Moleskine Foundation Inc. (MF) is the U.S. arm of the Italian grantmaking organization Moleskine Foundation Onlus, which is the charitable corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of Moleskine Srl, a consumer-products manufacturing company best known for making notebooks. ¹ Moleskine Foundation Inc. claims to provide education for lower-class communities to develop critical thinking and advocate change in their communities. MF provides tools including educational programs, grants, and storytelling opportunities. ²

Moleskine Foundation Inc. received its Internal Revenue Service (IRS) charitable nonprofit status in 2019 and appears to operate in the United States as a child of Moleskine Foundation Onlus in Europe and Africa. ^{3 4}

Programs

Creativity Pioneers Fund

Moleskine Foundation’s Creativity Pioneers Fund invests in organizations that claim to advocate for social changes Such groups include the Bic Corporate Foundation, Cherry Bank, Gestiamo Fondi Di Garanzia, Community Arts Lab by Porticus, BASE, Fondazione CRT, Hawthornden Foundation, Healthy Food Healthy Planet, Fondazione Con Il Sud, Open Society Foundations, MANE, King Baudouin Foundation, Nirox Foundation, and Allianz Foundation. ⁵

Moleskine Foundation honors 25 individuals and organizations including Somalia Arts Foundation, Oroko Radio, Discover Njabala Foundation, and Palestine When Art Becomes Resistance. ⁶

Creative Tools

MF donates notebooks, cahiers, volant, and writing instruments to organizations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Great Britain, and Asia Pacific region to foster creativity advancing social change. Organizations that received donations include Gray Area, NYC Salt, and the Lower Eastside Girls Club of New York. ⁷

WikiAfrica Education

WF produces an online program called WikiAfrica Education designed to provide increased access and awareness of relevant knowledge from African sources. ⁸

AtWork

AtWork is a 5-day workshop designed to develop a global group of young creative thinkers who believe creativity can be a tool of social transformation and was initiated in 2012 in Dakar, Senegal, and travels to various African locations. ⁹

Media

MF publishes “Folios” 2-3 times per year in Italy and a Creativity Pioneers Podcast carried on Spotify, Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts. ^{10 11}

Activities

MF and Moleskine presented a Milan, Italy exhibition of 100 Moleskine notebooks of artists and writers to advance the idea that creativity is a means of advancing social change ¹²

Funding

The Moleskine Company (Moleskine Srl) provides resources and funding in support of Moleskine Foundation and the two frequently sponsor programs and events in partnership. ¹

MF received a 2023 $200,000 general support grant spread over two years from George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF). ¹²

OSF provided a 2015 grant to MF and Fondazione lettera27, the former name of MF, to support art and cultural activities relating to immigrants, asylum seekers, and ethnic minorities to improve their integration in Italy. Projects included a photography book project titled Islam in Italy and Blazploitation, a film about diversity in media by a Ghanaian film maker. ^{13 14}

MF solicits donations on its website with those made in the United States directed to the U.S. entity and those made in Italy to the Italian entity. ¹⁶

People

Maria Sebregondi, co-founder of Moleskine Srl, is president of Moleskine Foundation’s executive board. ¹⁷

Adama Sanneh and Elena Korzhenevich are co-founders of MF. Sanneh is CEO and Korzhenevich programs director and a former client service director at the Leo Burnett advertising agency. ¹⁸

1. “Our Partners.” Moleskine Foundation, November 9, 2022. Accessed October 16, 2024. https://moleskinefoundation.org/about-us/our-partners/.
2. “About Us.” Moleskine Foundation, September 6, 2023. Accessed October 16, 2024. https://moleskinefoundation.org/about-us/.
3. ^[1] “404: Internal Revenue Service.” 404 | Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 16, 2024. https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/details/Initiatives.
4. “Moleskine Foundation Inc.” IRS Final Letter. October 01, 2019. Accessed October 16, 2024.
5. “Creativity Pioneers Fund.” Moleskine Foundation, October 16, 2024.Accessed October 16, 2024. https://moleskinefoundation.org/initiative/creativity-pioneers-support-fund/.
6. “Creativity Pioneers.” Moleskine Foundation, January 18, 2023. Accessed October 16, 2024. https://moleskinefoundation.org/creativity-pioneers-2/.
7. “Creative Tools for Social Change.” Moleskine Foundation, October 10, 2023. Accessed October 16, 2024.https://moleskinefoundation.org/initiative/creative-tools-for-social-change/.
8. “WikiAfrica Education.” Moleskine Foundation, April 17, 2023. Accessed October 16, 2024. https://moleskinefoundation.org/initiative/wikiafrica/.
9. “Atwork.” Moleskine Foundation, December 15, 2021. Accessed October 16, 2024. https://moleskinefoundation.org/initiative/atwork/.
10. “Folios.” Moleskine Foundation, Accessed October 16, 2024. https://moleskinefoundation.org/initiative/folios/.
11. “Creativity Pioneers Podcast.” Moleskine Foundation, May 3, 2022. Accessed October 16,2024. https://moleskinefoundation.org/initiative/the-moleskine-foundation-podcast/.
12. “Creativity Pioneers Podcast.” Moleskine Foundation, May 3, 2022. Accessed October 16, 2024. https://moleskinefoundation.org/initiative/the-moleskine-foundation-podcast/.
13. Statuto della moleskine foundation art. 1. Accessed October 16, 2024. https://moleskinefoundation.org/app/uploads/2018/01/Stat_Fondazione_Moleskine_DEF.pdf.
14. “Open Society Foundations.” Moleskine Foundation, October 12, 2017. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://moleskinefoundation.org/initiative/open-society-foundations/.
16. “Donate.” Moleskine Foundation, November 29, 2021. Accessed October 16, 2024. https://moleskinefoundation.org/get-involved/donate/.[/not]e

    Partners

    MF lists 44 partners on its website including Leo Burnet, Open Society Foundations, DLVBBDO, and Nexa Center for Internet and Society.  ¹⁵ “Our Partners.” Moleskine Foundation, November 9, 2022. Accessed October 16, 2024. https://moleskinefoundation.org/about-us/our-partners/.

17. “Maria Sebregondi, Moleskine Founder, Takes Note of the Digital Age.” Subscribe to read. Accessed October 16, 2024. https://www.ft.com/content/b91688c8-cada-11e7-8536-d321d0d897a3.
18. “Our People.” Moleskine Foundation, October 26, 2023. https://moleskinefoundation.org/about-us/our-people/.