L'ENTREPRISE DES POSSIBLES

What L'ENTREPRISE DES POSSIBLES does

L'Entreprise des Possibles is a French fonds de dotation (charitable endowment fund) founded in January 2019 and headquartered in Lyon, operating as a collective of 175 regional companies that pool five categories of resources — financial patronage, paid-leave donations (don de congés payés with employer matching), in-kind donations, skills sponsorship (mécénat de compétences), and real estate provision — and redistributes them to 47 partner associations working with homeless and precariously housed populations across the Lyon metropolitan area. The organization's signature mechanism is the paid-leave donation scheme, which has generated €3M of the €8.5M cumulative redistribution since 2019 (representing approximately 50% of 2023 redistribution), with ~70 member companies participating and ~1,500 employees registered on its digital volunteer platform. Operational delivery combines direct financial grants, real estate intermediation (30 operations completed by end-2023, typically 5-24 month durations with EDP acting as guarantor), equipment provisioning, and volunteer mobilization (1,000+ completed missions), targeting beneficiaries including women with children, youth aged 18-30, single men, and families in housing precarity.

The organization is led by President-Founder Alain Mérieux (Institut Mérieux) and President Thierry de La Tour d'Artaise (Groupe SEB), with Étienne Piquet-Gauthier as Director General and an operational team of approximately 10 FTEs (supplemented by skills sponsorship from bioMérieux and EDF). Governance includes a Board of Directors with representatives from MEDEF Lyon Rhône, CPME du Rhône, CCI Lyon Métropole, EDF, Merck, Evolem, Boccard, and Groupe Mazaud, plus Secretary Jean-François Barral (Huttopia) and Treasurer Pascal Gustin (Algoé). The collective is licensed by prefectoral order to conduct public donation appeals, was integrated into the Préféfecture de Lyon's crisis unit during the 2022 Ukrainian refugee response, and collaborates with the Métropole de Lyon on real estate projects.

Key supported projects include Zone Libre (22-person shelter, Villeurbanne), La Halte des Femmes (25 housing units for mothers), Les Grandes Voisines (490-person shelter, Francheville), Centre Effet Mères (55-person shelter), Remorquage (62-person converted-trailer shelter, Bron), La Résidence Garibaldi (25 youth apartments, operational 2025), Vroom Shower (mobile hygiene trucks, 2,500+ showers/year), and La Maison des Femmes (hospital-based resource center, 500 women served annually). As of 2024, the organization has supported 100+ association projects and helped 26,000 people since inception.

Name

L'ENTREPRISE DES POSSIBLES

Legal name

L'Entreprise des Possibles

Website

https://lentreprisedespossibles.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

L'Entreprise des Possibles is a Lyon-based charitable endowment fund that pools financial, paid-leave, real estate, in-kind, and skills-based contributions from 175 member companies and redistributes them to 47 partner associations supporting homeless and precariously housed individuals in the Lyon metropolitan area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Philanthropic Collective (Charitable Endowment Fund)

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Federated Giving Organizations (e.g., United Way-type) (BPAGAKAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE), Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) Sponsors (BPAGAKAF), Charitable Giving & Philanthropic Trust Advisory (FSAEAKAH)

Keywords

• Corporate philanthropy collective
• Paid leave donations
• Homeless shelter support
• Charitable endowment fund
• Skills sponsorship

Headquarters

HQ city

Lyon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Don de jours de repos (Paid Leave Donations): The core revenue mechanism is collecting donated paid leave days (vacation, RTT) from employees of member companies. These donations are matched (abondés) by the employers. This represented 50% of total redistribution in 2023 and has generated 3 million euros since 2019. Approximately 70 companies participate in this scheme.
2. Mécénat financier (Financial Patronage): Companies make direct financial donations to the endowment fund. This provides agility and reactivity for project acceleration, emergency shelter openings, and renovation work on donated real estate.
3. Mécénat en nature (In-kind Donations): Companies donate equipment and materials (boilers, cleaning products, furniture, appliances) to furnish association sites and homeless shelters.
4. Mécénat de compétences (Skills Sponsorship): Companies provide employees (part-time or full-time, for determined periods) to work within the organization, contributing expertise in areas like communications, finance, and project management.
5. Mise à disposition de biens immobiliers (Real Estate Provision): Companies donate or provide temporary access to land, offices, commercial spaces, industrial buildings, or warehouses for use as temporary shelters. Duration typically ranges from 5 to 24 months, with the organization acting as guarantor.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

