11 minute read
About the Foundation
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“We’re a big foundation with a small organisation.” Research secretary Ylva Linderson in conversation with chairman Stefan Persson.
The Foundation’s chairman Stefan Persson and research secretary Ylva Linderson talk about the background to the Foundation and its work, and why philanthropy is important.
Why do you, as a family, want to run a charitable foundation?
The Foundation has its origins in an interest in entrepreneurship and how it can contribute to social change – through research, education and initiatives aimed at children and young people. Donating to good causes is another way to try to influence society in a positive direction. It’s also exciting to find out about all the different initiatives that aim to bring about positive change, more opportunities or better treatment, and the synergies that can arise from interdisciplinary collaboration. Actually, it seems more pertinent to ask the opposite question: why would you not want to support good causes, if you can? As a family, we’re very committed to social issues and feel a responsibility to contribute to society.
With its short decision paths, a foundation can sometimes act faster than other operators – allowing society to switch up a gear and bring about change more quickly and effectively when needed. But it must be seen as a complement; it can never replace public funding or the role of the state.
How do you know that a donation will really make a difference?
– Of course you can never know for sure, but our decisions are based on much more than just a gut feeling. In some areas we can draw on our own experience and expertise, while in others we have to rely partly on advice from knowledgeable people outside of our organisation. When the Foundation was set up, the first donations were made to bodies that were already well established. The very first donation went to Stockholm School of Economics, for example, based on our interest in entrepreneurship and societal change. The purpose was to promote education in entrepreneurship and thereby a resurgence of viable enterprises. We also knew that the School consistently offered a high quality of education. Many very capable people working at H&M, for example, had gained important skills at the School over the years – which they then brought with them into the company. That experience suggested that supporting the School would also result in good added value for society in general.
Right from the start it was important to take it seriously and build credibility, so it was particularly important to familiarise ourselves with a project or an organisation and to be firmly convinced of its strength. In the area of education it was natural for us to focus our support on entrepreneurship, but the research projects and projects for children and young people that were added later were also chosen based on massive personal commitment.
How do you assure the quality of the projects awarded grants? After all, supporting a poor quality initiative or an initiative with a dubious reputation could damage the Foundation’s reputation.
Ylva: – That’s important, of course. We carry out background checks and generally work with operators that are already well established.
You always have to be vigilant and make sure the recipients are genuine. We also follow up the projects to ensure that the funds go to the right place and have a useful effect.
Since the Foundation welcomes a broad spectrum of research applications, we have outside experts who review these. And those reviewers also come from very
different areas of research. Largely, they also have their own experience of applied research – or to put it simply, research for the purpose of solving a specific problem.
Does endeavouring to support the “right” projects mean that the Foundation never takes risks? Does it dare devote resources to new ideas?
Ylva: – It’s a matter of balance, of course. A new operator with a brand new initiative for, let’s say, improving young people’s access to the job market might need to build up their credibility one step at a time. But once that trust has been built up, a foundation is better able to bear the financial risk of testing out a new approach or a new activity in the real world than a public enterprise, for example.
On the research side, most ventures involve a certain degree of risk. That’s why it’s extra important to get opinions from various independent experts, and maybe also to work with other funding bodies in the evaluation, before deciding whether to fund it.
In recent years, perhaps as the Foundation has become more mature and grown in self-confidence, its research initiatives have become a little more open to risk. That can be seen both in the greater spread of subject areas receiving support and in the fact that the organisations receiving support have a wider geographical spread than previously. And of course you also have to take into account that it is in the risk that the greatest potential benefit can be found.
The Foundation’s short decision paths also make it easier to take a risk when situations arise suddenly – such as now during the pandemic, or when large numbers of refugees were coming to Sweden in 2015–2016. In the early stages of the pandemic we were also quick to donate funds for testing activities and support for children and young people – a group hit hard by the consequences of the pandemic.
If you turn the question around and look at it from the perspective of those receiving the funds, what does the donation mean to the recipients – other than what the money itself makes possible?
– The donation itself can be seen as a kind of seal of quality, which can also be a real benefit to the recipient. If someone has already demonstrated faith in an idea or a business model, it’s easier for others to be convinced. That can provide further opportunities for the recipient organisation to grow, which in turn means better results for both the recipient and the donor.
What will the Foundation look like in five or ten years’ time? Will you specialise more in a particular area, such as solving the mystery of diabetes?
