The "la Caixa" Foundation allocates 2.5 million euros to the fight against child poverty and social exclusion

Fundación "la Caixa" is allocating 2.5 million euros to 89 projects selected in the 2020 call for proposals for the fight against child poverty and social exclusion, which will have an impact on more than 27,000 beneficiaries, mainly families in a situation of social exclusion.

Fundación "la Caixa" is determined to act against situations of vulnerability and exclusion by focusing on people, with a holistic model of community care aimed at them. For this reason, the present call for proposals focuses on two areas of action that include early childhood care, social and educational support, psychotherapeutic and emotional care, basic social care, personal empowerment and community development processes for the social inclusion of vulnerable people.

The projects selected in the area of social and educational development of children and young people in vulnerable situations and their families are based on the desire to break the cycle of poverty by empowering children and adolescents and strengthening the family as the focus of socio-educational action. Forty-four projects have been selected, with 11,538 beneficiaries.

In the area of promoting social inclusion for people at risk of poverty and exclusion, the priority aim of the projects is to promote actions that facilitate comprehensive development and inclusion processes, enhancing capacities and promoting equal opportunities. Forty-five projects have been selected, with 16,052 beneficiaries.

In addition, 38 of the total number of projects selected in these two areas cover, in a complementary manner, the basic needs of the most vulnerable people to whom they are addressed, such as food and hygiene, or the supply of clothing, school materials or basic pharmaceutical products.

This is the second call of the 2020 Social Initiative Project Aid Programme, which this year is also investing a total of 17.3 million euros in the care of the elderly, the disabled and the sick, as well as in social and occupational integration, housing for social inclusion, the promotion of interculturality and social action in the rural environment.

The projects selected in this call respond to the needs that have reaffirmed their importance and address groups that are particularly vulnerable to the crisis resulting from the Covid-19. In this sense, the "la Caixa" Foundation has strengthened its support to entities to ensure that aid reaches the most vulnerable people and groups who are suffering most severely from the effects of this pandemic, such as families with children who have difficulty covering basic needs, the homeless, women victims of violence, former prisoners in the process of reintegration or migrants at risk or in a situation of exclusion.

It is worth highlighting the effort of the project promoters to stand by the most fragile groups by promoting interventions that respond to the new social needs arising from the pandemic, such as accompaniment, guidance and training for families, school reinforcement for children and psychosocial support for people in a situation or risk of exclusion. To this end, the "la Caixa" Foundation has not only ensured that the selection criteria meet these objectives, but has also provided follow-up and options for reformulating the projects selected, as well as simplifying the processing of grants.

As it does every year, the project selection criteria have also taken into account the support of the Administration or effective collaboration between social entities through partnership and the involvement of the community where they are developed.

The general director of the "la Caixa" Foundation, Antonio Vila, has highlighted the effort and commitment of the entity: "The fight against the poverty suffered by thousands of vulnerable families and children at risk of exclusion continues to be a priority objective for our foundation, and even more so in the current context of health and social crisis that affects these groups in a particularly severe way. For this reason, we should be grateful for the responsibility and role played by the entities in promoting projects that respond to the social needs of the moment.

The 2020 Social Initiatives Project Aid Programme renews once again the commitment with the entities, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDA) and Agenda 2030 of the United Nations (UN), supporting initiatives that contribute to the eradication of poverty or that promote quality education, especially among the most vulnerable groups in the current health context.

Once again this year, the "la Caixa" Foundation will give special recognition to the institutions that develop, on the basis of the programme of calls for proposals, the most disruptive projects, either for implementing new models of social intervention or management, or for contributing a transformative vision of society.

The seventh edition of the "la Caixa" Awards for Social Innovation will award 10 prizes of 15,000 euros each, which will give an additional boost to each of the winning projects. Nominations will be evaluated on the basis of the report and the results of the projects to be submitted for the awards.