HUMANIST
An advocate of Training
Luis Valls was a banker and philanthropist. The foundations he promoted, financed, and encouraged others to finance were somewhat special because, among the social purposes they supported, one stood out above the rest: support for education. If Luis Valls’s altruistic activity is not widely known, it is because he never publicized it during his lifetime; he preferred to remain in the background. These foundations are unique because they never sought, and do not seek, any return in terms of publicity, marketing, or image, nor did they aim to attract or retain customers when they received funds from Banco Popular. Their only aim was social: to improve people’s lives.
Studying to Improve Life
In Luis Valls’ opinion, the social impact of supporting education is fundamental within any society. Therefore, through the foundations, he fostered the growth (and sometimes the survival) of a wide variety of cultural entities and thousands of students. He often said that if someone wanted to improve their life, they had to start with education. It is a fact that, among the beneficiaries of the foundations over fifty years, there are thousands of students: from vocational training, performing arts schools, ecclesiastical faculties, and, above all, secondary and university education.
Luis Valls almost always tried to channel assistance or funding to programs which were already established. However, following his conviction of always putting the person at the center, his main desire was to support men and women who wanted to educate themselves in any way possible. This was Luis Valls’ ‘weakness’; he insisted on providing soft loans to anyone who wanted to complete or further their studies and was willing to make an effort. When students needed to resort to financing from an institution such as, for example, the Banco de Depósitos, the Fundación Patronato Universitario “bought” their good grades to make repayment much more manageable. Once again, as Luis Valls always said, money is not given away.
Supporting the Work Ethic
When choosing which students to help, there was only one condition: the beneficiary had to be committed and responsible because the loan had to be repaid. The students were presented by the College where they resided. No student who did not demonstrating a lack of resilience, solvency, and commitment to repaying the money received a loan. Regarding the entities, the foundations also helped schools, sometimes by providing scholarships to students, improving facilities, contributing to programs for books and sports equipment, organizing leisure time, etc. Only viable projects were chosen, as the money had to be repaid, whether it was a student or a cultural or educational entity. For this purpose, a structured repayment plan with well-defined deadlines was developed.
A Better Society
Students have always been (and still are) a priority of the three foundations. The Patronato Universitario is the closest to studies and culture. Luis Valls would be very satisfied to know that these foundations continue to support this important need, since, as he often said, education has few financiers, although, it is, in fact, the foundation on which to build a better society.