La France S'engage

What La France S'engage does

La France s'engage is a French foundation reconnue d'utilité publique that finances, labels, and supports social and environmental innovation projects across France. Founded in 2014 as a government initiative under President François Hollande and converted to an independent foundation in 2017, the organization runs an annual national competition through which hundreds of candidate structures are evaluated by regional juries, culminating in 15 laureates selected per year. Selected laureates receive the foundation's quality label, a financial endowment of €100,000 to €300,000 per winner (a combined €3 million annual pool), and a three-year personalized accompaniment program that includes skills-based volunteering from corporate partners, impact measurement support, and access to a peer network of 200+ prior laureates.

The foundation's core product set is structured as an integrated competition-and-cohort program: Le Concours (annual selection), Le Label (quality certification), Dotation Financière (financial endowment), and L'Accompagnement (three-year support including bootcamps, mentoring, and the Espace Lauréat digital portal). Supporting infrastructure includes a Salesforce-based CRM and Matomo Analytics for audience measurement; the foundation is not a technology company and core processes remain human-judgment-driven. The 2025 competition evaluated 441 candidate structures.

La France s'engage operates a non-profit funding model backed by a coalition of 15 corporate patrons (BNP Paribas, TotalEnergies, Capgemini, Groupe VYV, Groupe La Poste, Banque des Territoires, Andros, Groupe Artémis, La Banque Postale) and 5 public institutions (Agence Française de Développement, Banque des Territoires, Union Européenne FSE+, Ville de Marseille, ESS France / CRESS network), plus individual donations. The 2024 operating budget totaled €4.687 million, with 92% allocated to social missions and €649,000 in additional in-kind skills sponsorship valorized. Cumulatively since 2014, €67 million has been mobilized to support 219 social-economy structures active across 1,400 departmental locations in metropolitan France and overseas territories, reaching an estimated 10.6 million beneficiaries in 2023.

Name

La France S'engage

Legal name

Fondation la France s'engage

Website

https://www.fondationlafrancesengage.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

La France s'engage is a French foundation of public utility that runs an annual national competition to identify and support innovative social and environmental projects. Selected laureates receive a quality label, a €100k-€300k financial endowment, and three years of mentorship.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Innovation Foundation / Impact Philanthropy

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Donor Coordination & Aid Effectiveness (BPADAOAA), Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM)

Keywords

• Social innovation foundation
• Impact philanthropy
• Nonprofit grantmaking
• Social entrepreneurship support
• Community development funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Corporate Philanthropy/Patronage: The foundation is supported by a coalition of 15 corporate sponsors and 5 public institutions who provide financial contributions, skills sponsorship, and strategic governance support.
2. Donations: Individual donations are accepted through the foundation's website to support the mission of accelerating social innovation.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

La France s'engage is a nonprofit foundation that identifies, labels, and accelerates innovative social and environmental projects across France through an annual national competition. Selected laureates receive a recognized quality label, a financial endowment of 100,000€ to 300,000€, and a 3-year personalized accompaniment program that includes skills-based volunteering, impact measurement support, and access to a peer network of 200+ laureates.

Product overview

La France s'engage operates a unified platform combining a national competition, quality label, and 3-year accompaniment program for social innovators. The core offering consists of the annual Concours (competition), Le Label (quality certification), and L'Accompagnement (comprehensive support including financial endowment of 100,000€-300,000€ per winner, skills-based mentoring, and access to the laureates network). Supporting services include a dedicated winner portal (Espace Lauréat) and intensive bootcamp training for finalists.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Le Concours Annual national competition that selects the most innovative social and environmental projects through a multi-stage evaluation process involving regional juries with hundreds of volunteer examiners, a bootcamp for finalists, and a final pitch. Winners receive the foundation's label, financial endowment, and 3-year accompaniment.
• Le Label Quality label awarded to competition winners, recognized across France as a mark of social innovation excellence. The label provides credibility, visibility, and helps laureates attract partners and funding.
• L'Accompagnement (3 ans) Three-year personalized accompaniment program for laureates including financial endowment (100,000€ to 300,000€ per winner), skills-based mentoring (mécénat de compétences) from corporate partners, impact measurement support, bootcamp training, and access to a peer network of 200+ laureates.
• Espace Lauréat Dedicated online portal for competition winners providing access to resources, networking tools, and support services throughout the 3-year accompaniment period.

