KBFUS - Helping U.S. donors achieve their philanthropic goals in Europe and Africa

KBFUS helps individuals, corporations and foundations achieve their philanthropic goals in Europe and Africa. A Signature Program provides donors with a customized solution to manage a personalized giving strategy in Europe or an exchange program between the United States and Europe.

Personalized giving strategies usually involve the selection of grantees or award winners through a request for proposals covering one or more European countries. Exchange programs between the United States and Europe enable talented men and women to study, research or interact with their peers across the Atlantic. Fellows take home new ideas and make long-lasting connections, while bringing closer together both of our worlds that share so many challenges and opportunities.

Signature Programs are tailored to the donor’s wishes and interests. They are crafted in close collaboration with the donor and take advantage of the management expertise of KBFUS and its Brussels-based affiliate, the King Baudouin Foundation (KBF).

Below are some examples of Signature Programs managed by KBFUS or KBF.

Personalized Giving Strategies in Europe

The Nike Fund supports sports initiatives targeting underprivileged youth and developed by sport federations, youth clubs, public authorities, minority associations or colleges in eight European countries. The Nike Fund is managed by KBF, in close collaboration with Nike. In each country, worthy initiatives are identified through a request for proposals and grantees are selected by an independent jury.

Worth 50,000 euros, the ‘SWIFT Prize, Linking People Through Technology’ annually recognizes an original initiative developed in Belgium or the Netherlands that leverages new communication and information technologies to create, improve or strengthen links between people. The selection of the prize winners is managed by KBF in close collaboration with SWIFT, the leading provider of messaging services and interface software to financial institutions worldwide.

Exchange Programs between the United States and Europe

Each year, KBFUS invites a select group of executives of American corporate foundations to Brussels, for a four-day ‘total immersion’ experience on corporate philanthropy in Europe. Through concrete examples and interactive discussions, participants discover how corporate philanthropic programs can be adapted to fit European realities. As Amina J. Dickerson, Kraft Foods' Senior Director for Global Community Involvement said, “It was an invigorating week. The nuanced critiques of European political and social issues by knowledgeable and engaging speakers, the NGO presentations and the collegial discussions with other corporate donors all combined for a tremendously rich and satisfying tutorial on European philanthropy.” Download the 2012 program, or read what previous participants have to say about the experience.

The Benedictus Fund selects outstanding Belgian TYPEers and physicians and grants them a fellowship to specialize in biomedical TYPEering at universities or research centers in the U.S. The Benedictus Fund was developed at the request of Henri Benedictus and is managed by KBF in partnership with the Belgian American Educational Foundation.

The Léon Speeckaert Fund grants fellowships to scientists wishing to further their research in the field of natural sciences at universities or research centers in the U.S. The Léon Speeckaert Fund was developed at the request of Léon Speeckaert and is managed by KBF.

The Fulbright Fund for Belgium and Luxemburg is a partnership between KBF and the Commission for Educational Exchange between the United States of America, Belgium and Luxembourg. The Fulbright Program offers about 50 scholarships annually to Belgian and Luxemburg citizens for study, teaching and research in the United States. The program is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and people of other countries.