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As donations of small amounts become fewer, solidarity rests more and more on wealthy households, whose role becomes central. Faced with this situation, four actions aim to preserve this mutual assistance.
Enlighten future donors
How can we encourage people who have sufficient resources to donate? Starting by getting around a major obstacle: the lack of information. Difficult to choose from the thousands of existing associations. Especially since “the same euro given can have up to a hundred times more impact if we have access to the right information”, insists Romain Barbe, co-founder of the “Mieux donne” association. His organization places priority emphasis on this question of the effectiveness of the donation. Making this data accessible to the general public allows it to direct donations towards the structures it deems most relevant in France and abroad. A selection is made in four main areas: global health, development, animal welfare and climate change.
It is possible to directly help Better Give or choose one of the many associations listed on their site. A cost/effectiveness ratio as well as proof of impact are provided for each structure and donation made. For example, two euros are enough for the Helen Keller International association to administer vitamin A supplements to a child for a year and protect them from the risk of blindness. Since its birth in 2024, Better Giving has already collected 2 million euros, directed towards hundreds of associations. Its co-founder hopes that other similar initiatives will emerge in France in order to strengthen the global impact of the donation.
mieuxdonner.org
Participate in a quantitative study
When she embarked on her project, Marine Quenin had “a dream: to be able to target the richest 1%, or 480,000 people in France”. This tiny part of the population, which nevertheless presents the greatest potential for impact on environmental and social issues, is often excluded from quantitative studies. With the creation of her association, “Mue”, the social entrepreneur is working to identify the obstacles and levers to ecological action by the wealthiest in order to “bring about their environmental transition”. To achieve this, it launched a vast quantitative study in the form of an online questionnaire, in partnership with researchers from major schools and universities. She hopes to collect at least 5,000 responses representative of this category of the population, before returning the results next October.
Strengthening family philanthropy
There are more than 5,800 foundations and endowment funds in France. A small part are family philanthropic structures, often unknown and isolated. Since 2012, the “Un esprit de famille” association has worked to bring them together to strengthen this culture of giving. “There is no school to set up your philanthropic foundation, you just have to get started,” summarizes Guénola Désveaux, general delegate of the structure. Our purpose is to share best practices. » A family spirit now supports 150 family foundations through discussion meetings or project co-financing.
unespritdefamille.org
Perpetuating the culture of giving despite crises
In their 2026 Solidarity Barometer, the Apprentis d’Auteuil are concerned about the prospects for donations in a very uncertain political and international climate: 51% of French people say they have already donated or intend to do so during the year, the lowest level since 2020. For its 160th anniversary, the association launched an awareness campaign last March which stages the fictitious trial of a 4-year-old child from a disadvantaged background for crimes he committed fourteen years later “in order to show the absurdity of social determinism”, explains Vanessa de Lauzainghein, director of communications and resources. Before warning: “We cannot slow down our action in these moments of crisis. »
apprentis-auteuil.org
