Family and community foundations seeking to increase their international activities will find that the Virtual Foundation provides meaningful international grant making opportunities in the areas of environment, human health, and sustainable community development. Purpose of the Virtual Foundation The purpose of the Virtual Foundation is to match donors with reputable Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and their projects in developing countries, and to guarantee rewarding, secure, efficient and transparent grant making. Utilizing our website and Internet communications, the Virtual Foundation develops and deepens international philanthropy. The Virtual Foundation enables foundations to: make direct grants to NGOs in other countries; choose specific projects that fit or expand a foundation's portfolio; depend on a network of experienced and trustworthy local/international grantmakers to supervise grants; experiment with international grant making on a medium scale; receive timely progress and final reports on-line or through e-mail design and arrange implementation of your own project, through the consultation services of Virtual Foundation program officers. The Virtual Foundation offers these advantages: family and community foundation board members may review Virtual Foundation proposals, make funding decisions, and monitor progress using the Internet (without meeting in a room); working through the Virtual Foundation eliminates the need for infrastructure usually associated with making grants abroad; "paperless" on-line grantmaking saves time and money; only 10% of grant funds are designated for Virtual Foundation and Consortium Member administrative expenses; international grant making to address global problems can be very cost effective, because of the strength of the US dollar; the Virtual Foundation provides tax deductibility and compliance with IRS regulations involving contributions to overseas projects. View the "Larger Projects" Currently Available for Funding To find out more about the achievements of the Virtual Foundation, see the section with funded projects. For further information on services for foundations, contact Randy Kritkausky, Executive Director of ECOLOGIA PO Box 268 Middlebury Vermont 05753 USA Tel: 1- 802-623-8075 email: rkritkausky@ecologia.org