necessarily concern relevant sectors or sectors approved following special procedures ensuring that the community and territory's opportunities and needs have been satisfactorily analysed. From that point of view and as a legacy of the bank it derives from, the Foundation is at the same time a tool and the synthesis of the territory's developmental policies with a solidarity slant and a subsidiary role in comparison with the Institutions it cooperates with to achieve common aims. To obtain good results and meet real needs, it is necessary to create synergies with the National Health Service, scientific research and cultural as well as economic promotion networks. To understand the reasons and expectations of the community in question, it is necessary to possess good listening skills and also transparency in the choice and implementation of projects, and also to keep up the necessary continuous flow of communications that reach the stake-holders through the dissemination of the programming and the Foundation's newsletters. Last but not least, since the Foundation can only pursue its aims thanks to the financial resources deriving from its assets, it is really crucial to manage them both cautiously and profitably. That is the task, requiring professionalism and passion, of the Foundation's Administrators and employees.
Shareholders' Meeting
Council
Board of Directors
Board of Auditors
Presidency
Secretariat
Staff
The first Charter drawn up for the "Cassa dei Risparmi di Forlì" Foundation was dated June 1992. Since then the Foundation's Charter has undergone several changes, due to a succession of new laws. The present edition was approved by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on 25th July 2005.
As provided in Art. IV, Heading I (General Principles) of the Charter, the Foundation's activities in pursuit of statutory purposes, to manage the property assets and proceed with the constitution of the foreseen bodies are controlled by special regulations. In particular, the regulations governing the ways to pursue statutory purposes define criteria for detecting and selecting projects or initiatives worth funding, so as to ensure:
The Foundation's primary objectives are the promotion of the common good and economic development of its traditional territory. The relevant criteria are:
In accordance with Law No 388 of 23/12/2000, the Forlì's Foundation has recently given new shape to its allocation of funds by specifying what constitutes relevant sectors: - the arts, cultural activities and goods - scientific and technological research - public, preventive and rehabilitative medicine - local development and public housing - voluntary work, philanthropy and charity work and what allowed sectors: - the care of the elderly - sports, education, and training - environment protection and enhancement - safe foods and high quality agriculture.
The presentation of the Foundation's balance sheet and programmatic documents is not meant just to fulfil the duty of transparency, but also to serve as a tool to allow participation by the territory, which can contribute ideas and experiences in the drawing up of the programme itself. Such attitude in the case of the activities aimed at a fair development of the territory is confirmed by the recent adoption of a mission statement alongside the balance sheet.
This document states the policy lines the Board of Directors has to follow when drawing up the Foundation's one-year working plan (i.e. the programmatic document for the current year). In the long-term programme the general strategy is formulated, objectives established, priorities defined and activities planned over a three-year period, and resources are allocated to the different sectors of intervention. The three-year plan for the activities is updated every year by the end of July.
The function of this document is to draw up the plan for the Foundation's activities in the next year, which is why it is the most important tool of its effective working. As a matter of fact, this document implements the general strategy and priorities defined in the long-term programmes. In particular, the Anticipatory Programmatic Document for the Year 2008 pursues the objectives the Foundation formulated in the Three-year Programme 2006-2008 according to the following principles:
Closely connected with the Long-term Programmes and the Anticipatory Programmatic Documents, the Balance of the Business Year and the Mission Statement fulfil the task not only of supplying records of the Foundation's economic management, but also - given its status as "organizer of the system of social liberties" - of checking the accomplishment of the statutory purposes. In other words, if and in what way the allocation of funds was consistent with the prime objective of developing the territory.
In addition to giving support and encouragement to events organized by others, the Foundation directly promotes numerous events in various cultural fields pertaining to the arts, music, literature, and science. Of great importance from that point of view are the "Meet the Author" festivals, where writers and essayists present their latest production, and the music festival entitled "La camera della Musica" with its season of concerts, not to forget the activities to promote knowledge of the valuable book collection called "Fondo Piancastelli".
FoCaRiFo usually provides students in the MIREES with a scholarship amounting to € 4,000.00 for coverage of 3rd and 4th instalment of second year tuition fees.
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