PHILIPSBURG – Samenwerkende Fondsen, also known as the Cooperating Foundations for the Dutch Caribbean, hosted a successful information session focused on funding opportunities for social projects.
Over 40 persons attended the session at the NIA Black Box Theatre on Wednesday, June 22. On Thursday, June 23, another presentation was given in Statia, where 10 persons representing local NGOs had an opportunity to discuss funding opportunities for their social projects.
Samenwerkende Fondsen was set up over 10 years ago as a collaborative effort to support social initiatives on the Dutch Caribbean islands. It is an organization that is facilitated by five funds, originating from the Netherlands, all with a specific social focus. It was established as a need was recognized to ease the process of requesting funds from the Netherlands, a one-stop shop for funding instead of needing to request funding from 5 different organizations.
Locally, some organizational changes have occurred where a new Project Coordinator has taken up the role of assisting with assessing possible funding opportunities and requests. This is being done locally, as well as for Saba and Statia. A visiting Project Advisor from the Oranje Fonds in the Netherlands, one of the main organizations funding the Samenwerkende Fondsen, came to assist with the presentations and discussions.
Persons who missed this opportunity can call the local Project Coordinator for more information on possible financial assistance. For more information on Samenwerkende Fondsen/the Cooperating Foundations for the Dutch Caribbean, organizations can visit http://samenwerkendefondsen.org/en, e-mail: sintmaarten@samenwerkendefondsen.org or call +1(721) 586-0808.
A downloadable funding application form can be found on the website, and appointments can be made via the abovementioned contact information.
*In pictures: Attendees at the SXM presentation and visiting Project Advisor from the Oranje Fonds Maayke Botman.
