Cooperating Foundations donate half a million

GREAT BAY – The Cooperating Foundations for the Caribbean of the Dutch Kingdom donate an amount of Euro 500,000 for emergency relief  to the Red Cross for the by hurricane Irma affected Dutch Caribbean islands St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius.

The funding organizations watched the devastation that Irma caused with horror. There is no option of sitting back and wait as in these circumstances currently funded Caribbean social  initiatives financed by Cooperating Foundations cannot continue and proceed with their  current important work. Because the Cooperating Foundations do not have the infrastructure for emergency relief help, they decided to make this amount available to the Red Cross.

In addition to this grant, Cooperating Foundations want to assist in the reconstruction of the affected islands. Currently a procedure is being developed whereby a more simple application form for  social  initiatives will facilitate  an accelerated application process for financial support for among others materials and means.

The partnership of the Cooperating Foundations (consisting of Innovatiefonds Zorgverzekeraars, Kansfonds, Stichting Kinderpostzegels, het Oranje Fonds and Fonds Sluyterman van Loo) is established to support social initiatives in the Caribbean part of the Dutch Kingdom. With this support the foundations want to strengthen social involvement, bring people in contact with each other and assist them in jointly moving forward. The affected islands Sint Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius, but also Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao fall under the Foundations’ work area. The Cooperating Foundations give specific financial support to initiatives that are rooted and derive from the community itself; projects which battle poverty and offer better opportunities for a human existence for all inhabitants of the islands. This includes those who socially and financially wise have fewer opportunities.