On our website you can find all information about the WINS Foundation. Below you will find an overview of the most frequently asked questions. Can’t find what you are looking for? Please contact us.
What is Stichting WINS / WINS Foundation? WINS Foundation is a non-profit and trust-based organization with a
ANBI label, committed to helping disadvantaged children in Indonesia. WINS ensures that these children can follow education and have a chance for a better future.
What is the WINS program? The WINS program is focused on sponsoring children so that they can receive education at the local schools. In addition, the children can attend free additional lessons at one of the WINS Learning Centers. These lessons are provided by volunteers from all over the world. In this way, the children can gain more knowledge and skills for a better future. These classes are free of charge for all children from the local community. Read more about our
mission.
Does WINS only support orphans?
The WINS Foundation also supports half-living and disadvantaged children in addition to orphans. The orphans find shelter at one of the Learning Centers or sleep with family, acquaintances or neighbors.
What are the activities of a WINS Learning Center? A & lt; ahref = “http://www.wins.foundation/learning-centers/” & gt; Learning Center is a kind of school in their village where the children come to after attending the local school to follow free additional lessons. The Learning Centers are run by local teams 24/7 and are initially supported by the WINS Foundation, to eventually become independent through its own business model. In some locations we work with other foundations that provide infrastructure (classrooms, school supplies, etc.) and WINS arranges child sponsorship and volunteers (via
VIP International ). If there is no cooperation with another foundation, WINS will provide support to the Learning Center in the first three to five years. We help the Learning Center to set up its own business to become self-sufficient in the long term and generate revenue. WINS will always be involved through child sponsorship and projects, and will provide advice and assistance if necessary. However, it is encouraged that, after three years, a Learning Center can provide support for itself. In this way, the WINS Foundation can set up new Learning Centers elsewhere.
What does WINS Foundation do with donations? WINS Foundation has the
ANBI label. That means the WINS Foundation is committed to the public interest and with its useful activities has no profit objective. In addition, this means that the people directly involved in the WINS Foundation can not possess the ability of the foundation as if it were their own funds.
The people behind the WINS Foundation, such as the board members, the project advisors and the volunteers, receive NO money and NO compensation in any form. That does not fit our vision. All involved are unpaid volunteers and devote themselves to their passion and love for the disadvantaged children in Indonesia, in their spare time next to their (full time) jobs. There is an exception for the people in Bali who run the Learning Centers. These people work 24/7 for the children’s interests and use all their time and resources (they also make their land available for building classrooms). The Learning Centers Coordinators receive a Balinese basic salary during the first three years. In those three years, they must make a plan to generate income for the Learning Center, such as hiring volunteers / visitors, renting scooters, organizing trips through Bali, offering cooking lessons, etc. Once the business runs, they are self-sufficient and no longer receive salary from WINS Foundation. These salaries are not paid for by donations meant for the children, but are paid from general donations or funds received by the WINS Foundation through fundraising activities.
What happens with my donation?When donating, you can indicate to which purpose you want your donation to be used for. This may be for a specific project, for setting up a new Learning Centers, for remuneration of the Learning Centers Coordinators (as explained in the previous point), for the purchase of items for the children or facilities, for school trips with the children, etc. Or you can use your donation for children who’s sponsor had to quit due to financial circumstances. Other than these donations, you can participate in the
WINS Child sponsoring program. The WINS Foundation has hardly any overhead costs and we want to keep it as well! That way we can guarantee our donors and sponsors that their donations are used where it’s needed most: with the children! If you sponsor a specific child, your donation will be fully transferred to the child’s bank account. The child can not just pick up money here, this needs to be done with supervision of a coordinator of the Learning Center. The child, together with the coordinator, keep an accurate book keeping and reports it regularly to our treasurer and to the sponsor. Many people wonder if it’s not irresponsible to let the children do it themselves. WINS Foundation believes that the children – with the right guidance – can do their own accounting. Thus they also learn about how to deal with money. After all, they have to do it themselves one day.
Can I make a one-time donation?Yes, definitely. You can check on our
Facebook fanpage which projects we have and where we may need donations. The current projects are also listed on the
Crowdfunding page. Of course, you can always send us an e-mail to ask which projects are most beneficial for your donation or to gain insight into the planned and ongoing projects. Do you already know where to target your donation? Then you can transfer your donation to NL91 INGB 0004 9181 25, Stichting WINS, name of the project or activity. Donations may be subtracted from your income tax or company tax. The tax benefits can be found on the
ANBI website.
What are the costs of child sponsoring?The average monthly donation is on average € 25. Once you have informed us about your interest to sponsor a child, our treasurer sends you a non-committal detailed overview of the costs. Have a look at the children on our
waiting list. If you wish to receive more specific information about a child, please
contact us. The children follow SD (primary school), then SMP (junior high school) and then SMA (high school). The total duration is equal to primary and secondary school in the Netherlands. Based on the starting point of sponsorship, the number of years the child still has to attend school is calculated and based on this, an average monthly amount is calculated. We include the estimated inflation and increases in school fees (including uniform and books included). We do this so that the sponsors pay a fixed amount per month during their sponsorship and are not asked to increase the amount every year. Initially, the child thus receives more money than necessary for the school fees at the time and over time, less. That extra money at the beginning is accurately set aside and kept in the accounts so that this saved money can be used when the school fees exceed the donations. Donations may be subtracted from your income tax or company tax.The tax benefits can be found on the
ANBI website.