L'Entreprise des Possibles is a French fonds de dotation (charitable endowment fund) that channels corporate resources from a collective of 175 Lyon-region companies toward 47 partner associations fighting homelessness. Its core offering combines five patronage mechanisms — paid leave donations matched by employers, financial patronage, in-kind donations, skills sponsorship, and temporary real estate provision — coordinated through a digital volunteering platform where member company employees can sign up for missions proposed by partner associations.

Product overview

L'Entreprise des Possibles operates as a collective funding and coordination platform that channels corporate resources (financial donations, paid leave donations, real estate, skilled volunteers) toward associative projects fighting homelessness in the Lyon metropolitan area. The core offering consists of five interconnected services: a digital volunteer platform for mission management, an innovative paid leave donation scheme (the 'engine' of the model), financial/in-kind sponsorship, real estate provision for temporary accommodation projects, and skills-based volunteering. These services are delivered through a network of 175 member companies to support 47 partner associations managing projects across housing, shelter, youth support, and women/children assistance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Don de Jours de Repos (Paid Leave Donations) An innovative donation mechanism where employees of member companies donate paid leave days (vacation, RTT), which are then matched by their employers to fund associative projects supporting homeless people in the Lyon region. Approximately 70 companies participate, generating 3 million euros since 2019.
• Mécénat Financier et en Nature (Financial and In-kind Patronage) Financial and in-kind sponsorship services allowing companies to make tax-deductible donations of cash, equipment (boilers, cleaning products, furniture, appliances), or materials directed to specific associative projects, providing agility for project acceleration, emergency shelter openings, and renovation work.
• Mise à Disposition de Biens Immobiliers (Real Estate Provision) A service that facilitates the temporary provision of company-owned real estate (land, offices, commercial spaces, industrial buildings, warehouses) for use as homeless shelters and accommodation sites, with the collective acting as guarantor for usage duration typically ranging from 5 to 24 months. Thirty real estate operations were completed by end of 2023.
• Mécénat de Compétences (Skills Sponsorship) Skills sponsorship program where member companies temporarily assign employees (part-time or full-time, for determined periods) to work within L'Entreprise des Possibles or partner associations, contributing expertise in communications, finance, administration, and project management.
• Plateforme Numérique de Bénévolat (Digital Volunteering Platform) A digital platform that allows employee members to access and sign up for volunteer missions offered by partner associations, facilitating engagement and coordination of solidarity initiatives. Approximately 1,500 employees are registered and over 1,000 volunteering missions have been completed.

Quantifiable outcome

• 26,000 people helped since 2019
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 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

