This year’s theme: Neighborhood Bridge Builders
Starting today, the Oranje Fonds is starting the search for exceptional projects eligible for an Appeltje van Oranje 2023. This year's theme is Neighborhood Bridge Builders. Successful neighborhood initiatives bridging differences and truly connecting residents. Initiatives like these have a chance to win one of the three "Appeltjes van Oranje" which will be awarded for the 21st time. Organizations can apply at oranjefonds.nl/appeltjes for a chance to win the cash prize. The Appeltjes van Oranje will be presented by Queen Maxima in October 2023.
Neighborhood “Feelers”
Together with social entrepreneurs, Oranje Fonds is committed to a society in which people care for each other, have equal opportunities, and feel connected. Connectedness is crucial for an engaged society. Social relationships in neighborhoods function as a safety net for all who may need it and provide an important basis for tackling and preventing problems such as loneliness, poverty, and social divides.
All manner of societal developments, such as poverty, an aging population, unemployment, and austerity affect the way people coexist. Covid has exacerbated these issues but has also shown the importance of having close contact.
Fortunately, there are many initiatives where local residents are working to bring people together and know how to bridge differences. By bringing people of different walks of life together, social relationships are strengthened, mutual understanding is boosted, and people feel more at home in their own neighborhoods. That's why, in 2023, the Oranje Fonds is putting neighborhood bridge builders in the spotlight!
About the Oranje Fonds
The Oranje Fonds wishes to see a society where no one stands alone and everyone can participate. To this end, we support social initiatives that promote a more cohesive society, provide care to those who temporarily need it, and contribute to equity of opportunities. Our support is provided in the form of knowledge, networking, funds, time, and recognition, and is in turn made possible by the assistance we receive from the Nationale Postcode Loterij, the Dutch Lottery, friends and businesses. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima are the Oranje Fonds’s patrons.
