Information
Basic
There are approximately 7,600 foundations in Norway. Based on a total capital of nearly 100 billion crowns, foundations possess and control assets of estimated 200–300 billions. They constitute a small but economically important contribution to Norway's social and cultural life and to sports, education, and science. Norwegian foundations partly employ and partly engage approximately 35,500 individuals. Most foundations are located in the capital Oslo (the biggest city) and Bergen (the second biggest city). However, city-based foundations often cover most or all parts of the Kingdom.
Legislation and regulatory authorities
Foundations are regulated by the Foundation Law of June 15, 2001 (no. 59), and the Foundation Authority (Stiftelsestilsynet). Inclusion in the Foundation Register (Stiftelsesregisteret) is compulsory.
So-called savings bank foundations (sparebankstiftelse) have separate/additional legislation and are mainly regulated by the Financial Supervisory Authority.
Creation
When creating a foundation, the founder, who may be a physical person or a juridical, loses his right to dispose assets that are transferred to the foundation. This happens with immediate effect and irrevocably. However, the Foundation Law of 2001 presents a set of minimum formal demands that each creation document has to meet.
A foundation is normally required to have a minimum capital of 100,000 crowns when created.
Independence
Alike companies and organizations, a foundation is an independent juridical entity. Owning itself, a foundation is distinguishable from its otherwise similar couter-part, member-governed organisations. Neither external nor internal persons have partial ownership of a foundation's assets, and as such, they do not receive a foundation's profit. A foundation may itself be an owner, for example of companies. It may accept obligations and financial commitments, and it may be a subject to agreements and processes.
Organisation
Foundations are led by a board of directors and must follow the statute created by the founder(s).
Foundations have a wide specter of goals. Traditionally foundations were based to promote an idealistic goal, for instance of social, humanitarian, religious or educational nature. The activity of the foundation has then been to operate passive capital management and pay out return on capital. The foundation is also used for other types of activity or perform certain types of commercial activity. In later years it has been increasingly common for foundations to perform the idealist work themselves, to become holding companies within certain fields or as research organizations.
Scientific research
The most recent and broadest scientific research on Norwegian foundations is presented in the publication Stiftelser i det moderne Norge (2010) by Håkon Lorentzen and Line Dugstad of the Institute for Social Research.
