Porsche has announced the creation of the Ferry Porsche Foundation. The foundation’s name stems from Ferdinand “Ferry” Porsche, creator of the Porsche 356 and son of company founder Professor Ferdinand Porsche. Ferry Porsche gave the brand its sports car identity. The organization will primarily focus on youth enduring some sort of hardship, and is Porsche’s way of upholding its commitment to the health of its fans and employees.
This foundation’s main goals are to provide support for the education and training of young people in need, with emphasis on science, research, social responsibility, and youth development. It will begin with supporting charitable programs in the communities surrounding its German factories in Leipzig, Stuttgart, and Weissach, but will expand to projects worldwide in the near future.
Porsche will invest 10 million euros ($12 million) into the foundation to start, and plans to invest another 10 million euros further down the road. In addition, the company will set aside money from its profits each year for this cause.
“For Porsche, economic success and social responsibility are inextricably linked,” explains Oliver Blume, chairman of the executive board at Porsche AG. “Through the Ferry Porsche Foundation, we aim to strengthen our existing social and civic activities in a sustainable way, independent of our day-to-day commercial operations.”
A Board of Trustees will manage the foundation’s funds, with Chairman Oliver Blume at the helm and Dr. Wolfgang Porsche, Ferry Porsche’s son, assuming the role of honorary chairman. An executive board led by Dr. Josef Arweck, vice president of Porsche communications, will contribute to day-to-day operations.
The foundation’s commitment to young people makes a lot of sense. In the past, many of Porsche’s commercials have been themed around the spark that ignited an enthusiast’s love for the brand, which primarily happened at a young age. The company understands that its most devoted fans might not be able to afford one of its cars for decades, if at all. This foundation is Porsche’s way of giving back to its youngest and most eager demographic, and will help breed the next generation of sports car enthusiasts.