About Us
Mission
We aim:
To promote ‘Culture and Identity’ by supporting cultural, educational and social initiatives
To preserve threatened cultural heritage, if ‘responsible parties’ are lacking the required resources
To prepare, to conserve, and to spread cultural heritage including cultural identity
Objectives
Stichting Horizon was founded on 28 January 1997. Its purpose is (I) to promote the general good, in
particular cultural, educational and social affairs, (II) to distribute funds for social,
charitable, scientific and/or cultural ends, and (III) to administer the foundation’s
capital in such a manner that the realisation of the foundation’s objectives is secured
long-term. The foundation does not seek to make a profit.
Our activities
Stichting Horizon works to counteract portrayals of cultural differences as irreconcilable. We support initiatives that spread information about own and neighbouring cultures in order to provide a greater understanding of shared values.
Under the header of ‘culture & identity’ we sponsor a variety of projects that work with tangible and intangible cultural heritage in Germany, Eastern Europe (Romania, Bulgaria, the Balkans and Georgia) and Latin America.
They include and combine fields such as:
Photography
Film
Archaeological research & excavations
Ethnological and sociological research
Built heritage restoration
Natural heritage restoration
Music, dance and theatre
Strengthening culture and identity of people from different backgrounds
Operating Principles
General
Board Members and members of the Project Committee are responsible for the identification of beneficiaries and/or projects possibly qualifying for support by Stichting Horizon. In principle, the Foundation is not open to requests for support of the activities of third parties.
Beneficiaries
For efficiency reasons and in view of our limited resources, Stichting Horizon supports activities in a limited number of countries/regions only. Moreover, for compliance reasons and to minimize the risk of non-properly executed projects, the foundation aims to establish multi-year relationships with a limited number of ‘Regular’ Beneficiaries. All beneficiaries are assigned a sponsor who is always a member of the Horizon Board or Project Committee.
Projects
The majority of our projects have a term of one year at maximum. ‘Regular beneficiaries’ are allowed to present new requests for support on an annual basis after consulting their Sponsor on work plans, budgets, etc. Requests for general support, i.e. periodically recurring exploitation subsidies, are usually extended on a yearly basis but must still be formally requested every year. All projects are to be presented to the Project Committee and Board for final decision making.
Project execution
The recipient of financial support is responsible for the (timely) execution of a project selected, approved and financed by the foundation. Stichting Horizon is involved in the execution of its projects by exception only.
Fundraising & Cost structure
Fundraising
In the late 1990’s Stichting Horizon was capitalized by grants from a Dutch family foundation. The capital is invested in bank accounts, securities and/or loans characterized by a low-risk profile. All our activities are financed from income derived from this capital. Stichting Horizon does not aim to raise third party funds.
Income from investments is non-restricted and is fully used to finance projects selected and approved by the Project Committee, and to pay for modest operating expenses. In principle the annual budget is managed in such a manner that the financial reserves will not increase, leaving the foundation capital unchanged in nominal terms. The Secretary General is responsible for managing the capital and investments.
Cost structure
Expenditure is limited to the financing of projects and the payment of specific operating costs. The latter include attendance fees paid to Board members, travel and accommodation costs of the Secretary General and/or other staff, bank and investment costs, accounting and auditor expenses, and some smaller administrative costs. The combined operating costs are well below 10% of total income in any year.
Governance & Organization
Stichting Horizon (RSIN 8077.95.252), a Dutch foundation, was founded on 28 January 1997. The foundation is based in Zeist, The Netherlands, and shares its premises with a family foundation.
Governance
The Foundation is governed by three documents:
– Articles of Association (as amended on 5 November 2020)
– Regulations of the Board of Stichting Horizon (as adopted on 16 May 2020)
– Strategy Stichting Horizon (as updated in 2022)
The foundation does not aim to make any profits. (Article 2, Articles of Association)
Board
Monique G. Dolfing, Chair
Jeremy C.P. Amos
Stefan W.G. Henle
Pamela Veder
Project Committee
Monique G. Dolfing, Chair
Jeremy C.P. Amos
Alexander R. Amos
India I.C. Davison
Stefan W.G. Henle
Pamela Veder
Jan W. Haas
Felix B. Henle
Nelia C. Henle
Paola K. Henle
Ginka Tscholakowa-Henle, expert
Office
Hans Molenaar, Secretary General
Nils Smit, Assistant Secretary
All staff is employed by a family foundation.
Auditors
Van Ree Accountants
Memberships
Stichting Horizon is a member of the following organization:
– Vereniging van Fondsen in Nederland- FIN (organization of foundations in The Netherlands), since 1997.
Remuneration Policies
Board members are entitled to a remuneration for every Board meeting attended. The Chairman receives 130% of this amount per meeting. The amount of the remuneration is in accordance with ANBI regulations.
Members of the Project Committee do not receive a remuneration from the Foundation for their activities.
Spotlight
PROJECTS
In 2024 the Project Committee approved 40 new project applications for a total amount of € 715.946, of which 20 were submitted by beneficiaries to finance extensions of existing projects or new activities and amounted to € 657.696. In addition, the Project Committee approved 20 smaller or one-off projects for a total amount of € 58.250. In 2024 there have also been a few minor changes to projects that had been previously approved (€ 11.012 -/-).
The allocation of the 40 projects to the various geographical areas is as follows:
Country (No. of projects)
| Georgia (10) | € 147.960 |
| Germany (9) | € 145.725 |
| Romania (4) | € 131.200 |
| Bulgaria (4) | € 107.925 |
| Namibia (5) | € 86.986 |
| Austria (1) | € 32.750 |
| Netherlands (2) | € 28.900 |
| Switzerland (2) | € 27.500 |
| United Kingdom (3) | € 7.000 |
| Total: | € 715.946 |
