The ATD Fourth World Foundation receives donations and makes them available to ATD Fourth World teams worldwide.  Legally named in French “La Fondation ATD Quart Monde,” this foundation guarantees the use of donations in favor of individuals and families living in extreme poverty.  In link with the various ATD Fourth World national associations, ATD’s Foundation is responsibile for promoting international solidarity among its branches.

In 1970, ATD Fourth World founder Joseph Wresinski wrote to donors:

“I have always been impressed by the financial and human investments that were at the origin of movements promoting the poor, and often even the poorest.  In time, when the initiators and the first partners disappeared, the institutions and associations often changed their orientation toward activities whose beneficiaries were no longer the most vulnerable. This is something I absolutely want to avoid.  I don’t want those most entrenched in poverty to be stripped of what so many of my friends gained, or allowed me to gain, with them.  For this purpose, I have created teams [of volunteers], men and women capable of dedicating their lives to the people of the Fourth World.  I also wanted this people’s gains, entrusted to our association, never to be turned against the most disadvantaged.”

Faced with the challenge of ending the cycle of extreme poverty, ATD Fourth World needs to maintain its reserves at a level that is sufficient to undertake its action in the long term.  The ATD Fourth World Foundation manages these reserves.  It not only guarantees the long-term financial stability of ATD Fourth World in France, but also must be able to offer support to ATD associations in the rest of the world, to help with financial difficulties or projects that need significant financial investments.