Project Selection

Here are the Foundation's criteria and selection process. Please read them before submitting your application online.

What type of projects are we looking for?

The Foundation may support projects, with Air Liquide, provided:

• they fall within the Foundation's scientific or social scope
• they are located in Europe, except when responding to the needs of distressed populations
• they are in the general interest, not in Air Liquide’s commercial interest
• they follow the Foundation's decision-making process
• the Foundation has the means to control their proper implementation

The Foundation will also favour projects that offer volunteering opportunities to
Air Liquide employees.

6 project selection criteria

To be considered by the Foundation, an application should meet the following selection criteria. The choice of Air Liquide Foundation is free of any discrimination.

1. Project domain area

The project should be related to one of Foundation’s domain areas:

• Basic and epidemiological research research in the field of human respiratory health.
• Technical (industrial) skilling of young people or people who are far from the jobs market.
• Solidarity, particularly in the fields of education, training, supporting people with a disability, access to care, social services.

You’ll find examples of projects we support here: Research projects, Job integration communities projects

The Foundation may set up ad hoc programmes in a crisis (e.g. the covid-19 pandemic, refugee crises,...) and will seek to support projects. Please visit our website for such programmes.

2. Project location

The Foundation operates wherever the Group is present: within the European Economic Area for all projects; for solidarity projects only, it may intervene in low- and middle-income countries in accordance with the rules defined by French regulations¹. The project is always located less than 2 hours' drive from an Air Liquide site.

Further to the Press Release of 23 July 2024 and in accordance with the agreement announced on March 14, 2024, Air Liquide has now closed the sale to Adenia Partners Ltd of the Group’s activities in twelve countries in Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal and Togo), the Air Liquide Foundation is no longer able to support projects in these countries concerned.

¹ Intervention is possible worldwide in humanitarian emergencies. For other types of support, the association receiving support must be based in the European Economic Area and the local project must be managed from the association's headquarters.

3. Sponsorship and follow-up by Air Liquide

• The sponsorship of an Air Liquide employee is mandatory in order to qualify for our support (does not concern Research projects). We recommend that you get in touch with an Air Liquide operation to find a sponsor.
• The project will be monitored locally by a collaborator who will be responsible for its evaluation and follow-up if it is selected by the Foundation. For this reason, it will have to be located close to an Air Liquide location.
• The possibility of involvement of Air Liquide employees in the form of volunteer work in the project submitted is an important criterion for the Foundation. Consult the guide to employee involvement opportunities in the paragraph "Devoting time and expertise to a project" on the Employees engagement page.

4. Your organisation

Your organisation should be a registered nonprofit, with adequate governance and a positive track record.

5. Project structure

Your project should be precise, with numbers and impact measurement.

We will  examine projects that have:

• objectives whose results are observable and measurable
• a detailed budget (resources & spending)
• a precise schedule and project completion deadline
• a predetermined location

Moreover, we  focus on projects that are innovative, offer volunteering opportunities to Air Liquide employees, and promote safety and gender diversity, both priorities of Air Liquide.

6. Use of the grant

Our grants will go to:

• investments in equipment (IT equipment, laboratory equipment, building materials,  furniture, etc.)
• salaries, in the case of research projects
• operating costs directly related to the realisation of the project

Grants financed by the Foundation can only be expended after written confirmation of the Fondation Air Liquide's support with a  signed agreement, including a provisional schedule.

Applications that do not meet the Foundation's criteria

The Air Liquide Foundation cannot support projects that are not in line with its mission and do not meet the above criteria. The following are therefore excluded:

• One-off or short-term initiatives: events, sponsoring, treks and rallies, gala dinners, humanitarian trips
• Personal projects: grants, financing studies, survey trips, and school trips – including those that are within the Foundation's areas of intervention
• Sporting or cultural projects, activities or competitions
• Projects that are not clearly secular or apolitical in nature
• For-profit projects

The selection process

Every project application is studied by the Foundation team, which follows a 6-steps process. This process is explained in the diagram below

The Foundation studies and selects projects within a reasonable deadline.
When reaching a decision, the Foundation doesn’t discriminate against any type of population.
The Foundation’s decision to support or not to support a project is sovereign.
The Foundation will give an answer to every association that submits a project.

6 steps in submitting your project

Should you wish to submit an application to the Fondation Air Liquide, please follow these steps:

1. Check that you are eligible for the Foundation support
   Ensure that your project is consistent with the Foundation’s missions and that your request meets the project selection criteria.
2. Identify a sponsor within Air Liquide
   Get in touch with this person and ensure of their support.
3. Create your account on our dedicated platform
   Please go on the dedicated website and create your personal account to access the “project submission” section.
4. Prepare your application
   Please complete the online form, presenting your organisation and your project in a clear and detailed way. You can ask other people (e.g. your Air Liquide sponsor) to help you complete your application.
5. Submit the requested documents by uploading them to your “project space”
   These documents are mandatory; any incomplete application will not be considered. You can work on your application file as long as you have not submitted your project. The "Save" button enables you to modify your application and to delete or upload attachments as you wish.
6. Submitting your project
   When your application file is complete, you can confirm submission of your project with the Submit button . You will receive a confirmation email. Please note that you can no longer amend your project once it has been submitted. We will examine your project and contact you for a meeting if it fits our criteria.