Union des Blessés de la Face et de la Tête / Fondation des Gueules Cassées

What Union des Blessés de la Face et de la Tête / Fondation des Gueules Cassées does

Union des Blessés de la Face et de la Tête (UBFT), colloquially "Les Gueules Cassées," is a French non-profit association (loi 1901) founded on June 21, 1921 by approximately forty WWI soldiers with facial injuries, and recognized of public utility since February 25, 1927. Its mission is to provide mutual aid, social support, and advocacy to members wounded in the face or head — historically war veterans and now, following 2006 statutory widening, also firefighters, police, customs officers, and civilian terrorism victims injured in service. The organization operates through a 14-person headquarters team, a network of 37 volunteer regional and departmental delegates, and complementary facilities including the 40-hectare Domaine des Gueules Cassées resort (75 rooms) in La Valette-du-Var and a 113-bed EHPAD nursing home managed through wholly-owned subsidiary CYP SASU. A separate public utility foundation — Fondation des "Gueules Cassées," created in 2001 — funds medical research, equipment, and institutional partnerships in maxillofacial surgery and craniofacial trauma, including the Institut des Pathologies de la Face et de la Tête co-developed with Fondation Hôpital Saint-Joseph, and awards scientific prizes (2010, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2024).

Revenue derives primarily from dividends on UBFT's ~10.1% shareholding in La Française des Jeux (FDJ), augmented by €5/year membership dues, donations and legacies, EHPAD operations, and Domaine hospitality revenue. The FDJ relationship is structural and historical: UBFT played a decisive founding role in creating France's National Lottery (1933) and Loto (1976) via the GIE PRELO consortium, and Director General Olivier Roussel sits on FDJ's board. End of the emitter contract in September 2008 reduced UBFT resources by approximately 30%. The organization is governed by a board of 12–18 directors and a Bureau elected annually; Colonel (R) Eric Philipp was elected President on June 22, 2025. Forward initiatives include the Maison ATHOS psychosocial rehabilitation center (~€10M budget, opening 2026) for military personnel with PTSD, alongside ongoing grants, partnerships, and a quarterly magazine with ~5,000-copy circulation.

Name

Union des Blessés de la Face et de la Tête / Fondation des Gueules Cassées

Legal name

Union des Blessés de la Face et de la Tête (UBFT)

Website

https://gueules-cassees.asso.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1921

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UBFT (Les Gueules Cassées), founded 1921, is a French non-profit association supporting members wounded in the face or head — veterans, military, firefighters, police, customs, and terrorism victims — through social aid, a 113-bed EHPAD, a 40-hectare resort, and a 2001 foundation funding maxillofacial medical research and a 2026 PTSD rehabilitation center.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Veterans welfare and charitable social services

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Hospital & Medical Service Plans (6324), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) Sponsors (BPAGAKAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Global Health Research, Evidence & Technical Assistance Organizations (HLAJAKAN), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Veterans welfare services
• Maxillofacial medical research
• Social aid programs
• Public utility foundation
• Memorial duty services

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. La Française des Jeux (FDJ) Dividends: As a historical shareholder of FDJ (10.1% ownership), the organization receives dividends from the French national lottery operator. This was the primary revenue stream until the emitter contract ended in 2008, reducing resources by 30%.
2. Membership Dues: Annual membership fee set by the General Assembly. Since June 2024, the annual dues are €5 per member.
3. Donations and Legacies: As a recognized public utility organization (since 1927 for UBFT, 2001 for the Foundation), the organization can receive donations and legacies with prefecture approval. Note: the organization cannot issue tax receipts.
4. EHPAD and Resort Operations: Revenue from operating the EHPAD Résidence Colonel Picot (113 beds) managed by CYP SASU subsidiary, and the Domaine des Gueules Cassées hospitality and event facility at La Valette-du-Var.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

UBFT is a French non-profit association (loi 1901) founded in 1921 that provides social aid, mutual assistance, and member support to veterans, military personnel, firefighters, police, customs officers, and terrorism victims who have sustained facial or head injuries. The associated Fondation des "Gueules Cassées" (recognized of public utility in 2001) funds maxillofacial medical research, institutions, and awards. The organization also operates a hospitality resort (Domaine des Gueules Cassées in La Valette-du-Var) and a 113-bed EHPAD nursing home, and is the largest private shareholder in La Française des Jeux (FDJ), with 10.1% of capital generating dividend income used to fund its charitable missions.

