Organization
Organization Achmea Foundation
Achmea Foundation’s communication
In 2019 we set ourselves the goal of raising awareness of the Achmea Foundation internally (i.e. within Achmea) to such an extent that people would have a positive feeling about the Achmea Foundation. We also set ourselves the goal of raising the willingness to contribute to the Foundation’s activities.
Communication on Achmeanet
In order to achieve these goals we planned various communication activities throughout the year. During the course of the year we regularly posted items on Achmeanet, which is Achmea’s intranet service. We also created a central landing page on Achmeanet, providing more information about the Foundation.
This is how the Achmea Foundation works
The Achmea Foundation’s activities are clustered into four programmes. Each programme has its own approach and is implemented in cooperation with partners.
Impact Fund
The Impact Fund issues an annual Call for Proposals to relevant partners. A selection committee has been established with the specific task of choosing new applications. The committee consists of four Board members and the director and social business developer from the Foundation’s administrative office. In 2019, 55 proposals were submitted, 40 of which were aligned with our qualitative framework. Nine of those proposals progressed to the second round of the selection process and ultimately three of these applications were granted by the Board. The 2020 Call has been refined and simplified in a number of respects.
Financial position
In 2019 the Foundation had a positive result of €318,000 (2018: €-2,296,000) as a consequence of the higher contribution from Achmea B.V., the return on invested equity capital and a lower amount committed to initiatives. In 2019 a total of €2,106,000 was committed to eight initiatives (2018: total of €2,897,000 committed to nine initiatives) and in 2019 two new loans were granted for a total amount of €205,000 (2018: €332,000).
Achmea Foundation asset management
The Foundation’s asset management strategy is a socially responsible investment strategy with a defensive risk profile. The Foundation invests the available assets in impactful ways. It excludes companies whose activities are incompatible with the social role of Achmea and the Achmea Foundation (for instance companies in the tobacco and coal industries). In 2015 the decision was taken to go a step further. Since then the investment portfolio has consisted solely of companies that share our objectives. We also decide on a selection of indicators to measure the positive impact of an investment on people and society, taking into account the background and objectives of the Achmea Foundation. These indicators are used to select companies to invest in which, compared with their direct competitors, deliver a positive contribution. This policy also applied to the Foundation in 2019. The strategic asset allocation has been set at 80% fixed-income securities and 20% marketable securities, whereby the fixed-income securities must include at least 50% government bonds. No investments are made in warrants, options and futures, while derivatives positions are authorised only to hedge the exchange risk arising from investments in fixed-income securities and marketable securities. In this way the investment portfolio contributes to the Foundation’s work not only in financial terms, but also in terms of substance.
Risks and uncertainties
Risk profile
The risk profile expresses the key strategic, operational, financial, legislative and reporting risks to which the Achmea Foundation is exposed.
The strategic risk is related to the objectives of the Foundation. It is the risk of not being able to make a sustainable contribution to improving the quality of the lives of people from disadvantaged social-economic backgrounds.
Budget
The management and administration expenses are borne by the Foundation. The support staff are employees of Achmea Interne Diensten N.V. and covered by the relevant legal status regulations of Achmea Interne Diensten N.V.
The Achmea Foundation Board and administrative office
The Achmea Foundation is an independent Dutch foundation (stichting) funded by Achmea. The Board, comprised of seven members, one of whom is an advisory member, is supported by an operational administrative office whose director reports to the Board. The staff of the administrative office are employed by Achmea. The Board feels an affinity with core values, principles, standards and recommendations recorded in the Governance Code that has been developed for asset management funds by the SBF (collaborative federation of philanthropic organisations).
