The Virtual Foundation - your donation makes it happen

How the Virtual Foundation Works

An Anecdotal Example

  1. A community organization in a country such as Hungary, Russia, or Lithuania designs a project, such as developing a bird sanctuary. They have some of the resources they need to start the project, but they need 2,250 dollars to complete it.
  2. The group submits a brief proposal to a regional organization, which is a Virtual Foundation Consortium Member, with several years of experience assisting citizens' groups in designing and implementing projects. The proposal and budget are reviewed. If approved, a recommendation to fund the project is sent to the Virtual Foundation headquarters.
  3. The proposal is reviewed again by the Virtual Foundation Board of Directors. If it is accepted, the project is posted on the Virtual Foundation World Wide Web site. Ten percent of the amount of the grant request is added to the website funding request to support the cost of administering the project, and by the Consortium member. (The $2,250 sanctuary proposal becomes a $2,475 on-line request.)
  4. A group of bird watchers in the United States read the proposal and donate 1,000 dollars to the Virtual Foundation. An individual and another organization provide the additional funds in the amount needed to fully fund the project.
  5. The Virtual Foundation Board of Directors makes a final decision to fund the Bird Sanctuary project.
  6. The funds are wired to the Virtual Foundation Consortium member overseas. This organization allocates the funds and supervises the project.
  7. The donors and grant recipients are encouraged to establish communications, to find ways of expanding their cooperation, and to exchange information about the project, as it unfolds. (Donors may choose to remain anonymous.)
  8. When the project is completed, the grant recipient provides a final report to the Virtual Foundation. The report is posted on the Internet as an example of a Virtual Foundation project. These reports are linked, via the World Wide Web, to other environmental information sites where they will serve as models of successful community development projects.
  9. The relationship between donor and recipient has become a partnership between people pursuing common interests. It continues, perhaps with additional financial support, perhaps as American ecotourists visiting the sanctuary that they helped to build.