What Fondation INSA does

Fondation INSA is a French partnership foundation (fondation partenariale) created in 2018 by the INSA schools to develop and promote the "humanist engineer" model of INSA. It serves the seven public engineering schools of the Groupe INSA network (Centre Val de Loire, Hauts-de-France, Lyon, Rennes, Rouen Normandie, Strasbourg, Toulouse), collectively educating roughly 20,000 students with 1,100+ teacher-researchers and 57 research laboratories. The foundation operates as the central mécénat vehicle for the network, coordinating five sheltered local foundations and two historical foundations (INSA Lyon, INSA Toulouse).

The foundation does not sell products or services. Its revenue model is entirely philanthropic: corporate mécénat (mécènes), where companies can deduct 60% of donations from corporate tax within the limit of 5 per thousand of annual turnover, and individual donations qualifying for 66% income tax deduction or 75% IFI deduction. It deploys these funds through four scholarship programs (Bourses d'Accueil VINCI for incoming scholarship holders, Bourses Réussite INSA for academic success, Bourses Exploit Sport INSA for high-level athletes, and INSA International Excellence Scholarships for foreign students), the national "Jeudi de l'éloquence" eloquence competition, two research chairs (FNTP environmental transition chair and EIFFAGE-supported Alliance Innovation for Humanity), gender-diversity initiatives, and the Entrepreneuriales INSA entrepreneurship program. As of year-end 2024, the foundation had distributed nearly 1,000 VINCI welcome scholarships of €500 since 2020, 262 Réussite INSA scholarships of €1,000 since 2023, and 48 Exploit Sport INSA scholarships averaging €2,000 since 2023.

Major corporate partners include VINCI (founding patron, renewed January 2024), EGIS (three-year €450,000 partnership signed December 2024, whose CEO Laurent Germain became President of the foundation in July 2024), FNTP (five-year €1.25M partnership for the environmental transition research chair from June 2023), EIFFAGE (major patron since 2022), and the Andurand endowment fund. The foundation is staffed by a small team of 8, headquartered at CDEFI, 44 Rue Cambronne, Paris 75015.

Name

Fondation INSA

Legal name

Fondation INSA

Website

https://fondation.groupe-insa.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fondation INSA is a French partnership foundation created in 2018 to support engineering education across the seven INSA schools (20,000 students). It funds scholarships, research chairs, and diversity programs through corporate mécénat and individual donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Foundation / Charitable Foundation for Engineering Education

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarships, Grants & Donor-Funded Awards Management (EDALAJAB), Scholarships, Grants & Education Benefits Administration (Financing-adjacent) (FSAKAEAM), University/Institutional Scholarships & Tuition Waivers (EDAIAOAG)

Keywords

• Engineering education philanthropy
• Student scholarship programs
• Corporate mécénat fundraising
• University research chairs
• Nonprofit foundation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Corporate philanthropy and patronage (mécénat): The foundation receives donations and support from corporate partners (mécènes) who fund scholarships, research chairs, and educational programs. Companies can deduct 60% of donations from their corporate tax within the limit of 5 per thousand of their annual turnover.
2. Individual donations: Individual donors contribute to support the foundation's mission. Donors receive tax deductions of 66% of their donation amount for income tax purposes (within 20% of taxable income), and 75% for IFI (wealth tax) purposes within 50,000 euros limit.

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fondation INSA is a partnership foundation that raises funds from corporate and individual donors to deploy scholarship programs, research chairs, an eloquence competition, and diversity initiatives benefiting engineering students across the seven INSA public schools. Its core activities include awarding scholarships (welcome, international excellence, social success, and high-level athlete scholarships), funding research chairs (FNTP environmental transition, Alliance Innovation for Humanity), and running programs such as "Le Jeudi de l'éloquence" and "Entrepreneuriales INSA."

Product overview

Fondation INSA operates as a partnership foundation supporting the INSA Group's humanist engineer model through multiple interconnected programs. The foundation offers four main scholarship programs: Bourses d'Accueil VINCI for incoming scholarship holders, INSA International Excellence Scholarship for international students, Bourses Réussite INSA for social/academic merit support, and Bourses Exploit Sport INSA for high-level athletes. Beyond scholarships, the foundation runs the national 'Jeudi de l'éloquence' eloquence competition, supports two major research chairs (FNTP environmental transition chair and Alliance Innovation for Humanity), initiatives for gender mix in engineering, and the Entrepreneuriales INSA entrepreneurship program. These programs work together to promote social openness, academic excellence, research impact, and humanist engineering values across the seven INSA schools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bourses d'Accueil VINCI (VINCI Welcome Scholarships) Welcome scholarships of €500 each for students who received scholarships during secondary education, supporting them to start their higher engineering education under optimal conditions. Funded by VINCI, the founding patron.
• INSA International Excellence Scholarship Excellence scholarships of €5,000 for international students joining INSA through international programs, double degrees, or Master's programs. Supported by EGIS.
• Bourses Réussite INSA Success scholarships of €1,000 awarded based on social criteria and academic merit to support INSA students facing exceptional expenses or living costs.
• Bourses Exploit Sport INSA Average €2,000 scholarships for high-level athlete students (Sportifs de Haut Niveau) enrolled in INSA programs, supporting balance between sports training and engineering studies. Funded by the Andurand endowment fund.
• Le Jeudi de l'éloquence National eloquence competition open to all INSA Group students, co-organized with VINCI and Usbek & Rica, promoting humanist engineer values through public speaking on societal topics.
• Chaire Recherche FNTP - Transition Environnementale Research chair on environmental transition in the public works sector, focused on decarbonized construction sites and sustainable infrastructure. Funded at €200,000 annually over five years by FNTP.
• Alliance Innovation for Humanity Alliance bringing together science and technology for inclusion, particularly for people with disabilities, supported by EIFFAGE and deployed through the Innovation for Humanity foundation.
• Féminisation des métiers de l'ingénierie Initiative to encourage gender mix in engineering professions, including awareness actions with FNTP regional federations, job dating, conferences on parity, and the 'Cordées de la Réussite' program.
• Entrepreneuriales INSA Entrepreneurship program supporting student innovation projects with €3,000 scholarships for impact-driven ventures, organized with EGIS support and hosted at various INSA campuses.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core/flagship, secondary/important and secondary/supporting.