– We want the Foundation to help make a difference. It’s important to us that the projects awarded grants result in greater knowledge and support that improves lives in society, both in general and for the individual. That can take place at many different levels, depending on the nature of the project and of the recipient. Obviously it would be fantastic if our donations could help solve the mystery of diabetes – a disease that is unfortunately affecting more and more people – or the mystery of any other disease. That kind of curiosity and the desire to contribute to groundbreaking research, innovative ideas and support that can make a crucial difference to wellbeing in our society are important drivers within the Foundation.
One thing that I would like to mention is that we are going to work on making the Foundation more visible – talking about what we do and what we want to achieve through our donations. Hopefully that will inspire others to give. This annual review is part of that work.
2020 turned out to be a very special year because of the pandemic. What was the Foundation’s most important task during the year?
– The most important thing was to give increased support to children and young people who had a hard time when schools and leisure activities were shut down. At an early stage we provided support to Bris and to Save the Children Sweden, who made admirable efforts to help and support children and young people in this difficult situation. We can see that the pandemic will affect the job market too. That’s why we’re also starting to support organisations such as Fryshuset, which started a new project during the year called Lampan (The Lamp) that will act as a kind of bridge between young people and employers with the aim of helping young people get into the world of work more easily.
Tell us a bit about how things work at the ErlingPersson Foundation.
Ylva: – You could say we’re a big foundation with a small organisation. Our decision paths are short, and the board is very engaged and monitors the projects
closely. The research secretary – that’s me – manages the day-to-day work. So, for example, I form a link between experts and the board, take part in philanthropic networks, communicate with all the Foundation’s stakeholders and do much more besides.
What’s your view of philanthropy, Stefan? It’s a relatively unknown concept in Sweden, but presumably it might inspire others if it became better known?
– I think that individuals who are engaged in philanthropy need to become a stronger voice in society and say more about what we do. It’s important that this comes across, because there are lots of foundations in Sweden that are doing a great deal. This comes across strongest when it’s the recipients’ voices that are heard, because that’s where there is the real potential to make a difference.
We enable change by supporting them with capital, but it’s also important that we ourselves make our foundation visible and increase knowledge about what we do. That’s why we’re going to step up our communication efforts. They’re very good at this in the US, so there’s a lot we can learn. As a foundation we ideally want to inspire more people to give, because it’s of great benefit to society. It’s also a great pleasure to be able to follow projects at close quarters as they make a difference in areas that are close to your heart.
Are there any projects or results that are particularly close to your heart, that you are particularly proud of?
– Entrepreneurship, of course – but I’m also very interested in research. Especially when it’s possible to turn it into something concrete that improves people’s lives. Diabetes, cancer; there are lots of areas.
At the same time, I’m very keen that the Foundation supports children, young people and their education. They are our future and they will be crucial in enabling us to continue to build the knowledge society. Mathematics is one of the areas that it’s important to support. It spans so many fields – research, tech, engineering and so on. It holds the key to many of our future innovations.
Are all the donations initiated by applications, or does the Foundation itself also find projects that it wants to contribute to? And if so, is that something you will be doing more actively in future?
– We’ll have to see. I’m not ruling anything out, but at the moment we assess incoming projects in our three main areas: scientific research, tuition and education, and children and young people.
You also have another foundation, the H&M Foundation, to which the family has donated large amounts of funding. What similarities and differences are there between the two foundations?
– The H&M Foundation works globally to accelerate positive development for people and the planet. Its work is closely linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and starts from an industry perspective, including through the instigation of the Global Change Award that highlights innovation and has developed into a kind of Nobel Prize in sustainable fashion.
The similarities between the foundations are that as a family we are highly committed to both: we’ve donated around SEK 4 billion to the Erling-Persson Foundation since 1999 and SEK 1.5 billion to the H&M Foundation since 2013.
A number of well-known foundations exist – some in Sweden, but especially internationally. What makes the Erling-Persson Foundation stand out in particular?
– I would probably say that the Foundation’s concentration on the three subject areas of research, entrepreneurship and education combined with its focus on children and young people is a unique mix that is based on the insight that knowledge improves lives. We also believe in the importance of interdisciplinary research. Drilling down into the complex links that are eventually going to control our lives and health demands the specialist knowledge of the individual researcher, but it’s clear that the most powerful contribution to change is often achieved when researchers in different subject areas combine their expertise.
All the areas that the Foundation focuses on are close to our hearts as a family, so it’s natural that we want to use the Foundation to drive change and make a difference in those areas. The Foundation is built upon Erling Persson’s entrepreneurship, which came to the fore most clearly in the establishment of H&M. It’s a tradition that we want to take further.
