What does the Forward·Inc community need to know about your foundation? 

‘De Fundatie Van den Santheuvel, Sobbe is a Fund started in 1905 by a brother and sister that did not have any children. The fund was managed from the beginning by a trusteeship. Over the course of a century, de Fundatie Van den Santheuvel, Sobbe has grown considerably. New funds were placed within the Foundation or managed as a separate foundation by the curatorial.

The foundation is working with a similar target group as Forward·Inc. De Fundatie aims to get as many newcomers to getting self-reliance. Therefore we see a great fit with the target group of Forward·Inc. Self-reliance means getting a job or entrepreneurship as Forward·Inc is particularly focussing on. The more concrete the support and help, the better! 

A small example, during our last board meeting we ordered catering via one of the entrepreneurs from Forward·Inc; Badr Dabbagh with his business Humus & Habibis.’ 

What is the relationship between Forward·Inc & de Fundatie van Santheuvel, Sobbe?

‘It started in 2018 when my daughter got in contact with Diederick van der Wijk, one of the co-founders of Forward·Inc, and thought that there could be a potential match. Since then, we yearly support Forward·Inc financially.’

This makes de Fundatie van Santheuvel, Sobbe the most valuable and long-term donor! They believed in Forward from the beginning and are still contributing to the future of Forward. 

What are you most proud of in your collaboration with Forward·Inc?

‘Interesting to see that the younger generation stood up to tackle the challenges of the Netherlands dealing with the enormous amount of asylum seekers. It is wonderful to see that the younger generation switches the thought of it being a challenge into a great opportunity for society.’

What do you wish for Forward·Inc and all the new participants joining the programs?

‘Of course, creating more and more impact by helping lots of newcomers to become self-reliant. But therefore it is important to stay focused and stick to your core. The concept of Forward·Inc lends itself to scaling, but please do that together with partners. The personal touch with the target group is the most impactful!’