Feb 28, 2021 14:26
3 yrs ago
46 viewers *
French term
dotation
French to English
Law/Patents
Accounting
Statuts of a medical foundation.
I'm aware that there are a lot of entries for dotation, but most of these refer a specific accounting operation. This is about assets.
"La dotation de la fondation, d'une valeur de huit millions d'euros (8 000 000 euros), est constituée de :
- biens immeubles : terrains et immeubles bâtis de laboratoires et de bureaux ... "
"Il vote les budgets et leurs modifications ainsi que les prévisions en matière d'effectifs, en prenant en compte l'objectif de pérennité de la dotation ;"
"Il définit un cadre de référence pour la gestion du patrimoine, notamment pour les biens composant la dotation dans le respect des articles 11 et 12 ;"
"A la date d'approbation des statuts, la dotation s'élève à 8 millions d'euros."
"Ces biens sont irrévocablement affectés à la dotation."
"A l'exception des opérations de gestion courante des valeurs mobilières composant la dotation, leur aliénation n'est valable qu'après autorisation administrative, délivrée sous réserve de maintien de la valeur réelle de la dotation."
"La délibération indique alors la part du produit de la vente qui sera réaffectée à la dotation."
"Les actifs éligibles aux placements des fonds composant la dotation sont ceux qu'énumère l'article R. 332-2 du code des assurances."
"La dotation est accrue d'une fraction de l'excédent des ressources nécessaires au maintien de sa valeur.
Elle peut être accrue en valeur absolue par une décision du conseil d'administration. Le directeur général informe chaque année le conseil d'administration de la consistance et de la valeur actualisées de la dotation à l'occasion de l'approbation des comptes."
As I say, they seem to be talking about nothing more nor less than "assets". My ordinary dictionary has "allocation; endowment". Bridge has "endowment; grant; appropriation; civil list; subsidy; subvention". None of these really seems to fit that well. In particular I don't understand the bit in the first sentence of the last quote. It seems that it is important that the "assets" (if such they be) have been held at a certain designated value.
I'm aware that there are a lot of entries for dotation, but most of these refer a specific accounting operation. This is about assets.
"La dotation de la fondation, d'une valeur de huit millions d'euros (8 000 000 euros), est constituée de :
- biens immeubles : terrains et immeubles bâtis de laboratoires et de bureaux ... "
"Il vote les budgets et leurs modifications ainsi que les prévisions en matière d'effectifs, en prenant en compte l'objectif de pérennité de la dotation ;"
"Il définit un cadre de référence pour la gestion du patrimoine, notamment pour les biens composant la dotation dans le respect des articles 11 et 12 ;"
"A la date d'approbation des statuts, la dotation s'élève à 8 millions d'euros."
"Ces biens sont irrévocablement affectés à la dotation."
"A l'exception des opérations de gestion courante des valeurs mobilières composant la dotation, leur aliénation n'est valable qu'après autorisation administrative, délivrée sous réserve de maintien de la valeur réelle de la dotation."
"La délibération indique alors la part du produit de la vente qui sera réaffectée à la dotation."
"Les actifs éligibles aux placements des fonds composant la dotation sont ceux qu'énumère l'article R. 332-2 du code des assurances."
"La dotation est accrue d'une fraction de l'excédent des ressources nécessaires au maintien de sa valeur.
Elle peut être accrue en valeur absolue par une décision du conseil d'administration. Le directeur général informe chaque année le conseil d'administration de la consistance et de la valeur actualisées de la dotation à l'occasion de l'approbation des comptes."
As I say, they seem to be talking about nothing more nor less than "assets". My ordinary dictionary has "allocation; endowment". Bridge has "endowment; grant; appropriation; civil list; subsidy; subvention". None of these really seems to fit that well. In particular I don't understand the bit in the first sentence of the last quote. It seems that it is important that the "assets" (if such they be) have been held at a certain designated value.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 5 +1 | endowment |
Francois Boye
|
| 4 | undertaking; equity fund |
Adrian MM.
|
| 3 | the Foundation Fund |
Daryo
|
References
| endowment |
philgoddard
|
Proposed translations
+1
24 mins
Francois Boye
United States
United States
Native in French
United States
An economic geek with social skills
Native in: French 
Works in: English to French, French to English, Spanish to English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
150
Selected
endowment
What Is an Endowment?
