The Allianz Umweltstiftung and the Allianz Kulturstiftung merged to form the Allianz Foundation. The new Foundation draws together and strengthens existing resources – and places the focus on better living conditions for future generations. 
 

In many respects, the Allianz Foundation itself also focuses on cooperation and finding new ways of working together. It emerged following the merger of the former Allianz Umweltstiftung and the Allianz Kulturstiftung in 2022 in response to the increased global challenges we face.

The two previous foundations were established to promote social cohesion in Europe and preserve a livable environment. The history of the Allianz Umweltstiftung goes back to 1989, and the Allianz Kulturstiftung was founded in 2000. Since then, the societal and environmental conditions have fundamentally changed. The window of opportunity in which we can curb global warming and its catastrophic consequences will soon be shutting. Growing nationalism the world over poses a threat to our world order that is founded on peace and cooperation. And, not least, war is again raging in Europe. Cohesion, solidarity and the associated individual liberties are being put to a severe test as a result.

We need to fundamentally realign our societies to be able to respond adequately to these challenges. We also need to realign the Allianz Foundation to be able to continue fulfilling our mission. With this joint approach, the Foundation seeks to contribute to cultural change – a mission that has only just begun and that we need to continue breathing life into throughout 2023, building on the two predecessor organizations’ wealth of experience.

In 2022, funding allocated to individual projects ranged between 8,000 and 125,000 euros.

The year was dominated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has already claimed countless lives, destroyed cultural organizations and institutions and played havoc with social systems. Under the Culture of Solidarity Fund set up in cooperation with the European Cultural Foundation we were able to provide emergency assistance on the ground. A series of cultural activities received generous donations. The Fund also enables initiatives to combat disinformation as well as to provide safe cultural spaces.

The new Allianz Foundation’s funding program covers a broad range of topics and focuses on the strategic areas described in the previous chapter. The focus is on promoting equal opportunities (“For empowered people”), open, diverse and resilient societies in Europe (“For open societies”) and combating climate change and preserving biodiversity (“For a living planet”). 

In addition to its ongoing funding program, the Allianz Foundation regularly publishes special funding calls. A first specific funding call was the Climate Cultures Call. It ran from 15 November to 31 December 2022.

The Climate Cultures Call targets the intersection of climate action, culture and social justice. It addresses initiatives that focus on the link between global warming and the social climate and that draw impetus for developing new cultural practices and ways of thinking from that. The Call is prototypical for the new Allianz Foundation’s strategy of promoting cultural transformation through holistic approaches– a basic precondition for an effective response to the climate crisis.

Despite the comparatively short application period, more than 300 inspiring project proposals from across Europe and the Mediterranean region were submitted. Ten projects were selected in spring 2023 and will be implemented in the course of 2023.