Editorial

Pierre Francotte, President

In times of economic crisis, the less privileged people are often hit disproportionately hard.  All of us at United Fund for Belgium have therefore redoubled our efforts this year to maintain our support to the charities that do such great work to help those who are most in need.  I am proud to report that, thanks to the generosity of many corporations and individuals in Belgium, we succeeded in collecting once more close to €1 million.

These funds will finance 83 projects run by different charities from all parts of Belgium, improving the lives of more than 23,000 disadvantaged persons.

The projects vary a lot from charity to charity, but in each case the generosity of our donors makes an enormous difference for these organizations that often need to manage very tight budgets in difficult conditions.

UFB is a unique organization in so many ways. It has deep roots in all parts of Belgium. Each project is reviewed by members of our Allocation Committee, who are all volunteers with a great deal of experience and knowledge, which has always reassured our donors that their donations go to initiatives of value and quality.

In addition, UFB has been able for several years, and this was again the case this year, to transfer to the charities every cent of the donations that we collect from our donors, which is quite unique in Belgium. We have been able to do this because UFB has put great emphasis on limiting its own operating costs and benefits from special donations from corporations and generous individuals to cover these operating costs.  Thanks to additional contributions made this year, we have also increased further the Martin Kallen Fund, a fund that is intended to generate over time enough recurrent income to cover our operating costs and ensure that we can continue this policy of transferring 100% of the donations to charities.  We can also use special fundraising events as necessary, such as our annual Christmas cards and golf event, to fund our operating costs and ensure that all your donations are passed on to the charities.

UFB is supported by a remarkably dynamic small team and by a great number of dedicated and active volunteers.  All our Board members, all our Allocation Committee members are volunteers. In addition, UFB receives generous support in kind from many companies to help us be more effective.

This volunteer work is an integral part of the success of UFB and means that our success is also the success of our donors and volunteers. United Fund for Belgium is proof, year after year, that if we roll up our sleeves and work together, we can make a real difference.

I want to thank sincerely and warmly all those who do so much to improve the lives of so many people in need.