An endowment is a donation of money or property to a nonprofit organization, which uses the resulting investment income for a specific purpose. An endowment can also refer to the total of a nonprofit institution's investable assets, also known as its principal or corpus, which is meant to be used for operations or programs that are consistent with the wishes of the donor(s). Most endowments are designed to keep the principal amount intact while using the investment income for charitable efforts.
Source: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/endowment.asp
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Note added at 12 hrs (2021-03-01 02:34:16 GMT)
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https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/endowmen...
An endowment is a donation of money or property to a nonprofit organization, which uses the resulting investment income for a specific purpose. An endowment can also refer to the total of a nonprofit institution's investable assets, also known as its principal or corpus, which is meant to be used for operations or programs that are consistent with the wishes of the donor(s). Most endowments are designed to keep the principal amount intact while using the investment income for charitable efforts.
Source: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/endowment.asp
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Note added at 12 hrs (2021-03-01 02:34:16 GMT)
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https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/endowmen...
Note from asker:
| Thanks. See my comment to philgoddard's reference. But that is a very useful definition... "principal" or "corpus" might be marginally preferable. |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Rocsana Guignaudeau
5 hrs
|
|
Thanks!
|
|
| agree |
Cyril Tollari
2 days 4 hrs
|
|
Thanks!
|
|
| disagree |
Daryo
: on a point of method: it maybe be, or maybe not be right - but with your method there is no telling - you DIDN'T check first what kind of beast would be "la dotation" as used in this ST
13 days
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks"
3 hrs
Adrian MM.
Austria
Austria
Native in English
Specializes in field
Austria
Retd.T&I, Barrister & Austro-Advokat
Native in: English (Variants: British, Scottish) 
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish, French to English, and 5 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
41
undertaking; equity fund
It seems to me that dotation is being used in the sense of 'une entreprise' or partnership-type equity fund for the foundation.
If the foundation were inessence a trust, then trust fund would come into the frame.
If the foundation were inessence a trust, then trust fund would come into the frame.
Example sentence:
services referred to therein originate from the proprietor of the trade mark or an undertaking economically connected to it or, on the contrary, originate from a third party.
One of the biggest differences between a trust and a foundation is that a trust is not registered on any register or with any authority.
Reference:
http://taxguru.in/company-law/meaning-undertaking-section-180-company-act-2013.html
http://www.tbf.org/what-we-do/special-funds/business-equity-fund
13 days
French term (edited):
la dotation
the Foundation Fund
seems to be a pretty good fit.
- has a legal personality
- only income can be used
- income is meant to finance some specific activity "of general interest", like research, education, sport ...
The Foundation Fund
A key objective for the World Federation is to ensure its own growth and sustainability as an organisation, so it can continue to have a positive impact around the world through community-centred projects.
To help achieve this, a Foundation Fund was set-up (= it would have a legal personality) in 2010, with a primary aim to generate sufficient income from capital invested to cover the indirect and infrastructure costs of the organisation.
Following years of development of this fund, total investments at the end of 2017 made up £4.74 million. These investments have been made across a diverse range of asset classes, with returns generated from property investment, community investments, joint ventures and asset backed opportunities.
...
https://www.world-federation.org/news/foundation-fund
no time for a more thorough research, so only CL3
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Note added at 13 days (2021-03-13 19:33:44 GMT)
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regarding
leur aliénation n'est valable qu'après autorisation administrative
can't be 100% sure without more details, but "autorisation administrative" sounds to me more like "the approval of some state authority" - that would have the oversight ("la tutelle") over this institution - rather than "the administrators of this Fund".
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Note added at 13 days (2021-03-13 19:37:49 GMT)
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I think that "l'Administration" is more likely to mean "the Civil servants in charge" (same as in the "Ford / Reagan / Obama" "administration")
- has a legal personality
- only income can be used
- income is meant to finance some specific activity "of general interest", like research, education, sport ...
The Foundation Fund
A key objective for the World Federation is to ensure its own growth and sustainability as an organisation, so it can continue to have a positive impact around the world through community-centred projects.
