Terre & Fils

What Terre & Fils does

Terre & Fils is a French philanthropic foundation (Fondation Terre & Fils) sheltered under Fondation de France and founded by Jean-Sébastien Decaux, headquartered in Neuilly-sur-Seine. The foundation operates two programmatic axes — Diversité culturelle (Cultural Diversity) and Terre Sauvage pour le Vivant — supporting NGOs, artisans, journalists, and territorial associations through grants, residencies, and rural-transition programs. Active programs include the Résidences Terre Sauvage (residencies at three locations), Savoir-Faire grants (€20,000-€40,000 per project, 4-6 projects per year), the RESPIR territorial program (launched January 2024 with Fondation RTE, piloted in Felletin, Creuse), the Prix Terre Sauvage pour le Vivant (€200,000 endowment, launched 2026), and the Amplifier la réponse entrepreneuriale en ruralités program (2026-2028, 8 laureates, €30,000-€100,000 per year for 3 years).

The foundation's business model is patronage-funded rather than revenue-generating. Funding sources include (i) founder-linked mécénat from Jean-Sébastien Decaux, (ii) a 1% revenue contribution from Terre Sauvage Magazine and Galatée Films, (iii) the foundation's own endowment, and (iv) named mécènes for specific programs (Actes Sud, Compagnie Léa Nature, Deyrolle, Galerie Bettina, Servanty). The foundation does not develop or sell technology products; its "platform" is grant administration, partnership coordination, and program execution via a 3-person core team (Ariane Vitou, Eric de Kermel, Marion Lavaix) supported by a 5-member board.

The foundation distributes funding primarily through three channels: small individual grants (Savoir-Faire, Résidences), structured multi-year programs (Amplifier, RESPIR), and prize mechanisms (Prix Terre Sauvage). Go-to-market is ecosystem-mediated — the foundation sources grantees and co-funds through intermediary structures including the Collectif Territoires d'engagement (a 5-foundation coalition), Croix-Rouge française, Fabrique à initiatives de la Creuse, Fabrique des transitions, and Agence Phare. Customer segments span cultural NGOs, environmental and biodiversity associations, rural entrepreneurs, and artisan-skill preservation projects across France.

Name

Terre & Fils

Legal name

Fondation TERRE & FILS

Website

https://terreetfils.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Terre & Fils is a French philanthropic foundation sheltered under Fondation de France, operating two programmatic axes — Cultural Diversity and Terre Sauvage pour le Vivant — through grants, residencies, and rural-transition programs that support NGOs, artisans, journalists, and rural entrepreneurs across France.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Historic Preservation & Landmarks Conservation (BPAGAHAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music) (BPAGAHAB), DIY & Home Skills Workshops (Woodworking, Carpentry, Home Repair, Gardening) (THAJAKAI)

Keywords

• Grant funding programs
• Philanthropic foundation services
• Cultural heritage preservation
• Creative residency programs
• Rural development initiatives

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Mécénat and Patronage: The foundation's primary funding comes from corporate and individual patrons (mécènes), companies, and engaged persons who support the relationship between humans and nature. The prize endowment for the Prix Terre Sauvage pour le Vivant is primarily funded through these patronage relationships.
2. Corporate revenue share (1% of revenue): 1% of the revenue (chiffre d'affaires) of Terre Sauvage Média and Galatée Films companies is contributed to the foundation's endowment, providing a predictable ongoing funding stream tied to the media companies' commercial performance.
3. Foundations собственные средства (Own funds): The foundation's own funds (Fonds propres de la Fondation Terre & Fils) double the patrons' endowment for the Prix Terre Sauvage pour le Vivant, indicating significant endowment reserves that generate income for operations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Terre & Fils is a French philanthropic foundation that funds associations, NGOs, and general-interest institutions through grant programs (notably the annual €200,000 Prix Terre Sauvage pour le Vivant), operates one-month creative residencies for writers, philosophers, and artists at three French natural sites, and runs the RESPIR experimental program for rural territorial heritage revitalization piloted in Felletin, Creuse. It also co-produces editorial content (podcasts, studies) celebrating territorial savoir-faire, and participates in collective philanthropic initiatives on rural development and cultural heritage.

