Foundation boards need to act as leaders both for the board’s operations and to mobilize the vitality amongst staff and grantees. In a time of changes, finding the right governance structure, relevant to their current responsibility and their size, is coming into new perspective.

Among others, the following questions will be addressed:
• Should foundations act in a countercyclical way to live up to the opportunities brought by the changes?
• How should a foundation board act in order to create an appropriate foundation culture to respond to crisis and risks?
• Who should be on a foundation board and which governance structure will be best suited to face a crisis?
• What are the consequences of the crisis on the fiduciary duty and the accountability of foundations?

Case study
• Dr. Stefan Stolte, Head Human Resources, Legal Affairs and Strategy Development – Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft, Germany
• Bernhard Lorentz, Chairman of the Executive Board, Stiftung Mercator, Essen

Facilitated by
• Volker Then, Managing Director, Centre for Social Investment, University of Heidelberg, Germany

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