• VINCIcore/flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerVINCI is the founding patron (mécène fondateur) of Fondation INSA since 2018. They support welcome scholarships for students from modest backgrounds, the national eloquence competition (Jeudi de l'éloquence), and local initiatives promoting diversity. The partnership was renewed for 3 years in January 2024. VINCI employs 222,397 collaborators in 120 countries and is a global leader in concessions and contracting.
• EGIScore/flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerEGIS signed a 3-year partnership worth 450,000 euros in December 2024, starting in 2025. Programs include 15 international excellence scholarships for foreign students, entrepreneurship events (Les Entrepreneuriales INSA), and a program to support feminization of engineering professions. Laurent Germain, CEO of EGIS, has been President of Fondation INSA since July 2024.
• FNTP (Fédération Nationale des Travaux Publics)core/flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership signed in May-June 2023 worth 1.25 million euros over 5 years. Includes a research chair on 'Environmental Transition in Public Works: towards decarbonized construction sites and sustainable infrastructure' with annual budget of 200,000 euros over 5 years. FNTP represents 8,000 companies and 310,000 employees. Also funds research theses and promotes engineering careers in public works, especially for women.
• EIFFAGEsecondary/importantStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor patron since 2022, supporting the Alliance Innovation for Humanity with Handicap International. Actions include financing theses on prosthetic solutions using recycled materials, developing courses on engineering in humanitarian sectors, and supporting diversity initiatives at INSA Lyon, Strasbourg, Rennes, and Toulouse. EIFFAGE has 72,500 employees across construction, real estate, civil engineering, and concessions.
• Fonds de Dotation Andurandsecondary/importantStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded by Pierre Andurand, INSA Toulouse graduate (class of 1999). Funds 180 success scholarships (Réussite INSA) and Exploit Sport INSA scholarships for high-level athletes across all 7 INSAs in 2023. Supports equality of chances and sports excellence programs. Pierre Andurand visited INSA Toulouse in February 2024 to meet scholarship recipients and high-level athletes preparing for the 2024 Olympics.
• Usbek & Ricasecondary/supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partner for the national eloquence competition (Jeudi de l'éloquence), co-organizing the event with VINCI and Fondation INSA across all seasons (2023-2026). Provides thematic frameworks for debate topics related to inclusion and societal issues.
• Handicap International (Humanité & Inclusion)secondary/importantStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Alliance Innovation for Humanity, hosted under the umbrella of Fondation INSA. Focuses on applying science and technology for inclusion of people with disabilities and responding to humanitarian challenges. Funded by EIFFAGE patronage, including Valentine Delbruel's thesis on 3D-printed orthopedic devices using recycled plastics.
• The Shift Projectsecondary/supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerThink tank that collaborated with the INSA Group and Fondation INSA to produce the 'Climat Sup INSA' reports, published in 2022, to integrate climate and decarbonation issues into engineering education.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Fondation de France: France's largest grantmaking foundation, operating broadly across causes including education. While much larger and not engineering-specific, it is a relevant institutional benchmark for French philanthropy operating models, governance, and mécénat fundraising practices.
• Fondation L'Oréal: Major corporate foundation running education and women-in-STEM programs (For Girls in Science). Comparable on the diversity-in-STEM mission axis but funded by a single corporate sponsor rather than a federated patron base.

Others

• Association Nationale des Fundraisers (FRANCE GENEROSITÉS): French umbrella organization for charitable fundraising, promoting mécénat and philanthropy best practices. Adjacent rather than directly comparable, but a key ecosystem body informing how French foundations operate and report.
• Fondation VINCI: Corporate philanthropy vehicle of VINCI — the same company that is Fondation INSA's founding patron. Relevant peer as both a funder and as a parallel corporate foundation channeling mécénat toward community/inclusion projects; useful benchmark for corporate-foundation structure.

Direct peers

• Fondation des Ponts ParisTech: Partnership foundation of École des Ponts ParisTech, another elite French engineering school. Highly comparable given the construction/infrastructure employer overlap with INSA's patron base (VINCI, EIFFAGE).
• Fondation CentraleSupélec: Foundation of another elite French engineering grande école (CentraleSupélec) running parallel scholarship, research-chair, and corporate-partnership programs. Closest comparable by school type, mission, and mécénat funding model.
• Fondation Mines ParisTech: Foundation supporting Mines ParisTech engineering school with scholarships, research chairs, and industry partnerships. Same template: grandes écoles engineering + corporate mécénat + diversity/scholarship programs.
• Fondation Université de Strasbourg: French university-affiliated foundation offering scholarships, research chairs, and donor-funded awards. Similar fundraising, scholarship-management, and donor-stewardship model to Fondation INSA, though for a comprehensive university rather than engineering schools.
• Fondation HEC: Partnership foundation of HEC Paris business school, similarly funded by corporate mécénat and individual donors to fund scholarships, research chairs, and diversity programs for elite French grande école students. Direct functional twin in the same French foundation/grants ecosystem.

Regional players

• Fondation EPFL: Philanthropic foundation of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, supporting scholarships and research at a leading European polytechnic. Comparable institutional template but operates in Switzerland rather than France.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fondation-insa

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Fondation INSA