CECA Strengthens the Role of Its Foundations in Social Progress and Economic Development of the Territories

• The Executive Committee of CECA’s Social Work and Foundations holds its annual meeting with the participation of around twenty foundations and collaboration from Fundación Caja Rioja

• Antonio Romero, General Director of CECA, emphasized the service vocation of the associated entities and the importance of public-private collaboration

CECA held in Logroño on September 10 and 11, the annual meeting of its Executive Committee of Social Work and Foundations, which brought together the main representatives of the associated entities.

The event, organized with the collaboration of Fundación Caja Rioja, highlighted the fundamental role that the sector’s foundations play in promoting social cohesion, territorial integration, and heritage preservation.

During two days, representatives of CECA and the associated foundations developed a work program that combined institutional meetings with cultural activities and territorial appreciation.

Among the main events, the institutional reception with Gonzalo Capellán, President of the Government of La Rioja, and Alfonso Domínguez, Minister of Finance, gained particular importance.

CECA’s General Director, Antonio Romero, highlighted that “the entities associated with CECA play a fundamental role in the growth of the Spanish economy and the development of social inclusion.”

“Both our banking entities and our foundations have a strong service vocation inherited from decades of history, which, along with their extensive knowledge of the territory, enables them to respond to the growing needs of society. This Committee allows us to explore collaboration opportunities to maximize the work we do in terms of prosperity for our country,” he emphasized.

Likewise, in the presence of authorities, he stressed that “public-private collaboration is an essential tool to address new challenges, identify emerging social needs, and provide effective responses from proximity.”

Finally, he thanked Fundación Caja Rioja for its hospitality and role as host and emphasized the deep connection and parallelism that exists between the work carried out by the sector’s foundations in their respective territories and the role played by public administrations, such as the Government of La Rioja, in promoting the development and well-being of their citizens.

For his part, the president of Fundación Caja Rioja, Pablo Arrieta, stated that “Fundación Caja Rioja is part of CECA, a group of foundations that in 2025 made a social investment in Spain that exceeded 1,000 million euros. We represent a very small part of this economic investment, we know, but it is equally represented as the rest of the entities that make up the organization because the effort we make in our Rioja geography is done with total humanism, care, emotional proximity, collective drive, and social commitment, aspects that constitute the premise of any program promoted by this institution.”

Among the attendees at this meeting were representatives from around twenty foundations from all over Spain, including Fundación Caja Canarias, Fundación Caja Castellón, Fundación Caja Extremadura, Fundación Caja Navarra, Fundación Montemadrid, Fundación Caixa Pollença & Fundación Guillem Cifré de Colonya, Fundos, Fundación Pinnae, Fundación Ávila, Fundación Caja Cantabria, Fundación Mediterráneo, Fundación Caja Inmaculada CAI, Fundación Caja de Burgos, Fundación Unicaja, Fundación Círculo de Burgos, Fundación Ibercaja, and Funcas, along with the executive team of CECA and Fundación Caja Rioja as host.

The meeting also served to reaffirm the joint commitment of CECA and its foundations in key areas such as financial inclusion, support for youth and the elderly, combating rural depopulation, cultural promotion, and sustainability.

First Private Social Investor

The foundations of CECA represent the main private social investor in Spain, with more than 1,004 million euros allocated to Social Work in 2025. 36% of the investment was allocated to social programs, while more than 218 million were dedicated to culture and heritage.

In the last twelve years, the entities associated with CECA have allocated more than 9.7 billion euros to their Social Work, exceeding one million activities during this period.