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Institut MérieuxcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Co-founder of the collective along with 24 other founding companies. Alain Mérieux, President-Founder of Institut Mérieux, presented L'Entreprise des Possibles at the CPME Fête de l'Entreprise in January 2019. Institut Mérieux provides skills sponsorship for administration and finances through bioMérieux.
• Groupe SEBcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019CEO Thierry de La Tour d'Artaise serves as President of L'Entreprise des Possibles since 2024. Provides skills sponsorship through Brigitte de Valonne from Groupe SEB.
• HuttopiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Founding member of the collective. Jean-François Barral serves as Secretary on the Board of Directors.
• EDFcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Provides skills sponsorship for communications through Christelle Champion. Isabelle Védrine-André serves on the Board of Directors.
• AlyneacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation partner operating the Zone Libre project (22-person shelter in Villeurbanne) and La Halte des Femmes center (25 housing units for mothers without homes).
• Habitat et Humanisme RhônecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation partner operating Decombrousse center (50-place shelter for women with children) and other housing projects.
• Foyer Notre-Dame des Sans-AbricoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation partner operating Les Grandes Voisines (490-person shelter in Francheville) and Centre Effet Mères (55-person shelter in Lyon presqu'île).
• Fondation Armée du SalutcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation partner operating Remorquage (62-person shelter from converted trailers in Bron) and co-operating Les Grandes Voisines.
• Fondation AraliscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation partner operating La Résidence Garibaldi (25 apartments for youth 18-30 in precarity near Part-Dieu, operational from 2025).
• Préfecture de Lyon / Government of LyoncoreOthersIntegrated into the crisis unit of the Préfecture de Lyon during the Ukrainian refugee crisis in 2022. Licensed as a public generosity collection fund by prefectoral decree.
• Métropole de LyoncoreOthersCollaborates with the metropolitan government to welcome and implement real estate projects for temporary shelter on municipal territory.
• MEDEF Lyon RhônecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPhilippe Guérand serves on the Board of Directors. MEDEF facilitates recruitment of new member companies to the collective.
• CPME du RhônecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFranck Morize serves on the Board of Directors. CPME helped launch the collective at the Fête de l'Entreprise in January 2019.
• CCI Lyon Métropole Saint-Etienne RoannecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPhilippe Valentin serves on the Board of Directors, facilitating connections with the broader business community.
• Ummanitaire ConceptsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation partner operating Vroom Shower (3 mobile shower trucks providing 2,500 showers/year, 4th truck planned for 2025 to reach 5,000 additional showers).
• Fondation HCL (Hospices Civils de Lyon)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation partner operating La Maison des Femmes (resource center for violence victims within Edouard Herriot hospital, serving 500 women annually).

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Fondation des Apprentis d'Auteuil: Major French youth-focused foundation supporting vulnerable children and families through housing, education, and integration programs. Comparable as a corporate-supported grantmaking and service organization with overlapping beneficiary populations (youth in precarious housing situations, including those EDP supports via Résidence Garibaldi).
• Emmaüs France: National federation of Emmaüs groups addressing exclusion and homelessness through accommodation and economic activity programs. Comparable in beneficiary focus; operates across France and integrates solidarity economy with housing services.
• Croix-Rouge française: One of France's largest humanitarian organizations with significant homelessness, emergency shelter, and social reintegration activities. Comparable in serving the same beneficiary population and partnering with public authorities, but with a much broader humanitarian scope and federal structure.
• Secours Catholique - Caritas France: National Catholic charity focused on poverty and exclusion, with strong presence in homelessness support. Operates a federation model similar to EDP, but with individual donors and parish networks rather than corporate members, and a national scope.
• Fondation de France: France's largest philanthropic umbrella organization, distributing funds from individual and corporate donors to thousands of nonprofits. Directly comparable to L'Entreprise des Possibles as a grantmaking intermediary, though operating nationally and across all causes rather than focused on a single issue/region.
• Fondation Abbé Pierre: Major French nonprofit focused on housing exclusion and homelessness advocacy. Comparable in mission and beneficiary population, but operates nationally and combines direct program delivery with policy advocacy rather than the federated corporate giving model.

Emerging players

• Fondation Vinci pour la Cité: Corporate foundation of VINCI group funding social inclusion projects, particularly around housing and professional reintegration. Comparable as a corporate-led philanthropic vehicle tackling homelessness; differs in being a single-company foundation rather than a multi-company collective.

Others

• Dons en Confiance: French charity regulator and umbrella organization that labels and supports fundraising nonprofits. Not a direct peer, but a relevant ecosystem actor — EDP could plausibly seek this label to strengthen corporate donor confidence as it scales.

Direct peers

• Habitat et Humanisme: France-wide movement providing housing for people in precarious situations. Comparable in mission focus (homelessness/housing) and partner-network model; L'Entreprise des Possibles actually funds Habitat et Humanisme Rhône, but Habitat et Humanisme itself operates similar pooling of corporate and individual resources to fight the same social issue.
• United Way France: French affiliate of the United Way global federated-giving network, pooling corporate donations to address local social needs. Direct structural peer to L'Entreprise des Possibles, applying the same federated corporate giving model in France, though with multiple regional chapters rather than single-city focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/l-entreprise-des-possibles

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles22 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about L'ENTREPRISE DES POSSIBLES