(Finance) – Vincenzo Marinesevice-president of Confindustria, is the new President of the Venice Foundation. He was appointed by the General Council of the Institution, as part of a session which also saw the approval of the 2023 Final Budget and the appointment of three Administrative and General Councillors. They are Anna Saetta, deputy rector of the Iuav University of Venice, on the General Council, and, for the Board of Directors, Agar Brugiavini, professor of Political Economy at Ca’ Foscari, and the former prefect of Venice Carlo Boffi Farsetti ( the latter were already present in the Foundation as General Councillors).
In detail, the 2023 Final Budget closed with an increase in assets net of the Foundation of approximately 900 thousand euros, going from 364.2 to 365.1 million. The operating surplus amounts to 4.5 million euros, with an increase of 4.4% compared to the forecasts of the DPP (Programmatic Forecast Document) and of 74.6% compared to 2022.
Distributions for the territory approved in 2023 exceeded 5.43 million euros. In particular, 34% went to support the Education, instruction and training sector, 29% that of Art, cultural activities and heritage, 24% other sectors relevant for the social and economic development of the metropolitan area and almost 13% went to scientific and technological research. As regards the delivery methods, 41% of the interventions were carried out directly by the Venice Foundation or through the M9 Foundation28% in partnership with other entities, while the method of contributions and donations involved 31% of the interventions.
The beneficiaries of the Foundation’s disbursement activity were subjects of primary importance in the Venetian fabric such as the Teatro La Fenice Foundation, the two Universities, the Teatro Stabile del Veneto – Teatro Nazionale, which received contributions of 700,000, 500,000 and 100,000 euros respectively . The Culture Call confirmed, supported in 2023 with 260,000 euros, as well as the disbursement to Community Foundations, to which 140,000 euros went. Support for welfare and education initiatives has been strengthened in 2023, starting from the 637 thousand euros allocated to the Fund for the Digital Republic, up to the 530 thousand euros allocated to the Fund to combat child educational poverty and the 112 thousand euros in favor of the Foundation with the South. The initiatives to support training, social issues, innovation and sustainability also include contributions to the Venice Gardens Foundation Onlus, MIT DesignX Venice, the Venice World Capital of Sustainability Foundation, to #nonsolocompiti, to Entrepreneur You Are Not Alone, for a total of 175,000 euros. The Venice Foundation’s disbursement exposure to the M9 Foundation remains at 1.9 million.
As regards the item relating to costs, net of some non-recurring cost items connected to the sale of the Rio Novo property and the change of the organisation’s headquarters, operating costs amount to approximately 2.79 million euros with a reduction of 3.1% compared to the final balance of the previous year.
“I thank the General Council for the trust placed in me with the appointment as President – is the first comment of the newly elected Vincenzo Marinese – a prestigious commitment which I intend to honor through the promotion of interventions that always have people, culture and the development of the Venetian territory at their centre. I am thinking in particular of three lines of action that are strategic for me, namely sharing, dialogue as an element of aggregation, identity as a value capable of best expressing what the Foundation actually is. What the hell the sign of a future made of participation at all levels. My thanks obviously also go to Professor Michele Bugliesi, from whom I collect the legacy of a solid Foundation which I wish to be recognized more and more every day as a catalyst for a new system of integrated, sustainable and regenerative relationships within the city and beyond. A true Venice System of which the Foundation will be an increasingly authoritative and recognized fulcrum”.
“I congratulate Vincenzo Marinese – he declares Michele Bugliesi, outgoing president – for the appointment as new president of a Foundation which, thanks to his leadership, will not fail to provide further satisfaction. The budget just approved is, in this sense, a good omen, with a new increase in net assets and the confirmed trend towards cost contraction. I am sure that with the new presidency the Venice Foundation will consolidate this virtuous path, enriching it with new stimuli for innovative interventions”.