Product overview

Terre & Fils is a foundation with two main programmatic axes: Diversité Culturelle (Cultural Diversity) and Terre Sauvage pour le Vivant (Wild Earth for Living). The foundation operates as a funding and support organization rather than a commercial product company. Its offerings include grant programs (Prix Terre Sauvage pour le Vivant, 200,000€ annually), creative residencies at three French locations, the RESPIR experimental rural development program, content series (Tour de France des manufactures), and various project calls supporting local know-how and territorial development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Prix Terre Sauvage pour le Vivant Annual prize awarding €200,000 in financial endowments to individuals working within French associations, NGOs, or general interest institutions for initiatives with strong impact on knowledge, protection of natural environments, and public awareness, valuing their ability to produce accessible and mobilizing narratives about the living world.
• Résidences de création Terre Sauvage pour le Vivant One-month residency program for writers, philosophers, and artists with projects related to nature and the living world, hosted at three sites in France: Île de Radenec (Morbihan), Villa Carmignac/Porquerolles (Var), and Chalet 1864/Le Grand-Bornand (Haute-Savoie). Open application process with jury selection.
• Programme RESPIR Experimental engineering program co-financed with Fondation RTE that collaboratively identifies material and intangible heritage assets and creates shared understanding among local actors (elected officials, institutions, enterprises, associations, residents) for sustainable territorial development in rural France.
• Axe Diversité Culturelle — savoir-faire grants program Foundation axis supporting local skills and know-how as levers of cultural identity and social cohesion. Operates an annual call for projects to support actors engaged in (re)activating local savoir-faire for the benefit of their territory, funding 4–6 projects per year with grants of €20,000–€40,000 each.
• Tour de France des manufactures artisanales Podcast content series of 10 episodes produced in partnership with the association "De l'or dans les mains", highlighting 10 artisanal manufactures across France and their role in territorial dynamics, savoir-faire transmission, and cultural heritage.
• Amplifier la réponse entrepreneuriale en ruralités Three-year collective program (2026–2028) providing €30,000–€100,000 annually per laureate plus specific accompaniment for 8 laureates, designed to consolidate and amplify existing support devices for rural entrepreneurship in fragile French rural territories.

