Summary

• Deadline is 1 May of each year
• As of 2010, all applicants should use our new Application Form

About:

The "NATO Wives Bazaar ASBL" is a philanthropic Association created in 1968 and officially registered in Belgium as a non-profit organization since April 26, 2005. Its objectives are to raise money for charities and to promote friendship in the international community of NATO. Funds are collected through several events each year, the annual bazaar being the most important of them.

Annually, the Association invites all member nations of the Alliance and its Partners to join in an International fair for charities called the "NATO Wives Bazaar". For many consecutive years now, it is customery to see several thousand people come through the doors of the Bazar.

Well over 100,000 Euros are collected each year, and entirely distributed to charities. Half the funds are donated to Belgian charities in acknowledgment of Belgium as the host nation of NATO Headquarters, and the other half is going to International charities.

A transparent and objective selection process determines which charities will receive a part of the collected funds for any given year. The Charity Coordinator and her Assistant, investigate all requests received from a large number of Charities and will visit some of these with the help of volunteer members of the Charity Committee. This same committee reviews all the files and lists the requests in order of priority based on collectively defined criteria and using a voting system. Final agreement of the list of donations is given by our General Assembly. Finally, the funds are transferred to the Charities, normally at the end of January.

Emergency Requests:

These donations are for exceptional or extremely urgent cases. The requested donation should not exceed the amount of 2000 Euros. These donations are made throughout the year.

The following criteria are considered when selecting charities for donation:

CHARITY SELECTION PROCESS
Two categories of projects are funded:

• Belgian and International Charities: (50%/50%)
• Emergency requests: These donations are for exceptional or extremely urgent cases. The requested donation should not exceed the amount of 2.000 €. The donations are made throughout the year.

Factors taken into account when selecting charities for donation:

• The request should be for a specific project.
• The charity should be a non-profit organization officially registered (ASBL or VZW if located in Belgium) for at least one year.
• If benefiting organizations receive funds or authorization for funding for a project from the proceeds of a specific Bazaar, two complete calendar years must pass from the date of that Bazaar, before the same organization may reapply to the NWB (eg  an organization that has benefited from funds raised at the 2009 Bazaar; can next apply in 2012).  
• To be considered a Belgium charity, the project must exist in Belgium and benefit people within Belgium.
• The maximum amount donated is 15.000 €

The NATO Wives Bazaar members vote on the final list of charities to be funded.

 

APPLICATION PROCESS

Submit a completed electronic version of the 2010 Application Form by email to NWBcharitycoordinator@gmail.com.  If you are unable to send the form electronically, you may submit a paper copy to:

Charity Coordinator, NATO Wives Bazaar, c/o IMS, T 8004, NATO Headquarters Boulevard Leopold III – 1110 Brussels.

All proposals are due by 1 MAY of each year. If funding is awarded, the funds will be transferred in December. Receipts for goods purchased with funds is required.

All Belgian charities will receive a personal visit from a representative of the organization.

All correspondence should be in English or French. 

Questions should be directed to the Charity Coordinator (NWBcharitycoordinator@gmail.com)