Funding the Compendium Project

For over 17 years, I have been dedicated to supporting children in the most disadvantaged situations, with a particular focus on ensuring that they can grow up in families. In the course of this work, last August, I started a new independent project: The Compendium Project (More information on the project here ). There is a lot of interest in the project and an oversight committee has been formed to supervise and help steer the process.

This is a massive undertaking in which I am gathering the many tools, forms, guidance, and training developed to support the practical implementation of different aspects of a move from institutional to family-based alternative care for children without parental care. This gathering stage is largely concluded (though new documents are added as they are published or made available by organisations) and I have started analysing the (around 2000) resources to determine their quality and identify gaps. At a later stage, new material will be created to fill the gaps. In partnership, an online app is being developed that will use the good quality resources identified as its database. This app will allow people to ask questions and be guided to the resources that contain the answers - with several safeguards built in.

So far, the project is still entirely self-funded. This creates some frustrating delays in the progress. Because while I am generating funds or applying for opportunities to do so, I am unable to continue the work on the project.

Since I would like the full range of available resources to be easily accessible to everyone - without costs attached - as soon as possible, I have decided to ask for support in self-funding the project through this fundraiser.

The modest target of this fundraiser would allow me to dedicate myself to the work for a few months again. Full funding of the project - expected to take another two years, if fully funded - would require 60,000,-.

I am immensely grateful for any support you can give to help ensure that more children can grow up in their own families with support or in alternative families, instead of in institutions, as soon as possible.