Quantifiable outcome

• 200,000€ prize endowment per year for nature storytelling projects in France
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• De l'or dans les mainscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation whose mission is to support the transmission of savoir-faire and change the narrative around manual trades. Jointly launched the Tour de France des manufactures artisanales in September, producing 10 podcast episodes covering 10 artisanal manufactures across France.
• Fondation de FrancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost foundation (abritante) of the Fondation Terre & Fils, providing institutional framework and governance. Also leads the 'Collectif Territoires d'engagement' action collective, which Terre & Fils joined in 2024 alongside 4 other foundations.
• Collectif Territoires d'engagement (Fondation de France)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollective action initiative of the Fondation de France bringing together 5 foundations (Daniel et Nina Carasso, JM Bruneau, Entreprendre, Terre & Fils, and Fondation de France) to revitalize territories by supporting cultural heritage, savoir-faire, and cooperative local projects.
• Fondation Daniel et Nina CarassominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-member of the Collectif Territoires d'engagement, working alongside Terre & Fils on territorial revitalization through cultural and heritage approaches.
• Fondation JM BruneauminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-member of the Collectif Territoires d'engagement.
• Fondation EntreprendrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-member of the Collectif Territoires d'engagement. Initiator of the 'Entreprendre la ruralité' and 'Amplifier la réponse entrepreneuriale en ruralités' programs, co-supported by Terre & Fils.
• Familles RuralesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-designed the 'Récits de savoir-faire' experiment in May 2022, accompanying 6 project leaders from the Familles Rurales network to develop cultural mediation devices linking territory to local savoir-faire, resulting in a collective graphic book.
• Institut National des Métiers d'Art (INMA) — Les ÉclaireursminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTerre & Fils supports the Éclaireurs project led by INMA, which aims to gather and structurate data on crafts and living heritage to understand their economic impact and support ecosystem needs across all territories.
• The Ink LinkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation supporting the 'Récits de savoir-faire' project with Familles Rurales, contributing to the creation of a collective graphic book documenting territorial savoir-faire.
• Entreprise et DécouverteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational association reference for tourism of savoir-faire. Terre & Fils supports its regional deployment as a strategic long-term lever for local development and cultural sensitization, especially for young people.
• Fabrique à initiatives de la CreuseminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPart of the RESPIR consortium, providing territory project accompaniment expertise for the pilot phase in Felletin, Creuse.
• Fabrique des transitionsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPart of the RESPIR consortium, contributing expertise in systemic change for the pilot program in Felletin.
• Association Patrimoniale InternationaleminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPart of the RESPIR consortium, providing patrimonialization expertise for the rural territory pilot in Felletin.
• DexterisminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPart of the RESPIR consortium, contributing expertise in local development through crafts and living heritage.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Fondation Entreprendre: Initiator of the 'Entreprendre la ruralité' and 'Amplifier la réponse entrepreneuriale en ruralités' programs that Terre & Fils co-funds. Comparable because it deploys multi-year, high-value grants (€30k-€100k/year) to entrepreneurship-support structures in rural France, using collective-action co-funding models with peer foundations.
• Fondation Carmignac: Corporate foundation of Carmignac, and a direct patron and residency-site host (Villa Carmignac on Porquerolles) for Terre & Fils. Comparable because it combines art, nature, and ocean conservation programming, operates an artist residency at a single prestige site, and funds French and international projects at the intersection of culture and biodiversity.
• Fondation Lemarchand: Foundation of Nature & Découvertes founder François Lemarchand, who sits on Terre & Fils' board. Comparable because it supports biodiversity protection, associative projects in France, and operates its own grant programs and jury structures targeting nature and education initiatives.
• Institut National des Métiers d'Art (INMA): French national institute dedicated to crafts and living heritage, partner on the Éclaireurs project with Terre & Fils. Comparable because it works on economic impact measurement of savoir-faire, supports transmission of craft skills, and operates data infrastructure on French craft enterprises.
• Fondation Daniel et Nina Carasso: Co-member with Terre & Fils in the Collectif Territoires d'engagement. Comparable because it funds sustainable food systems, artistic citizenship, and territorial development in France, with a similar grantmaking structure (open calls, juried selection, multi-year support) and a Spanish twin foundation operating cross-border.
• Fondation RTE: Foundation of the French electricity transmission grid operator, and core co-funder of the RESPIR program with Terre & Fils. Comparable because it funds rural cohesion, heritage and innovation projects in French rural territories, and co-develops multi-year experimental programs with peer foundations.

Broad incumbents

• Fondation de France: The umbrella philanthropic organization that shelters Terre & Fils (abritante). Comparable because it operates as France's largest philanthropic foundation aggregator, hosting hundreds of sheltered sub-foundations and deploying similar grantmaking, calls-for-projects, and collective action models across cultural heritage, environment, and social cohesion.
• Fondation Bettencourt Schueller: One of France's largest family foundations, supporting culture, education, research, and social cohesion. Comparable because it co-funded the Éclaireurs study on savoir-faire economic impact that Terre & Fils also supports, and operates similar grantmaking, prize, and recognition programs at French national scale.
• AG2R La Mondiale - Activités Sociales: French social protection group whose Activités Sociales arm co-funded 'Entreprendre la ruralité' with Terre & Fils. Comparable because it deploys social-action grants targeting rural populations, seniors, and fragile territories in France, often via collective initiatives with peer foundations.

Emerging players

• Fondation JM Bruneau: Co-member of the Collectif Territoires d'engagement with Terre & Fils. Comparable because it operates as a smaller sheltered sub-foundation focused on social and territorial engagement, with overlapping approaches to supporting local actors in underserved French territories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments1 record

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Frequently asked questions about Terre & Fils