Plus souvent étudiée dans le cadre états-unien, la philanthropie fait l’objet d’un nombre accru de travaux en France aussi. Il s’agit ici d’examiner les organismes à but non-lucratif se consacrant aux sciences de la santé, à la jonction d’une histoire de la recherche médicale et d’une histoire des fondations. Le premier objectif est de recenser et de décrire ces organisations : actions, fonctionnements, modèles économiques. Le deuxième d’interpréter leur essor depuis la fin du XXe siècle – le nombre de fondations françaises tous domaines confondus a doublé en quinze ans, comme leurs dépenses et leurs actifs. De nouveaux statuts ont été créés, en particulier celui du fonds de dotation en 2008, la législation dans ce domaine, de manière générale, s’étoffant significativement au cours de cette décennie. En encourageant ainsi les instruments visant à lever de l’argent privé, la puissance publique initie-t-elle une forme de désengagement, ou du moins un redéploiement de ses missions ? Si la réponse ne peut être que nuancée, il est notable que l’étude des fonds et fondations nous place au cœur d’une histoire des transformations récentes de l’État, sur laquelle elle ambitionne d’apporter un éclairage spécifique, en faisant voir notamment ses implications pour les médecins chercheurs, confrontés à une complexité croissante des modes de financement. / Usually considered in the american context, philanthropy is the subject of a growing number of studies in France also. We here examine non-profits that are dedicated to health sciences, at the juncture of two distinct fields: history of medical research and history of charitable foundations. Our first objective is to list and describe these organizations: their actions, functioning and economic models. The second one is to interpret their expansion since the end of the 20th century – the number of French foundations all types combined doubled in 15 years, as did their assets and expenditures. New legal forms were created, most notably the endowment fund («fonds de dotation») in 2008, as legislation in this field developed. By encouraging tools whose purpose is to collect private money, are public authorities initiating a form of disengagement, or at least a restructuring of their missions? The answer must remain nuanced, but it is notable that studying charitable funds and foundations places us at the heart of another field: history of State transformation, which we hope to shed some light on, by showing its implications for researchers, who are facing a growing complexity in science funding.

The work deals with the legal and ethical aspects of Christian foundations and endowment funds. The first step is to familiarize ourselves with the basic concepts. The next part of the thesis deals with donations from an ethical a Christian perspective. A brief introduction to the historical development of the foundations and endowment funds, description of the current legislation, foundations and endowment funds and their comparison are integral part parts. In conclusion, the work discusses the possible problems associated with the activities of foundations and endowment funds, the very credibility of Foundations and the degree of people's willingness to participate in fundraisers. The thesis analyzes the compliance with obligations for these entities, including the available public and private mitigation activities, are a foundations and endowment funds greatest problems in complying with the requirement to prepare and publish an annual report. These annual reports should include a true picture of the activities of the foundation.