LAUSR

The goal of this article is threefold. First, it aims at understanding the dynamic positions of foundations (institutional proximities and purposes, approaches and roles) relative to church, state, market, and civil society. The institutional factors behind the transformation of the small and heterogeneous set of foundations existing in the country in the late 1980s, under scattered and restrictive regimes, into a relatively sizeable and influential sector of formally homogeneous nonprofits are explored. Second, it approaches the conceptualization of foundations in Spain and describes the recent evolution and current configuration of the sector with 2009 (year of the first foundation census) and 2014 (latest estimate available) as reference dates—illustrating them in comparative perspective. Third, its goal is to shed light on their advantages and disadvantages for relevant stakeholders in the context of evolving institutional proximities, foundation models, and prevailing typologies. In order to structure the discussion, the purposes, approaches, roles, benefits, and drawbacks of Spanish foundations will be compared with the German and U.S. anchors as depicted by Anheier and Hammack in this issue.