Annual Report 2024

PROJECTS & GOALS

As Maria Elena Cuomo, our co-founder and president, reminds us, 2024 has been a year of deeper exploration and reflection—on our actions, our relationships with partners, and ultimately, on ourselves. Our philanthropic endeavours involve not only managing the many requests for support we receive but also continually reassessing our approaches to them.

One of the first challenges we always encounter is the wide range of meanings people attach to the term “project”.

For the philosopher, writer and activist Simone de Beauvoir “Desire is what renders the desirable, and it is the project that establishes the goal.” The novelist Roger Nimier remarked, “A man without projects is the enemy of the human race.”

The Larousse dictionary defines it simply “A goal that one sets out to achieve.”

We have made it a priority in nearly all our discussions to clarify these definitions with our partners, working together to build a common understanding of goals, necessary actions, and resources. This collaborative effort ensures that all our initiatives are directed towards those we hope to help.

While I won’t explore the complete project cycle as outlined in management schools, a critical aspect of sound project management is evaluation. However, most of the requests we receive, do not adequately address this aspect, making it a sensitive topic during discussions with our partners.

We must also recognize the natural resistance to change—a challenge we all face. It’s tempting to believe that “others” need to change, yet many institutions cling to outdated practices, undermining their responsiveness and innovation.

This leads us back to the essence of partnership. For the Cuomo Foundation, we have a duty to ensure that every euro is allocated as effectively as possible. It is the responsibility of those active on the ground to demonstrate this regularly and methodically.

These operational realities highlight areas where philanthropy can—and must—improve. To tackle today’s complex societal challenges, the public and private sectors will need to collaborate more closely and support each other’s efforts.

Despite these obstacles, in 2024, we successfully supported 2,500 schoolchildren with their academic journeys, assisted 61 students in higher education and research, enabled 60 artists in expressing and developing their art, and funded 24 initiatives aimed at integrating the most vulnerable in society.

We hope you enjoy reading this new report, which showcases the remarkable work of our partners.

Francisco A. Diaz Lison

Directeur général