Two Dedicated Couples Honored For Their Philanthropic Initiatives
For the 7th consecutive year, BNP Paribas is delighted to announce the winners of its 2014 Prize for Individual Philanthropy
2014 Grand Prix
Charly and Lisa Kleissner, founders of the KL Felicitas Foundation, are receiving this year’s Grand Prix for their global work in impact investing. Through their co-creation of impact networks designed to serve both social entrepreneurs and impact investors, combined with advocating through transparency their commitment to align 100% of their assets with their values, the Kleissners have demonstrated that impact investing can be a replicable investment strategy for philanthropists around the world.
The Grand Prix honours an individual or family for their overall philanthropic activity, recognising the exemplary nature of their actions, their financial engagement, impact and their long-term commitment.
2014 Jury’s Special Prize
Tomasz and Barbara Sadowski are awarded the Jury’s Special Prize for their social integration work and promotion of their social franchise model in Poland and abroad. The Barka Foundation for Mutual Help empowers and reintegrates socially marginalised groups through education, training, entrepreneurship and housing programmes.
The Jury's Special Prize recognises a committed philanthropist who has initiated an original project and has been working on the ground to implement it. The project must have been running for at least three years but still be in its development phase or at a critical stage.
The winners were chosen by an independent jury made up of leading figures from business and charitable organisations, along with experts from civil society. The jury is chaired by Suzanne Berger, Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. In studying the profiles of all the nominees, the jury made their decisions based on various criteria, such as the social impact of the philanthropic initiatives, the philanthropists' personal and financial commitment, and the professionalism, sustainability and transparency of the projects.
Watch the videos and learn more about this year’s laureates!