The La Caixa Foundation announces a record-breaking budget for the current year, reaching 538 million euros and marking the highest level in its history. Led by Isidro Fainé, the organization has spent more than half a billion euros over the past decade, consistently directing funds toward social, scientific, educational, and cultural initiatives that aim to uplift communities across Spain and beyond.
In 2023, about 60% of the total investment is allocated to transformative social programs, with a notable increase of 23 million euros compared to 2022, approaching 320 million euros. These investments drive programs such as Caixa Proinfancia, which fights child poverty; workforce integration initiatives like Combine and Reassemble; and the Comprehensive Care for People with Advanced Disease, designed to raise the quality of end-of-life care. Additional efforts focus on promoting social participation among older adults, ensuring they remain active members of their communities.
Within this community-focused portfolio, outreach grants total 45 million euros, while 112 million euros, representing 21% of the overall budget, are earmarked for cultural and scientific dissemination through CaixaForum centers, extending access to exhibitions, performances, and educational programming to a broad audience.
Research and Health Investments
The Foundation’s Research and Health sector plans to invest 62 million euros in 2023, accounting for 11% of the total budget. This includes calls that support medical research projects through CaixaImpulse Health and CaixaImpulse Innovation, alongside efforts to advance future development. A key component is the Caixa Research Institute, a scientific reference center promoted by the Foundation in Barcelona, which stands as a hub for cutting-edge studies and collaborative work with universities and hospitals.
As part of this strategic emphasis, the Foundation funds educational and scholarly activities that extend beyond pure research. The plan reserves 8% of the annual investment, amounting to 44 million euros, for education and scholarships. This supports undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and postdoctoral fellowships, while the Educate program drives educational transformation to ensure high-quality learning through skill development among students and teachers alike.
Isidro Faine highlights the core philosophy guiding these investments: in difficult times, the Foundation must remain close to society as a whole and especially to those who are most vulnerable. The focus is on people and the preservation of life at every stage. The overarching aim is to foster social and human development and to support collective progress and the wellbeing of every individual who is treated with dignity and respect.
Looking back to 2022, the La Caixa Foundation, under the leadership of managing director Antonio Vila Bernatán, described its strategy as centered on social impact and transformative change. The year featured collaborative efforts to address urgent needs, including programs that facilitated the admission of Ukrainian refugees into Spanish families, reflecting a commitment to humanitarian responsiveness and social solidarity that extends beyond national borders.
In all its programs, the Foundation’s approach blends social policy with scientific inquiry, education, and culture. The objective is clear: to create opportunities that empower people to improve their own lives and contribute to a more inclusive, educated, and healthy society. The integrated strategy emphasizes not only immediate relief but sustained development through research, skill-building, and access to cultural enrichment that resonates across generations.
Throughout its initiatives, the Foundation collaborates with schools, universities, research institutes, cultural centers, and civic organizations to maximize reach and impact. The results are measured not solely in euros spent but in the real-world changes they foster—children lifted out of poverty, researchers advancing new discoveries, students becoming better prepared for higher education and professional life, and communities feeling a strengthened sense of belonging and purpose. The goal remains steadfast: to nurture human dignity, opportunity, and lasting societal progress.
[attribution: La Caixa Foundation annual budget overview and public statements, 2023]