Nine foundations join forces to support the recovery of l’Horta Sud after the DANA

24 November 2025 – Last week marked a historic alliance within the foundation sector in Spain. Nine foundations −Fundación Adey, Fundación Juan Entrecanales de Azcárate, Fundación Banco Sabadell, Fundación Bosch Aymerich, Fundación Caja Navarra, Fundación Gutiérrez Manrique (managed by Fundación Caja de Burgos), Fundación Mediterráneo, Fundación Roviralta and Fundación Daniel & Nina Carasso− joined forces to contribute €415,000 to our Recovery and Transformation Plan for l’Horta Sud (2024–2028).

This plan includes, among other measures, the creation of a community space to strengthen social life and improve preparedness for future emergencies; support programmes for vulnerable groups —such as older people or people with disabilities—; the recovery of family memories through the restoration of flooded photographs; and grants for cultural, sports or training activities.

“This alliance highlights the importance of cooperation and of acting from the territory to face challenges,” stated the nine foundations behind the initiative, all members of the Spanish Association of Foundations.

A partnership which, as Rosa Gallego, Director of International Relations and Community Foundations at AEF, underlined, “is of great significance and is only possible thanks to the value of trust — in this case, trust in the Fundació Comunitària Horta Sud, which immediately took action to mitigate the impact of the DANA from the very first minute.”

For his part, the Director of the Fundació Horta Sud, Julio Huerta, emphasised that this alliance “provides a decisive boost to continue rebuilding not only infrastructures, but also community bonds”.

The decision of nine donor foundations to come together for the first time in Spain to contribute to a common fund reflects a significant shift aligned with the emerging trend of trust-based philanthropy.

This type of collaboration reflects the mutual trust between donor organisations, which focus their efforts on targeted action for collective impact at the local level — the level closest to the affected population. Beyond its value as a model of collaboration, this locally-centred approach provides greater flexibility and speed in emergency response, allowing action to be tailored to changing needs in each situation.

The alliance of these nine Spanish foundations is aligned with international initiatives such as the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project (USA), Participatory Grantmaking (where communities decide how funds are distributed), and the Latin America and Caribbean Resilience Fund, which promotes flexible and collaborative giving.