Wendel Cares

In the 19th century, for example, Joséphine de Wendel, widow of François de Wendel, petitioned for the creation of a number of social services, unprecedented at the time. They included free care for the wounded and sick, food and basic necessities, and assistance with access to housing.

Wendel now perpetuates these charitable actions through sponsorship projects via its endowment fund, Wendel Cares, in order to professionalize the Group’s approach, which was previously steered by a Philanthropy Committee.

In early 2022, Wendel officially launched its endowment fund, called Wendel Cares. With Wendel Cares, Wendel wishes to give new impetus to its philanthropic approach by bringing together all of its philanthropic actions within a dedicated structure and by extending its scope of action to other themes in line with the societal challenges of our time.

Historically, Wendel’s corporate philanthropy activities have been developed around two pillars: education and culture, through long-term partnerships with the Wendel Center for Family Enterprise (Insead) since 1996 and the Centre Pompidou-Metz since 2010.

Since 2018, under the impetus of André François-Poncet, Wendel has extended its corporate philanthropy activities to solidarity projects.

Today, Wendel Cares aims to finance initiatives corresponding to one of the five areas in which it has chosen to commit itself. These projects are studied and then monitored by the fund’s Board of Directors, which is currently made up of nine Group employees.

The creation of Wendel Cares also represents a collaborative project for employees that will allow them to devote time, raise funds and rally around common projects.

The five areas of commitment of the endowment fund

Wendel Cares will continue Wendel’s “historical” philanthropic activities by supporting:

In order to best represent Wendel’s DNA and to ensure that as many employees as possible feel involved in this philanthropic approach, the Board of Directors of Wendel Cares is made up of nine members from Wendel’s various departments.

The Board’s mission is to study and follow up on projects submitted by employees or through responses to external calls for projects, and to ensure the proper management of the endowment fund.