The Pallas Athena Foundations

At the beginning of 2014, the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) established six Pallas Athena Foundations with the aim of “contributing to the common good” and “implementing comprehensive social objectives”. HUF 260 billion (approximately EUR 830 million) were placed at the foundations’ disposal by the MNB.

The six foundations each provide support to ideas, individuals, and organisation in different fields, including PhD students, research mobility applications, areas of geopolitical and economic studies, as well as initiatives of ethnic Hungarians abroad. The foundations also assist innovative enterprises since these bear significant importance in today’s world, says Zoltán Fekete, CEO of Optima Investment and Property Management Plc., a company set up together by the six foundations.

The foundations accept applications continuously, and these are evaluated in regular board meetings. During the past two years, as the foundations began their operations, more than 700 applications were funded, receiving over HUF 3 billion.

At the time when the foundations were launched, limited information was made public about their workings. However, after civilian organisations and political parties raised concerns and the issue came under scrutiny, the foundations were obliged to disclose more information regarding their operations.