our criteria

Stichting Kinderpostzegels Nederland uses the following criteria when funding projects:

• participation by children

  children should have a say in the planning and/or implementation of the project activities.

• opportunities for integration

  under-privileged children should have the opportunity to play, learn and grow up together with other children.

• local support

  Projects should be initiated by private organisations within the countries themselves, in other words by "people from the field". Local people are the best judges of the situation and can ensure the project is integrated into the local society.

• small-scale projects

  Kinderpostzegels prefers to support small-scale projects which provide the basis for aid facilities. This is the best way to involve children and their local environment. An additional advantage of small-scale projects is that they can be evaluated within a relatively short period of time to see whether they are doing good work.

• short-term support

  Kinderpostzegels prefers to help new projects that can support themselves after a certain period of time. The focus is on building up capacity and organisational development to ensure the work will continue when Kinderpostzegels’s support comes to an end.

• family and community-based

  Children function best inside a family and community, even if there are reasons why they cannot stay with their own family. Projects should therefore be aimed at solving the problems of children in their own environment. If an organisation is convinced that an institution is the best solution to a specific problem, it needs to show very clearly why that is in the child’s best interests.

• beyond the individual project

  Kinderpostzegels is always interested in the broader perspective of the project. We encourage partner organisations to invest in developing innovative methods, in sharing these with other organisations working in the same field and of course in lobbying, networking and advocacy. We also encourage partner organisations to investigate whether there are already organisations offering the service they are planning.

• eventual financial independence

  The project or organisation applying for funding should eventually be able to operate independently.