Quantifiable outcome

• Budget increase of +229% on average (x3.3) over three years for laureates
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers16 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

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Ville de MarseilleminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2024City of Marseille partnership launched in 2024 for unprecedented collaboration addressing territorial challenges through social innovation.
• ESS FrancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational federation of social economy organizations. ESS France collaborates with the foundation on overseas territories initiatives and ecosystem development.
• CRESS (Chambres Régionales d'Economie Sociale et Solidaire)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional chambers of social and solidarity economy present across all French regions. Serve as strategic relays for the foundation in territories, particularly overseas.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ashoka: Global pioneer in identifying and supporting leading social entrepreneurs through fellowship-style selection and long-term accompaniment. Most directly comparable peer: Ashoka operates an identical 'select fellows + provide label/credibility + multi-year support' model that La France s'engage's Concours + Label + Accompagnement framework mirrors.
• France Active: French network financing the social and solidarity economy (ESS), providing both financial and non-financial support to social enterprises. Directly comparable as a French-domiciled organization that selects and funds innovative social-purpose structures with similar territorial-coverage ambitions.

Emerging players

• Make.org: French civic-tech platform operating large-scale citizen consultations and partnering with corporate/institutional actors to drive social impact. Comparable as a French social-innovation intermediary that combines coalition-building with project acceleration, though operating a different (digital/participative) selection modality.
• Fondation pour la Nature et l'Homme: French environmental grantmaking foundation (formerly Fondation Nicolas Hulot). Comparable as a French public-utility foundation funding ecological transition projects with a label/credibility function, though narrowly focused on environmental themes whereas La France s'engage operates across all social-innovation verticals.
• Impact France: French national network of social enterprises and impact-driven businesses, partnering with La France s'engage on territorial ecosystem development. Comparable as a French ESS ecosystem intermediary, though focused on advocacy and network representation rather than grantmaking and laureate selection.

Broad incumbents

• Fondation de France: Largest grantmaking foundation in France, distributing funds across hundreds of themed sub-foundations. Comparable as a French foundation of public utility that channels corporate and individual philanthropy into social causes, though broader in scope and lacking the competition-driven laureate-selection mechanism.
• Fondation Apprentis d'Auteuil: Major French foundation focused on youth education, insertion professionnelle, and family support. Comparable as a long-standing French public-utility foundation that combines direct program operation with funding/institutional support for social-purpose structures in overlapping verticals (éducation, insertion).
• Secours Catholique / Fondation Caritas France: Major French Catholic social-aid organization operating a foundation arm. Comparable as a French foundation with a national territorial network supporting inclusion and poverty-relief initiatives, though operating direct programs rather than a competition-driven laureate-selection model.

Others

• Fondation SNCF: Corporate foundation of Groupe SNCF supporting solidarity and social-innovation projects. Comparable as a French corporate foundation that partners with La France s'engage and follows the same 'corporate philanthropy channeled into social innovation' structural pattern, though focused on SNCF-aligned themes.

Regional players

• Le French Impact: French government-led national label and ecosystem for social innovation, created to coordinate and amplify social-innovation actors in France. Comparable as a French-domiciled social-innovation label and ecosystem-builder operating in close partnership with La France s'engage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/lafrancesengage
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCAle0kkxo7PjXsOtEnw7B6A
• Facebookfacebook.com/laFrancesengage
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fondation-la-france-s-engage
• Instagraminstagram.com/lafrance.sengage

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 La France S'engage