Product overview

The Union des Blessés de la Face et de la Tête (UBFT) operates as a dual-entity organization comprising an association (founded 1921) and a public utility foundation (established 2001). The UBFT association provides social aid, memory preservation, and support services to facial-injured veterans and first responders, while its subsidiary CYP SASU operates an EHPAD nursing home. The Fondation des "Gueules Cassées" focuses on medical patronage, funding research and institutions in maxillofacial surgery through grants and annual prizes. The organization also operates hospitality facilities including the Domaine des Gueules Cassées resort in La Valette-du-Var and the upcoming Maison ATHOS rehabilitation center (opening 2026). A quarterly magazine and virtual museum serve communication and memory objectives. Resources derive primarily from historical FDJ (Française des Jeux) dividends and membership activities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Domaine des Gueules Cassées
• Résidence Colonel Picot (EHPAD)
• Maison ATHOS
• Le Magazine (UBFT Quarterly Magazine)
• Appels à Projets (Foundation Project Calls)
• Prix de la Fondation
• Social Aid to Members (Aides sociales aux membres)

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,000+ individual assistance actions funded in 2025 (€6M+ total)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Musée de la Grande Guerre du Pays de MeauxminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 June 2011UBFT signed a €250,000 mecenas partnership for the creation of the museum, inaugurated November 11, 2011. The museum represents WWI heritage with innovative scenography and serves educational purposes for new generations.
• Le Souvenir FrançaisminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAnnual financial support of €200,000 to Le Souvenir Français, an association recognized of public utility since 1906 that maintains military cemeteries and transmits memory to younger generations.
• Fondation Hôpital Saint-JosephcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated the Institut des Pathologies de la Face et de la Tête in 2001 in partnership, the first integrated maxillofacial center in a head/neck/nervous system pole. UBFT funded a 3 Tesla MRI in 2010 for stroke treatment.
• Fédération Française des Associations de Chiens Guides d'AveuglesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerUBFT sponsored 56 guide dogs over recent years for a total of €840,000 to support visually impaired persons.
• Brigade de Sapeurs-Pompiers de Paris (BSPP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership includes social support for injured firefighters, equipment of rescue vehicles with multi-parametric monitors to improve diagnosis and survival chances for seriously injured persons, and transmission of Brigade values to youth.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Wounded Warrior Project: US nonprofit serving post-9/11 wounded veterans with physical/mental injuries and their families. Closest international functional analogue to UBFT in mission scope, program structure, and brand-led fundraising.
• Help for Heroes: UK charity supporting wounded military personnel and veterans, including psychological rehabilitation programs. Comparable in the modern-wounded focus that UBFT is repositioning toward via ATHOS.
• Fondation des Blessés de l'Encéphale et de la Moelle Épinière: French foundation supporting victims of brain and spinal-cord injuries. Comparable as a peer French health-focused foundation providing grants and direct aid to trauma patients, with similar grantmaking and advocacy scope.
• Bleuet de France: France's official national charity for wounded veterans, war widows, and orphans. Comparable to UBFT as a French public-utility association providing direct social aid to wounded service members; UBFT's site links directly to Bleuet de France.
• Fédération Nationale André Maginot: French veterans federation historically associated with UBFT's former president Patrick Remm (Président délégué). Comparable as a peer French association supporting veterans' pensions, social aid, and advocacy.
• Institution Nationale des Invalides: French state institution delivering care, prosthetics, and rehabilitation for severely disabled veterans. UBFT partners with the INI on sensory-cognitive and dental implantology services; comparable beneficiary population.
• Le Souvenir Français: Public-utility French association (since 1906) that maintains military cemeteries and transmits war memory. UBFT is an annual mécène (€200K) to Le Souvenir Français; both organizations occupy the same 'devoir de mémoire' ecosystem in France.

Broad incumbents

• Royal British Legion: UK's largest veterans charity, providing financial, social, and housing support. Comparable as a long-established mass-membership organization with broad welfare services, though much larger in scale than UBFT.
• Fondation de France: France's leading philanthropic umbrella organization that manages donor-advised funds and distributes grants to thousands of projects. Broader incumbent that intermediates some of the same philanthropic flows as UBFT's foundation arm.
• Office National des Anciens Combattants et Victimes de Guerre (ONACVG): French state agency under the Ministry of Defense providing broad veteran welfare and remembrance services nationwide. The public-sector incumbent covering overlapping beneficiary support, pensions, and memory programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/domaine.desgueulescassees
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/les-gueules-cass%C3%A9es-ubft-fgc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Union des Blessés de la Face et de la Tête / Fondation des Gueules Cassées