Social solidarity - Stichting DOEN

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My DOEN

My DOEN

Amy van Leiden
Cascoland ontwikkelt een ontmoetingsplek met kas en boomgaard in de Van Deysselbuurt in Amsterdam. Buurtbewoners en vrijwilligers tuinieren, produceren en conserveren hun zelfverbouwde voedsel en komen bij elkaar voor projecten die bijdragen aan de leefbaarheid en betrokkenheid in de buurt.

Social solidarity

DOEN supports pioneers working to achieve a cohesive, supportive society in which everyone can participate. These partners receive funding from the Postcode Loterij Buurtfonds or VriendenLoterij Fonds. With them, we’re creating a movement centred on knowledge exchange and collaboration. In this way, we’re building a socially inclusive, engaged future together. 

The Delfshaven Coöperatie’s welfare coalition connects numerous community projects in the Rotterdam neighbourhood of Delfshaven. Together, they’re working to increase local well-being through programmes run for and by residents.
The Delfshaven Coöperatie’s welfare coalition connects numerous community projects in the Rotterdam neighbourhood of Delfshaven. Together, they’re working to increase local well-being through programmes run for and by residents.

Postcode Loterij Buurtfonds

Through the Postcode Loterij Buurtfonds, we’re working to strengthen the social fabric and encouraging resident-led, bottom–up local change. With the Nationale Postcode Loterij, we organised campaigns in 2024 to encourage more people to work to improve their neighbourhoods. The Postcode Loterij Buurtfonds funded more than 700 small community projects to make neighbourhoods greener and more socially inclusive, creative and accessible. We also supported 35 larger, innovative community projects that aim to use radically new approaches to increase socioeconomic security and well-being. These groundbreaking pioneers include Collectief Kapitaal and Delfshaven Coöperatie. Some, like De Werkmakers and Plekmakers, take a broader approach and work at the socialecosystem level. They bring community residents together and encourage them to turn their dreams into tangible projects to create a more pleasant, robust and resilient society. Of these 35 innovative community projects, we supported 15 for the first time in 2024. 

Ban Biba Bario is a funding application portal for small socially inclusive, green and creative community projects on Aruba and Curaçao. Cede Aruba and Unidat di Bario Kòrsou run the project, with residents choosing the parameters for funding allocation.
Ban Biba Bario is a funding application portal for small socially inclusive, green and creative community projects on Aruba and Curaçao. Cede Aruba and Unidat di Bario Kòrsou run the project, with residents choosing the parameters for funding allocation.

Ban Biba Bario

In the Dutch Caribbean, the Postcode Loterij Buurtfonds funded the Ban Biba Bario programme. This joint project by Unidat di Bario Kòrsou and Cede Aruba focuses on enhancing social cohesion and supporting neighbourhood initiatives on Aruba and Curaçao. Residents are actively involved in developing, implementing and reviewing the programme. The first projects received funding in 2024. An example is the community hub Centro di Bario Savaneta on Aruba, which enhances social cohesion and promotes local products by organising events such as a farmers’ market.

VriendenLoterij Fonds 

Through the VriendenLoterij Fonds, in 2024 we supported 37 social enterprises and projects working to increase social participation by people whose personal circumstances have limited their opportunities. Nine are receiving our support for the first time. Projects such as Het Bouwdepot and the Jongeren Perspectief Fonds play a vanguard role in this area, while the social–enterprise sales platform Twinpact and the cooperative-enterprise network LaNSCO are important sector-strengthening forces. In 2024 DOEN’s Art & Design for Inclusion development scheme, jointly run by the Social Solidarity and Power of Imagination teams, supported artists who focus on social inclusion, such as Klaas Burger with his Fair Jobs research project. 

In recent years, DOEN has been a financier and co-organiser of the We Doen Het Samen festival for community projects. Organised by a consortium of funds and umbrella organisations, it focuses on improving social cohesion in villages and neighbourhoods. (Photo: John Voermans)
In recent years, DOEN has been a financier and co-organiser of the We Doen Het Samen festival for community projects. Organised by a consortium of funds and umbrella organisations, it focuses on improving social cohesion in villages and neighbourhoods. (Photo: John Voermans)

Stronger together

Political changes and spending cuts severely impacted community projects in 2024. At the same time, more such projects focusing on social solidarity and inclusion were set up. DOEN brings partners together to boost the power of local initiatives. For example, through the coalition We Doen Het Samen (Let’s Do It Together), we encourage citizen groups and policymakers to collaborate. In doing so, they can learn from each other and build useful connections. To promote social enterprise, in 2024 we organised the Schaal je Impact (Scale Your Impact) event with organisations including Social Enterprise NL and the Rabo Foundation. 

 

Deep Canvassing Nederland works to break through polarisation and promote empathy through candid personal conversations. The project was inspired by the effective use of the deep canvassing method in the US.
Deep Canvassing Nederland works to break through polarisation and promote empathy through candid personal conversations. The project was inspired by the effective use of the deep canvassing method in the US.

Citizen engagement

We are looking closely at themes such as economic security and democratic citizenship and what they mean for social solidarity. In 2024 we supported projects such as Collectief Kapitaal and Warm Rotterdam, which work to meet people’s basic needs out of the principle of solidarity. And DOEN’s funding helped organisations like Stichting Grondwerk, DeGoedeZaak and Deep Canvassing Nederland to involve more people in social change. 

We’re proud of all our partners who are working to strengthen the fabric of society. Large parties such as municipalities and care organisations are increasingly acknowledging the power of the bottom-up approach and viewing these projects as serious collaborative partners. By sharing their experiences and success stories, our partners are showing that a society based in solidarity, in which everyone participates and cares for one another, is truly possible. 

Back to the 2024 Annual Report
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