The ESA Humanitarian Relief Fund (HRF) aims to help people in distress by raising charitable donations for relief projects in many countries.
Your participation is much needed!
Who is the HRF
The ESA Humanitarian Relief Fund is an initiative taken by ESA employees . The Fund was founded in 1979 and is affiliated with the Social, Sport and Cultural Committee (SSCC) in ESTEC, but is not part of the corporate organisation. The Fund is fed with voluntary contributions from ESA employees, families and friends.
The ESA Humanitarian Relief Fund was originally known as the Natural Disaster Fund with the initial objective of providing immediate and direct funds to victims of natural disasters. In 2009 the name and objectives of the Fund were amended to allow to support a broader scope of relief projects encouraging auto sufficiency, like building schools, supporting educational programmes, hospitals or housing projects, while maintaining .
How HRF works
The ESA HRF has a committee of about ten ESA employees who manage the Fund (voluntary and in their free time) by reviewing help requests and granting donations. One of the great benefits of participating to this ESA-wide initiative is that your contribution will not be anonymously left on the big pile of the larger charitable organisations. We strive to, within the available funds, to select sustainable projects that encourage autonomy of the affected groups. We seek smaller projects with local management and with mínimum overheads. In this way, it is possible for the organisation to report back to the committee and explain how the money was used. Such reports are published in our newsletters to explain how contributors' donations were spent. The donations for natural disasters are granted to well-established relief organisations that have the size and logistic capabilities to quickly react.
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