To help achieve this, a Foundation Fund was set-up (= it would have a legal personality) in 2010, with a primary aim to generate sufficient income from capital invested to cover the indirect and infrastructure costs of the organisation.
Following years of development of this fund, total investments at the end of 2017 made up £4.74 million. These investments have been made across a diverse range of asset classes, with returns generated from property investment, community investments, joint ventures and asset backed opportunities.
...
https://www.world-federation.org/news/foundation-fund
no time for a more thorough research, so only CL3
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 13 days (2021-03-13 19:33:44 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
regarding
leur aliénation n'est valable qu'après autorisation administrative
can't be 100% sure without more details, but "autorisation administrative" sounds to me more like "the approval of some state authority" - that would have the oversight ("la tutelle") over this institution - rather than "the administrators of this Fund".
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 13 days (2021-03-13 19:37:49 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I think that "l'Administration" is more likely to mean "the Civil servants in charge" (same as in the "Ford / Reagan / Obama" "administration")
Reference comments
9 mins
philgoddard
United States
United States
Native in English
Works in field
United States
Six languages into flawless English
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English, Spanish to English, and 4 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
89
Reference:
endowment
I know this is just one person's glossary entry, but I agree with it:
http://www.proz.com/personal-glossaries/entry/1612685-dotati...
Endowment
the property, funds, etc., with which an institution or person is endowed.
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/endowment
http://www.proz.com/personal-glossaries/entry/1612685-dotati...
Endowment
the property, funds, etc., with which an institution or person is endowed.
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/endowment
Note from asker:
| Yes, "endowment" is the word I've been favouring, but I have sufficient doubt about it to have posted this question. In particular, it seems to me that in English we use this word to mean, really quite specifically, something which someone/some entity has given to another entity, often a charitable foundation. Phrases here tend to suggest that this <i>dotation</i> can be changed, seemingly at will, by the directors, and that there is some "duty" to maintain it at a certain level. To me that takes it a little bit too far away from any known use of the English word for comfort. I suspect it's something regulated by the State and by law, of a kind we don't really have in the Anglo-Saxon world. |
Discussion
You could have a University or a research unit with several endowments, in this case it looks like the source of funding is this one and only "dodation" and nothing else.
"l'article R. 332-2 du code des assurances" could be a sources of information regarding the exact nature of this "dotation" - worth a try.
Leur différence majeure est que le fonds de dotation à la française est une personne morale alors que l’ endowment fund aux Etats - Unis est simplement un dispositif permettant le financement d’une personne morale caritative à laquelle il est rattaché.
http://idc.u-paris2.fr/le-fonds-de-dotation-à-la-française-e...
IOW just "endowment" might not be quite right.
http://idc.u-paris2.fr/le-fonds-de-dotation-à-la-française-e...
"...toutefois, ceux - ci devront rester intacts et seuls leurs revenus seront dépensés."
Cf. this standard template. https://www.interieur.gouv.fr/content/download/32952/245790/...
This would appear to say that part of the annual surplus (of income) is allocated to the dotation.
I confess I don't understand your misgivings about calling this an "endowment". An endowment is not merely a gift (or an act of giving). It's specifically a gift designed to serve as a capital base that provides an income. The general idea is that the recipient can use the income from the capital but cannot touch the capital itself.
That seems to be exactly the case with your foundation. The "dotation" is the endowment. The income it provides forms part of the "ressources". Part of the annual surplus (excédent de ressources) is allocated to the endowment, in order to help maintain its value (against inflation). That makes it unspendable, whereas the rest of the surplus can in theory be spent next year.
I don't see why the concept of endowment would not apply to the last paragraph:
."La dotation est accrue d'une fraction de l'excédent des ressources nécessaires au maintien de sa valeur. Elle peut être accrue en valeur absolue par une décision du conseil d'administration. Le directeur général informe chaque année le conseil d'administration de la consistance et de la valeur actualisée de la dotation à l'occasion de l'approbation des comptes."
Endowment is also a UK concept. See the attachments:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UK_universities_by_end...
https://publishedresearch.cambridgeassociates.com/wp-content...