80 charity organisations working with children and adolescents in difficult circumstances will be able to follow through on their educational and social care projects thanks to the financial helping hand they are to receive from the BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation. The sums granted under the annual Awards scheme this year total €746,500.
Of the 200 charities which applied for a grant under the third annual call for projects published by BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation in the spring, 80 are to receive financial support.
National and Regional Awards – Seven selection committees made up of staff from BNP Paribas Fortis and the Foundation selected local charities to share in a total envelope of €651,500.
Regional Awards were granted as follows:
- Brussels area: eleven recipients will share a total grant of €111,500.
- Antwerp area: eight non-profits will share a total amount of €80,000.
- Flemish Brabant – Limburg area: eight organisations will share a total sum of €80,000.
- East Flanders area: six recipients will share a total grant of €80,000.
- West Flanders area: eight charities will share a total grant of €80,000.
- Hainaut – Walloon area: ten non-profit organisations will share a total grant of €110,000.
- Liège – Namur – Luxembourg area: nine non-profit organisations will share a total grant of €110,000.
Full information on each of the recipients, their projects and the amounts granted to them is available in Dutch – in French. Be also sure to have a look at the pictures: Dutch – French.
In addition, the Groep INTRO organisation has been selected to receive a national Award worth €25,000. INTRO works with young people from the town of Halle who are still of school age but for whom formal schooling no longer offers any real prospects. The charity works with these young people to help each of them get back on to a learning path.
‘Special Awards’ – From 7 November to 7 December, members of the general public and BNP Paribas Fortis staff had the opportunity to cast their vote online in the region of their choice for one of three projects put forward by the regional selection committee.
In each area the charity initiative obtaining the most votes from general public, on the one hand, and from BNP Paribas Fortis staff, on the other hand, would receive a special awards worth €3,000. The other projects in each region would receive a smaller ‘helping hand’ amounting to €1,000.
These Special Awards constitute a total envelope of € 70,000. Information on the recipients of the Special Awards, their projects and the amounts granted to them is also shown in the descriptions in Dutch and French referred to above.
Interactive map – Take a look at the interactive map to see which organisation in your area has already obtained support from the BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation in Dutch – in French.
Round table discussions – The official Awards ceremonies will take place during the second half of January and early February 2015.
At these events representatives of the 2014 Awards recipients will be taking part in a number of round table discussions on various important issues:
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‘To what extent do the Awards-funded projects create ties – between a mother and her children; between visually impaired or blind children and other children; between young and old people; and between young people and society as a whole? (15 January, Hainaut – Walloon Brabant area)
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'In the fight against poverty, having enough to eat and a decent roof over your head are basic necessities, but having opportunities for sport, leisure and relaxation are also important needs. This is one of the conclusions of an impact study commissioned by the Foundation some months ago and it now remains to be seen how this goal is being approached on the ground’ (23 January, Antwerp area)
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'Managing the wide variety of charity organisations which work to improve the lot of underprivileged children and adolescents, and the way these organisations obtain the money they need’ (28 January, Flemish Brabant – Limburg area)
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'What happens to young people who have got back on track with the assistance of a charity organisation, when they reach 18 and are left to find their own way?’ (6 February, Liège – Namur – Luxembourg area).
2015 Awards: call for projects – Next year, many charity initiatives will once again be selected for financial support under the BNP Paribas Fortis Foundation Awards. The 2015 round will be officially launched on 11 March.