Since 2018, the Jean-Marie Lehn Foundation and the University of Strasbourg Foundation have jointly led a fundraising campaign titled “Tous Nobels!” The initial goal of €50 million in cumulative donations since 2010 has been greatly exceeded. In total, more than 57.5 million euros have been raised, including 14.3 million euros for projects led by the Jean-Marie Lehn Foundation.
Over the past 12 years, 6,000 donors—both companies and individuals—have generously supported the University and the University Hospitals of Strasbourg, enabling them to easily surpass the goal of €50 million in donations, a sum unmatched in the French academic landscape. For the University’s president, Michel Deneken, this achievement lives up to the prestige of the University of Strasbourg: “It is reasonable to believe that the success of the philanthropy driven by our two foundations stems from our university’s reputation. […] Thanks to the generosity of our donors and the work of the foundations, this success now contributes to our reputation.”1
The Jean-Marie Lehn Foundation’s mission is to support one of Strasbourg’s flagship research disciplines: chemistry. This field of research lies at the heart of key societal challenges, including sustainable development, engineering, health, and data processing. These potential applications in strategic fields have won over major individual donors and sparked interest among businesses. In fact, the Foundation counts more than 50 corporate sponsors and has successfully raised €13.8 million to support the development of the chemistry research cluster.
A portion of the donations was used to fund innovative and creative projects, research aimed at excellence, and scholarships for deserving students. At the same time, the Foundation established a general fund to ensure long-term funding for researchers in Strasbourg. Thanks to the interest earned, this endowed fund helps finance numerous research projects in chemistry at the intersection of biology and physics.
With cumulative donations totaling 1.6 million euros, BASF is a long-standing partner of the Jean-Marie Lehn Foundation. Through this partnership , Thierry Herning, president of BASF France, hopes to “accelerate the development of innovative solutions that meet society’s expectations. Our priority is to support education, promote science and chemistry, and foster sustainable innovations.”
Today, donations and interest from the fund distributed to laboratories help support high-risk research that is difficult to finance through government agencies. This is a winning strategy for keeping Strasbourg atthe top of the European Union’s university rankings inchemistry.²
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