Can I sponsor a disabled child / child with special needs?The WINS Foundation also supports children with physical or mental disabilities/challenges. At the Learning Center Yayasan Widya Guna in Bedulu, there is a team dedicated to these children, under the guidance of Ketut Sadia. These children can also be found on the
waiting list with the mention of “special needs”.
Can I sponsor child together with friends or with my company?That’s certainly possible. Many children are sponsored through co-sponsorship. Sometimes by sponsors who know each other, but sometimes also by sponsors who do not know each other. For example, they have a particular click with a child and both want to help the child or they can not completely miss the required amount and then partially want to pay the child’s costs.
What is the duration of child sponsoring?Ideally, a child is sponsored for the duration of the school period, but this is obviously not a must. If you have to quit your sponsorship, we will find a new sponsor for the child. In any event, the WINS Foundation ensures that a child will never be duped when a sponsorship is discontinued.
I have to discontinue my sponsorship, what do I do?You can pass this by e-mail. We ensure that the child can continue to go to school. If you want/have to stop your sponsorship, please inform us as soon as possible. In this way, we can ensure that your sponsorship is followed up by a new sponsor, or temporarily by the WINS Foundation until a new sponsor has been found.
I don't receive emails from the child very regularly, what now?The children are encouraged to email as much as possible with their sponsors. This is also often part of the English and computer lesson program. Please note that only a limited number of laptops are available at Learning Center, which means that children can not always be able to send an email. Also, the internet connection in Indonesia is not as good as we are used to. Some children are a little more convenient in mailing and contacting their sponsor in English than other children, so the quality and frequency of the emails can of course be different. Nevertheless, we ask the children to send updates to their sponsors.
Can I do voluntary work?Volunteers are extremely important for WINS Foundation. Without volunteers, we can not do our activities and the children can not follow (or at least much less and less varied) additional lessons. The registration and coordination of volunteers who want to teach classes in Indonesia is outsourced to
VIP International. Previously, we did this on our own, but the number of applications has increased significantly, and unfortunately we could not facilitate that as a small club of volunteers who run the WINS activities in free time.
VIP International carries out the volunteer affairs from A to Z and does this in a very personal and integral way.
How can I help from my home country?In the Netherlands, France, USA, Australia, Singapore and other countries we also rely on volunteers and the activities they want to perform for the WINS Foundation. Whether in the role of board member, project adviser, fundraiser / crowdfunding, sparring partner, or any role. We are very grateful that we have always been able to receive a lot of support from many volunteers, for example by organizing benefit and fundraising activities. If you have any ideas or want to initiate activities for fundraising, please
contact us.
Can I visit the Learning Centers?You are welcome to visit one of our Learning Centers. Please note that unannounced visits can not always be guided; this depends on the schedule of the Learning Center. To be able to teach, you must have a social-cultural visa that must be requested in advance at the Indonesian Embassy. More information about this can be found through
VIP International.
I have books, clothes, laptops, phones, etc. over. Can I send or bring this?Bringing things along is of course possible, but sometimes it may be more convenient to buy items in Indonesia instead of transporting them to Indonesia. For example, pens and notebooks cost very little and so you do not have to carry this weight yourself during your trip. Clothing is always welcome, but only clothes that are not worn out. Also clothes (at local clothing shops, not tourist-oriented shops) are very cheap in Indonesia and we want to prevent children from wearing worn out clothes. The best thing is to give clothes to the coordinator instead of handing out to the children themselves. At the Learning Centers, many children run around and we want to prevent certain children from getting more clothes than others. Unfortunately, we do not have the facilities to organize shipping or transportation of resources such as books, laptops, etc. We simply do not have the financial resources as well as the manpower to coordinate and process the transport process of these goods. The best way is to deliver the stuff yourself or to give someone to our Learning Centers.
How can I stay informed of WINS developments?We regularly send a newsletter to our sponsors, donors and stakeholders. If you would like to receive the newsletter (even if you are not a donor or sponsor), you can
sign up (and unsubscribe at any time). Also, we have a
Facebook page where we put as much news and photos as possible about the WINS Learning Centers in Indonesia and our activities. You can also view the content of this fanpage if you do not own Facebook.
Can I organize a benefit or crowdfunding for WINS?You are very welcome to organize a benefit, crowdfunding or other activity for WINS Foundation! We are strongly supported by loyal sponsors who themselves take initiatives for fundraising. For example, the Duvelloop in Haarlem is a returning running event that takes place every June and is organized by loyal WINS sponsors. These initiatives are also communicated as soon as the planning is known. You can stay informed of these initiatives on our
Facebook page and our
Crowdfunding page.