Some projects are incredible by nature. When you encounter them, they stand out. It is just a matter of checking whether you have found the real thing or a cheap imitation.

Some projects have not yet seen the light of day.

Some projects are really one person starting something on a voluntary base. He comes from a village without a school in Madagascar, he wants to build one. A refugee in a camp in Iraq with no health care facility seriously wants to have one. It is nearly always very personal.

People start connecting with other volunteers and things grow organically. There is no—or very minimal—presence on the internet. Funding is not very sophisticated, and never really stable.

A narrow opportunity to be a game changer.

At a given point in the organic growth of the project, the Poremma Foundation can make a serious difference.

Marketing doesn’t exist yet. Nobody is spinning anything. Fundraising was considered at one point but was a distraction from mere survival.

During these decisive moments, a small investment can mean everything. From collapsing, to continuing. From not starting a project, to launching it. From not being able to pay anyone, to having one or more people on payroll. From barely executing day to day activity, to investing in the project’s future.

Constantly searching for new projects.

We find the project, they do not find us. At this point of their development, they might not have had the time to focus on this or to find investment.

We constantly increase our network, in order to find the projects that have not yet seen the light. Often to their surprise, we contact them, and we ask them: Can we help you in a meaningful way?

Some projects deliver incredible results with little money.

At a given point of a project’s development, the impact of the money channeled can be incredible. This is due to the involvement of the volunteers and the extreme lightness of the structure. Half a euro can pay for a child’s meal, or a medical consultation in an informal camp of refugees in Dunkirk, France. At a given time, money makes a difference. At some other point, it is not a game changer.

Some projects have serious potential to grow.

We support projects until we can no longer make a huge difference. At a given point, the little NGO has created its own support system. It is then that we dedicate our time and resources to a different project, happy they were able to take that next step.